🐴 Best Grazing Time for Horses: Safe Pasture Practices in 2025 🌱⏰

By Dr Duncan Houston BVSc

Letting your horse graze seems simple—but in 2025, research continues to reveal how timing and pasture quality impact your horse’s health. For horses with metabolic issues, even brief time on lush grass can lead to serious conditions like laminitis. Here’s how to graze smarter, not harder. 🧠🐎

🏞️ Why Turnout Is Healthy

In general, pasture access benefits horses:

• 🌀 Reduces anxiety and stereotypic behaviors
• 💩 Lowers colic risk by supporting gut motility
• 🏇 Improves overall wellbeing and fitness

But pasture isn’t safe for every horse, especially those with insulin resistance (IR), equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), or obesity. 🚫

⚠️ The Hidden Risk: Fructans in Grass

Fructans are nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) stored in grass. Unlike starches, fructans bypass digestion in the foregut and ferment in the hindgut—triggering laminitis in susceptible horses. 🔬

❗ Fructans Increase With:

• 🌱 Rapid spring growth
• 🍂 Fall drought-stressed grass
• ☀️ Afternoon sunlight via photosynthesis
• 🌾 Overgrazed, stem-heavy grass

Don't be fooled by dead-looking grass—brown or dry blades can still hold dangerous sugar levels when under environmental stress. 🧪

🕒 Best Time to Graze Safely

Early morning is the safest grazing window, especially for horses at risk of laminitis:

• 🕓 4 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Fructan levels are lowest
• ☀️ As sunlight increases, so does fructan production

After photosynthesis begins, fructans accumulate in the plant’s leaves and stems throughout the day. 📈

🪙 Grazing Muzzles: A Must for At-Risk Horses

For horses with EMS, PPID, or obesity, grazing muzzles should always be used during pasture turnout:

• 🦷 Limits grass intake by ~80%
• 🩺 Reduces laminitis risk
• 🧠 Allows mental stimulation from social grazing

Choose muzzles with good airflow and soft edges to avoid rubs. 🔄 Rotate turnout areas and clean the muzzle daily. 🧼

🧬 Seasonal Considerations

🌱 Spring:

• 🚫 Most dangerous season for sugar overload
• ❄️ Frosty mornings can spike sugar in grass

☀️ Summer:

• ⏰ Safest grazing times remain early morning or overnight

🍂 Fall:

• 🌾 Stressed grass from drought or cold = high fructan
• 💡 Still requires caution, even if the grass looks brown

🧠 Bonus Tip: Avoid Overgrazing

Overgrazed pastures are stem-heavy and force horses to graze closer to the ground where fructans are more concentrated. 🔍

📋 Pasture Management:

• 🧪 Rotate pastures to allow regrowth
• 🚿 Water regularly to reduce drought stress
• 🌿 Keep grass height above 4 inches

📲 Ask A Vet for Grazing Risk Assessment

Unsure if your horse is safe to graze? Visit AskAVet.com or use the Ask A Vet App to assess fructan risk, get seasonal turnout plans, and order grazing muzzles. 📱🐴

Dr Duncan Houston and the team can evaluate your horse’s metabolic status and customize turnout strategies that support health and comfort. 💬🧠

🏁 Final Thoughts

In 2025, the safest grazing time is early morning—before photosynthesis spikes sugar levels. By managing turnout timing and using muzzles, you can protect high-risk horses from laminitis while still enjoying the benefits of pasture. 🌅🐎

Need a grazing schedule or muzzle fit help? Visit AskAVet.com to keep your horses safe on grass 🐴🌱