Long grass vs. short grass

18 June 2019

This green stuff is confusing! Here are my horses up to their armpits in lush green grass. I thought they would for sure get the scours when I took them off of the very short grass they were on  with all the rain coming they would have turned that paddock into a ploughed field and it would never grow decent grass again! But actually, their droppings went from green and sloppy on the short grass to golden brown and formed on this new grass, more like hay fed horse droppings. It might look like a nightmare about to happen, but in practice, it is actually much better for them than the short grass was. It is higher in fibre, probably lower in nutrients and undoubtedly takes a lot more chewing! Food for thought? Take home message - long grass might actually be better for horses than short grass. Or did we not know that already? Jane van Lennep, Director of Nutrition