Strip grazing can play a useful part in controlling horses’ weight a recent study has shown.
Strip grazing refers to reducing the amount of grass available by sectioning off a smaller area of the paddock using electric fencing. The fence is moved daily to provide gradual access to fresh grazing. A back fence may also be used which can be moved by the same amount to keep the overall grazing area the same size.
Restricting grass intake is an essential part of many weight management programmes, and the latest research on strip grazing shows that it can be an effective solution. For many horses and ponies, grass is the main source of calories in the diet and is also one of the hardest for owners to control. A 250kg pony living out at grass may consume enough energy (calories) to fuel a 500kg racehorse – equivalent to more than half a bag of conditioning cubes every day.
The study, comparing three restricted grazing practices for equine bodyweight management during the United Kingdom grass growing season, was conducted by Annette Longland in collaboration with SPILLERS via the WALTHAM Equine Studies Group.
Three groups of four ponies were turned out into individual paddocks that had been measured at the start of the study to provide 1.5% of the ponies’ bodyweight (dry matter) in grass, for 28 days.
The ponies were assigned to one of three grazing practices:
· after a two-day adaptation period ponies were given access to the whole paddock with no restrictions;
· a lead fence was placed across the width of the paddock and after a two-day adaptation period, it was moved 1/26th of the remaining paddock length daily to allow access to fresh grass;
· after a two-day adaptation period a lead fence and a ‘back fence’ were moved by 1/26th of the remaining length every day.
Ponies with access to the whole paddock showed a significant increase in body condition score, but ponies in either of the strip grazed groups did not. The strip grazed ponies gained significantly less weight than ponies in the total allowance group, regardless of whether a back fence was used. In fact, strip grazing without a back fence was no less effective than strip grazing with a back fence, even though the grazing area got larger every day.
The WALTHAM Equine Studies Group, who provide the science behind the SPILLERS brand, have now published 100 research papers relating to obesity, laminitis, equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and weight management. To celebrate, SPILLERS is giving one lucky horse owner the chance to win a strip grazing kit, including energiser, fencing tape and posts. The competition is running on the SPILLERS Facebook page from 21-28 June.
For more details, see:
Longland, AC, Barfoot, C, Harris, PA.
Strip-grazing: Reduces pony dry matter intakes and changes in bodyweight and morphometrics.
Equine Vet J. 2021; 00: 1– 8.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13416
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