31/08/2026
!! Be Alert: Grass-Affected Horses !!!
It has been an unprecedented summer across the UK. Long periods of hot weather with little to no rain. As a result, nearly all the grass has burned off.
One of the positives to this situation has been that the many grass-affected horses that I have as patients have had a wonderful summer. The usual issues that plague them throughout the grazing season had reduced if not completely disappeared as the grass died off.
Many of the usual symptoms of grass-affected horses include:
• Bloating
• Gassy
• Irritability
• Laminitis and foot tenderness
• Girthiness
• Loose droppings/Faecal Water
• Lower back tension
• Bucking/kicking out
• Hindend tension and even lameness (especially right hind)
• Issues entering and maintaining canter
• Compensatory forelimb lameness (especially left fore)
• Breathing issues
• Swollen saliva glands
• Can even incite headshaking
Now that the rain has begun to return to parts of the country, you can already see the grass start to be revived and as a result the grass-affected horse's symptoms are beginning to return.
MANAGING THE GRASS RE-GROWTH
There are a couple of factors you may want to consider within your strategy.
1) You may need to be strict with turn out. Possibly consider bringing them in more, off the grass. The more sensitive your horse is, the stricter you need to be. You also may need to provide supplementary hay so that they eat a less sugary fibre source than the new grass coming through.
2) When you have implemented a good strategy to reduce the grass intake, it may then be necessary to assist this plan with appropriate supplementation.
☆☆Remember: supplements are supplementary to good grass management☆☆
Digestive support of stomach and hindgut will be important. Also supporting the excretory/detox organs ie liver and kidneys.
3) Some horses have metabolic issues that need veterinary medical management. Conditions such as Cushings and Equine Metabolic Syndrome can be diagnosed through blood tests. Horses with metabolic issues are more likely to be grass-affected.
4) This final part goes immensely overlooked and that is to make sure the body-wide compensations are removed.
Huh?? What??
When your horse has issues with grass and you get some of the symptoms I mentioned earlier, your horse's body often gets stuck in an abnormal pattern. This pattern needs removing just as much as the grass factor itself. Otherwise the problems remain.
For example, in a lot of cases the grass affects the hind gut. This is located in the back half of the horse, particularly on the right (see diagram). As a result, the symptoms often include tension in the hindlimb, pelvis and lumbars (mainly on the right).
If the problem has been big enough, if there were already underlying weaknesses or if present long enough, the pattern can become fixated in the musculoskeletal system.
As a result, the joints can become restricted and unable to move as well such as sacro-iliac, hip, stifle, hock, lumbar spine and so on. If not released, the performance issues will remain.
So, if your horse shows symptoms of being affected by the new grass flush, make sure you follow the four steps above. Including getting their body re-aligned by a good body worker.
(Grazing image taken from Google)
