Beware of high fructan in grass

19 September 2019 - Livestock

Pay close attention to your horses that are susceptible to laminitis. Due to the combination of temperatures and precipitation, Eurofins Agro expects an increase in fructan in the grass. The more fructane the grass contains, the greater the risk of your horse becoming laminitic. Take this into account when grazing your horse. Especially if your horse is susceptible to laminitis. 

This week, temperatures and precipitation are such that grass retains a lot of fructan. When temperatures drop below 10 degrees Fahrenheit at night, grass has trouble processing fructane. Because of the nice sunny weather planned for the weekend, grass makes a lot of fructan during the day. During the cold night, the fructane is not processed properly. Therefore, the fructan content in the grass remains too high.

Fructan levels will rise in the coming period, as they have in every year. We were spared the big peak in the summer this year, especially since this summer has not been nearly as dry as 2018. The peak in the fall is coming, though. It's a fairly dry month, which allows grass to grow less than normal, which also causes fructan levels to build up. Combined with the sunny days this weekend, fructane will really start to rise. Keep in mind that grass can't process fructane very well. The level will be high all day. Horses that are susceptible to laminitis will have a particularly hard time now, as they did in the spring.

After the weekend, the rain will come and the grass will start growing again, but due to the minimum temperature, the risk of high fructan remains high. However, it will be less than this coming weekend. Because the changes in grass throughout the day can be great, it is definitely advisable to know what is in the hay, measuring is knowing. Do you have several batches? Then now is the time to feed the fructan-poorer batch. Not just from the weekend, but for the entire fall season. Have the composition of the hay examined with Equifeed.