Long Grass???

[Travis's Mum]

I had read an article in a mag recently and it said that if your pony is overweight or chubby then you should turn them out into long grass that has seeded as it has very little nutrient value in it. What does everyone think? :)

[Tootsie4U]

If so, it isnt working on mine.... its having the opposite affect!

[Bebe]

As far as I know long grass has lower sugars (sugar tends to be stored in the base of the grass stem) so can be better for laminitics or those prone to weight gain. The problem with long grass though is that it means there's lots of it and most horses will pig out so you end up with weight gain if you're not careful.

[Zingy]

Long grass is better than short, fresh-growing grass, but it will still only work for weight loss if you combine it with exercise and probably restrict the intake, depending on the horse you've got.

[Travis's Mum]

My Ponies are Shetland x Welsh They are 11.1hh (3Yrs Old) and 11.2hh (2Yrs). I have restricted their grazing with electric fencing and am just moving the fence gradually once a week into the long stuff that has seeded. Was going to get it cut which I did last month but it just grows longer then I saw this article suggesting using the seeded grass. I am starting to walk/trot them round the fenced off area twice each just to make sure they're getting some extra exercise. I didn't have this problem last year but I suppose they were quite young and needed built up.