Not the OP but I’ve never heard of this group but just joined, very interesting
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Even when you micro manage and increase it very gradually you can still have some issues with horses transitioning on lush pasture.
I had it one year in my mare (mild impaction)when they were up to 2 hours( vet said gorging on new grass) and ever since I leave them on from the beginning when grass is just starting to green. Zero issues 4th year in a row.
I start overnight dry lotting when it starts growing and add a muzzle to my 1 horse when it starts putting weight on her.
Even doing that we have more grass then they can eat on 4 1/2 acres.
3 horses , a steer and a boer buck and they can’t keep up with it.
So yours are out for at least 12 on grass, and dry lotted overnight? This is really my first full summer having them here, so I may be being a little conservative with my grass. I have at least 4 acres of lush pasture currently fenced, and 14 acres total but a lot of that is wooded. I had planned on putting them on grass from 8 to 5, and dry lot the rest of the time.
But, you’re giving me hope that I can leave them out on grass even longer than that! I would love to do the same as you, as far as letting them have access to grass year-round so it’s not a shock to their systems!
I’m sure it’s location dependent as well though!
My 3 are out 24/7 from probably Dec-Mar ( depends on temps , rainfall etc)when the grass is usually dormant. Then out from 7am to 6pm the rest of the year. The steer and buck have year round access .
Last year my new young horse was out 24/7 but I just started dry lotting him as well,
so you may need to do the same with your horses as you never know how it will affect their weight until they have access to grass.
I am in MO and we have the right climate/ soil for good pasture. We also fertilize our pasture yearly and mow them once the grass drops it’s seed heads . I just find it easier keeping them on than acclimating them once it is grown because they have been off it for weeks.
My two easy keeper geldings are turned out dawn to dusk and stalled at night all year. During the lush growing season when the days are longer I put them in a dry lot for 3-4 hours during the middle of the day, then turn them out again until dusk. During the winter, when the grass is short and dormant, they are without grazing muzzles. When the grass starts growing in the spring they are muzzled when they are out grazing. I don’t worry about acclimating them to grass in the spring because they’re out nibbling on it all year.
Followed the “add 15 minutes a day” protocol for the month of May and as of yesterday they were up to 4 hours of grazing and everyone was doing great. Despite my efforts, one of my boarders had a gas colic episode after coming in yesterday 
Temps had dropped from 80’s to 50’s the previous day…maybe the sugars just skyrocketed causing the episode?
Now I’m wondering how much I should backtrack on my turnout time…2 hours? 3? Put a muzzle on the sensitive guy?
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The gas colic could be completely unrelated to grazing. I have one horse here who reliably has gas colic every time the weather changes. He’s been out on grass 24/7 for 10 years.
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Horses can colic for any reason they choose . If they are doing fine otherwise I would keep things as they are. If the horse is not overweight it doesn’t need a muzzle.
More than likely the temp swing was the culprit. Some are just sensitive like that.
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I too would attribute the gas colic to the large temperature change, not the grass. Have known a handful, usually seniors, that would get quite upset stomachs with big temperature swings.
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