Hoof Nutrition Intelligence Hoof Nutrition Intelligence is a twice-a-month web segment that is designed to add to the education of footcare professionals when it comes to effectively feeding the hoof. The goal of this web-exclusive feature is to zero in on specific areas of hoof nutrition and avoid broad-based articles that simply look at the overall equine feeding situation.

Below you will find Part 2 of the latest question and answer installment that you can share with your footcare clients.

Q: How can owners avoid laminitis concerns when turning horses out on spring pasture?

By Dallas Goble, DVM

A: Owners should avoid free choice access by their horses to early spring pasture during the rapid growth phase for forages that takes place early in the spring.

Owners should make sure their horses are full fed before turning them out to pasture in order to reduce the rapid ingestion of large volumes of new grass.

I like to see owners turn horses out on pasture early in the morning and then bring them back in off the pasture by mid morning. This short grazing period also helps them avoid hot temperatures, which may be an additional stress for horses.

Equine veterinarian Dallas Goble graduated from Kansas State University and served for a number of years as the director of equine clinics at the University of Tennessee. For more than 25 years, he served as director of the national herd health program for the Budweiser Clydesdales. His nutrition and disease research with these animals led to the development of critical horse health factors that dramatically reduced the incidence of laminitis in these hitch horses.

Hoof Nutrition Intelligence is brought to you by W.F. Young Co. (Absorbine). Absorbine

Like many significant achievements, Absorbine® grew out of humble beginnings—and through the tenacity of someone willing to question the status quo. In this case, it was a young woman in late 19th-century Massachusetts: Mary Ida Young. Her husband, Wilbur Fenelon Young, was an enterprising piano deliveryman who relied on the couple’s team of horses to make deliveries throughout the Northeast. Inspired by Mary Ida and Wilbur’s vision, Absorbine® has continued to add innovative products throughout the years — products used every day by horse owners around the world. Which is why, since 1892, we’ve been The Horse World’s Most Trusted Name®.

Click here to read Part 1 of the May 1, 2015 installment: Why are vitamin E and selenium needed for hoof growth?

Click here to read more installments of Hoof Nutrition Intelligence.