Foreword
Laminitis is a leading cause of death in horses and makes a significant financial and emotional impact on the horse
industry.
Around the world the success of pasture improvement programs is measured against increased meat, fibre and dairy
production. Increasing the readily available carbohydrates in pasture and hay is the primary focus. As the technology
available to forage breeders and producers has improved, the resultant increased amounts of sugar, starch and fructan
(collectively called non-structural carbohydrates or NSC) has made some pastures inappropriate for horses and
ponies prone to obesity, insulin resistance and laminitis.
Environmental conditions can trigger three-fold increases in NSC in pasture plants and hay, so it is imperative that
the owners of horses prone to laminitis and feed producers catering to such animals, understand how to manage
pasture and hay crops to decrease NSC concentration. Such horse owners also need to understand under which
conditions pasture or hay NSC content become so dangerous that access for high risk animals should be limited or
eliminated.
Tony Byrne
Acting Managing Director
Equine Laminitis (ebook)
Resource for download is kindly provided for your use by Agrifutures Australia - https://agrifutures.com.au/wp-content/uploads/publications/10-063.pdf
(uploaded by FurBabiesCentral, & shared on our FaceBook & Instagram pages. Information may change, so please check with the Authored Publisher)
