07/11/2025
Great info on grazing times for those laminitis prone horses 👍
🌿 Grazing Times for Laminitic Horses and Ponies 🌿
Many horse and pony owners battle for months to restore soundness and healthy hoof growth after a bout of laminitis. Careful dietary management — including when and how long a horse grazes — is essential to reduce the risk of further episodes.
Laminitis-prone horses and ponies are especially sensitive to high levels of soluble sugars and non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) in pasture. These sugars are found in rapidly growing or stressed grasses, and even a short period of unrestricted grazing at the wrong time of day can trigger a painful flare-up in very sensitive horses and ponies.
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🌞 Understanding Sugar Levels in Grass
Grass naturally produces sugars through photosynthesis during the day when the sun is shining. These sugars are used overnight for growth, as long as the nights are mild. However, when nights are cool, frosty or dry, plants stop growing and instead store sugars in the leaves, stems and base to survive.
That means:
• Sugar levels are highest in the late afternoon and evening, when the sun has been shining all day.
• Sugar levels are lowest just before sunrise, if the night has been warm enough for the plant to use up stored sugars.
• On cool or frosty nights, sugar levels may stay high right through to the morning, making early turnout risky.
Many owners assume it’s safest to turn laminitic horses out overnight — but this can actually increase the risk of sugar overload and laminitis, particularly during cool weather or on stressed pastures.
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🐴 How Grazing Habits Affect Risk
Research shows that ponies, and even some horses, tend to ‘binge graze’ after sunset, when the pasture is sweetest. In fact, they can consume up to 40% of their total daily intake in the first few hours after dark!
This can lead to an overload of soluble sugars and fructans in the hindgut, resulting in hindgut acidosis, toxin absorption and impaired hoof blood flow — a dangerous combination for any laminitis-prone horse.
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🕒 Recommended Grazing Times
For horses and ponies with a history of laminitis, insulin resistance (IR) or Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS):
✅ Limit grazing to short sessions of 1–1½ hours in the late morning (before 10am) when sugar levels are moderate.
✅ Allow a second short grazing session in the mid to late afternoon if conditions are mild and pasture is not stressed.
🚫 Avoid grazing overnight or early morning after cool or frosty nights.
🚫 Restrict access to lush, fast-growing or drought-stressed grass, which can contain higher sugar levels even when it looks sparse or dry.
If full-time turnout is needed for mental wellbeing, consider using a grazing muzzle or confining to a dry lot or low-NSC grass area to control intake.
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💚 Supporting Recovery and Prevention
Once a horse has suffered laminitis, they remain at higher risk for future episodes due to compromised lamellae structure and circulation within the hoof. Careful management of both diet and grazing times plays a vital role in preventing relapse and supporting recovery.
Feeding a low-NSC diet, ensuring balanced minerals, and maintaining a healthy weight are all key components of laminitis prevention.
Kohnke’s Own TRIM can assist as part of a careful weight management plan for horses and ponies prone to laminitis, cresty necks or metabolic issues. It provides targeted nutrients to help support healthy metabolism and safe fat loss — without restricting essential vitamins and minerals needed for hoof and overall health.
📩 DM, email or call us today to book your free ration analysis! 📞 1800 112 227
