Spring has sprung, there are a few things to consider and from an equine point of view these include dental,worming,feeding vaccinations and for some foaling.
Dental examinations are required every 6 -12 months depending on horses age and their oral history.
Worming in Spring all horses need to be wormed as they are at risk of Cyathostomosis which occurs as the larvae emerge in response to stress and warmer weather.
Feeding as the weather is changing their feed needs to alter accordingly. We tend to feed more hay in winter as we get low in grass growth. Horses require at least two percent of their body weight as fibre daily eg 500kg horse 10kg of hay is grass intake is low, additional fibre may be required.
Ensure Vaccinations are up to date Strangles and their Tetanus.
Foaling is the most exciting time of the year. Aim to have the mares in a foaling paddock a month prior to the event, ensure they are Vaccinated and fed well.
The dangers of Sweet Spring Grass
As horses are grazers, horses where designed to eat low sugar and slower growing grass,at this time its not possible therefore,while grass,hay etc remain important part of our horses diet there are a few things we need to be aware of that can cause health and behaviour issues, eg High blood pressure levels if we give horses more energy than they use they will gain weight, with the grass high in sugars from the lush spring grass and early autumn grass can cause problems such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome thats when horses are overweight and have a range of increased disease risks eg Laminitis, Hindgut acidosis ,Ryegrass staggers this grass may only be 1cm long but under these conditions it can have a drastic effect on your horse. This can effect your horse on high protein feeds. This can also be a trigger for Colic,
Know your Spring effected Signs for your horse and the Colic signs and keep your vet number on speed dial ask for help and learn the signs.
Catherine Anderson