Take it from someone who lost a horse to laminitis…this is a warning sign that you need to take serious!! You are lucky so far because it hasn’t progressed into founder or laminitis.
I would not let her have ANY grass at this point. I know it seems mean but I can assure you the alternative is much, much worse. I would also soak her hay and take her off all grain. Exercise is also very helpful.
Diamondindykin is right.
Don’t take the chance. NO GRASS, not even a few bites here and there. One of my guys came up with a mild laminitis last August, and with special shoes he got better. BUT. Then I started limited turn out, with a muzzle, and lo and behold, WHAM, he really crashed. Big time. Full blown founder. All winter long we fought it, it was terrible to see this boy in such agony. The expense of the pain meds is nothing compared to the pain of watching the horse suffer. I was out of my mind with worry, for months.
Pulled him through, so far, but only because he never, ever gets a single bite of grass. His hay is tested, and soaked anyway. His exercise is monitored carefully, and he’s still in corrective shoes. His feet have yet to grow down to looking well and normal. It’s not worth the risk - dry lot him with a companion, a little mini or donkey to babysit. As long as they get to romp and play, they won’t miss mindless grazing, after a while. My guy doesn’t even try to eat grass when I walk him out. Good luck!
So, I have moved to Oregon and now my 4 year filly has developed a crest and wrinkles on her neck, she was getting hay and Total Speciality Blend feed…a small cup as a token feed. She has been off grain for a month and still has crest…I had vet out and he just said to keep her off the grass which she hasn’t been on any.
I also have a 21 yr gelding Arab who is not over weight and he is doing the same thing…his is actually harder. I find it difficulty that these two horses, who are are only getting a grass hay are having such big crested necks.
I got to looking at other horses in the barn and several more horses there have the same issue…
Most of the boards there will get there horses out and let them pick grass and we have small turn outs when weather is good…I saw that there crest got big after picking grass for about 20 minutes over 2 months ago. The Arab developed pulses and was put on Bute, they both got better but have not hardened again. I have signs posted for no one to feed or give treats but found apple pieces in Arabs stall again this am.
Could it have been a reaction to the Specialty Blend Feed? could it be a reaction to the grass? Is there something else I can do to help…the Arab no longer has pulse and the fill has never had pulses nor been off. They are both only getting a grass valley hay.
Any help would be appreaciated…
If it is happening to a lot of the horses there there is something wrong with their day to day maintenance. It could just be getting too much of a feed.
If you grab the crest and can not wobble it from side to side. Get off all handfeed immediately. Limit grass. That is the final warning sign. Danger. DANGER DANGER. DANGER.
Yes, I know this is an old thread 
To @Whatsgoingon - grass in the ground is not the only thing that can be high in sugars. Grass that is high in sugar will become hay that is high in sugar.
I would get both your horses tested for insulin resistance, and until then, manage them as if they are. This means tested low NSC hay, or soak the hay 30 minutes in hot water or 60 minutes in cold water. Check the www.safergrass.org site, as well as the www.ecirhorse.org site
Your horse doesn’t need a “feed” to get it’s supplements and minerals. The base of their diet is either green grass or hay. You need to feed the minerals to balance that primary feed.
The vast majority of bagged feed are high starch and sugar and they will not balance grass/hay deficiencies. How can they? Every pasture and hay field is different. It is hard to truly balance your horse’s diet when you board as most stables buy mutiple batches of hay thru the year. However, go find a bag of the “feed/grain” that they provide and copy the label. then do searches on feed/mineral balancing. I had a horse go IR and laminitic here at home. Holy CRAP what a wake up call. Have been learning a whole lot more about diet and Insulin Resistance.
If you have access to ADM GrowStrong it’s grain free & molasses free. Works well for a grass hay diet for easy keepers,i own 2 very easy keepers. I wouldn’t be feeding any kind of bagged feed to a easy keeper.
Mine are on lush pasture but muzzled 24/7 right now. Have never muzzled in past so my boys were very unhappy when the muzzles went on.
I have a 25 year old pony that has foundered twice in her life and an 8 year old TWH that was getting cresty. The pony goes on grass with a muzzle and they get a ration balancer designed for easy keepers (in my case Min-A-Vit lite from Blue Seal) and Remission with every meal.
The pony is sound (knock wood) and the TWH has mostly lost the crest and looks better.
They are all on grass at least 12 hours a day (or night), more weather permitting
ugh this all so scary to me…
My guy is also an Easy keeper… Bought him last year, arrived chunky from being turned out on lush 20acre pasture only (no mineral balancing) with not enough work going on. Never foundered or had a run with laminitis but his hooves were sorely overgrown with WLD. He looked good by end of summer with hooves back to normal and weight manageable - by using the right supplements with TC 30% (added Zn & Cu, flax, biotin and MagRestore) - coat and mane nice too - and finally getting him riding consistently.
Over winter I got him down to a really nice level and ready to build muscle this spring…then poof in two weeks all that work was gone because I didn’t know any better to muzzle him. He now has 24/7 muzzle (pasture board) and added Thyro-L along with straight MgOx and Heiro to bring him back (I switched as magrestore got too $$ to keep up), treating him as IR though not blood tested for it.
Absolutely yes it’s a precurser to laminitis/founder. Hate to muzzle her? You’d hate to see her have to deal with the pain associated with laminitis and/or founder worse. Muzzle her and get her weight down pronto. Overweight horses are UNHEALTHY, just like overweight people are. It’s not cute, it’s irresponsible. I would not put her on lush grass at all without a muzzle.
Go buy some first cutting grass hay that went a little mature and is stemmy. With horses that are easy keepers, you do NOT need beautiful hay, you need something they can chew on all day long and not get fat or cresty. No grass.
Depends on the hay. It still has to be nutritious. Stemmy hay has lost a lot of its useful nutrition, and can still be high in sugars.
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