09/06/2026
Yikes….
This rain is just going to keep it growing too….. I guess it might mean we might get a second hay cut later in the year.
⚠️🌱 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲! 🌱⚠️
Many of us will be noticing just how quickly our pastures are growing , and some of us may also be noticing the 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀.🐴
From expanding waistlines to thickened crests, this time of year is a really tricky time for those of us with 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝗱𝗼𝗲𝗿𝘀.🐖
Between the 22nd and 29th of May, growth increased by a massive 𝟭𝟵%! All that in 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀! 😮🌱
Whilst this growth is an average over the whole country, all regions appear to be doing 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, with the 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 topping the leaderboard in England. 🏆
Between intermittent showers, warm weather and prolonged sunlight, you can see why most farmers hold off cutting their hay this early.🚜 🌞
When we consider our horses, we must remember that 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 (and often inevitable) at this time of year. However, a lot of our horses cannot afford or tolerate significant weight gains- especially those that are 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.📈❌
It pays to know what 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 your horse ended winter with, and establish how many KGs you have in the bag to gain. For many, sadly, the answer would have been a big, fat 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼.⚖
If you are currently 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁, watch out for 𝗮𝗻𝘆 of these signs:
🦶Footsoreness
🔥Heat (in any amount of feet)
🫠Flexibility/softness in soles of the foot
👁Swelling above / around the eyes
↔️Shifting of weight from one foot to another
😴 Lethargy
🩺Pulses
🌱Firmness in the neck
And 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 with one of these methods:
🏜 Movie to a grass free area (especially if they are metabolically compromised or heavily conditioned)
🌱 Invest in a grazing muzzle
🤏 Decrease the area of grazing
If you are unsure if your horse has laminitis or if your horse is reluctant to move, always 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝘁. 📞👩⚕️
I truly understand how daunting this time of year is, I weighed my girls today and both of them are 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿 than they were in June 2025. I have a plan in place, (which I will share in an upcoming post📝), but it is 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 out there at the minute. Laminitis cases are rising ⬆️
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Please share ↪️
