Managing Pasture Intake In Spring For The Good Doer Or Metabolic Horse

In the UK, grass, hay, or haylage commonly make up the majority of a horse’s forage intake. The minimum daily forage requirement for any horse is 1.5% bodyweight on a dry matter basis. For most horses, we recommend providing constant access to forage to support digestive health and promote natural grazing behaviours. However, for overweight horses or particularly good doers, this is not always possible due to the risk of excess weight gain. So, for these horses, we aim to feed at or slightly above 1.5% body weight in forage per day.

It is difficult to accurately gauge your horse’s daily forage intake, particularly if they have access to grass pasture or are housed in groups. However, it is recommended to weigh your horses hay intake over a 24-hour period, to get an idea of how much they are consuming. Grass intake is highly variable between horses, however research has provided the following intakes for the average horse as a guide:

• 112.5g per hour on poor grazing.
• 225g per hour on average grazing.
• 337.5g per hour on good grazing
• 450g per hour on excellent grazing.

By understanding your pasture quality, and estimating daily forage intake, this gives an indication of whether reducing forage intake for your overweight horse is an option.

Controlling pasture intake and encouraging movement

Muzzling

Putting a grazing muzzle on your horse is a great way to slow down pasture intake, as muzzles can reduce grass intake by up to 80% whilst still allowing the horse to trickle feed. Do note, we do not suggest using a muzzle 24/7 as this can result in the horse not eating enough forage to maintain good digestive health. If your horse lives out on grass 24/7, we suggest using the muzzle during daylight hours, when the sugar levels in the grass are higher, and horses tend to eat larger quantities, and then removing the muzzle overnight.

Strip Grazing

This management method is often used when horses are moved onto a paddock that has been rested. Cornering off a section or strip of paddock and gradually increasing the area they can graze every few days allows you to limit access to fresh grass.

Track System

A recently published study comparing groups of overweight ponies on track systems vs strip grazing, found that ponies moved a significantly greater distance on the track system than the strip grazing (Kirton et al., 2024). Whilst no differences in body weight or body fat measures were seen, ponies were only managed on each grazing option for 4 weeks, so potentially the increased voluntary movement on the track system would have resulted in weight loss if they were managed in this way over a longer period of time. Another recent study reported that horses kept on track systems lost an average of 3.4% of their initial bodyweight compared to those on the traditional paddock grazing system who gained an average of 1.5% of their bodyweight over the period of data collection (Cameron et al., 2025). Although differences between tracks were not significant, it should be noted that the greatest bodyweight loss was recorded in horses managed on a track system with steep sides. Therefore, making use of hills if you have them could also be beneficial.

Graze with Other Horses or Sheep Accordingly

This helps to keep pasture under control and encourages natural movement as horses interact and display social behaviours.

Turn out in Dry Lot with Hay

Where pasture quality is high or for horses at greater risk, turning out in a dry lot or arena with a low digestible energy hay may be the preferred option to grass.

Don’t Graze During High-Risk Times

Sugar and fructan content of grass is highly variable throughout the seasons and even throughout the day. NSC content of grass rises throughout the day as the plant photosynthesis, then decreases overnight as the plant uses these NSCs for growth. Therefore, grazing early in the morning when NSCs are at their lowest would be preferred to the afternoon. One exception for this is frosty mornings! When grass freezes over, the NSCs are not used for growth and accumulate to high levels in the plant, significantly increasing the risk of laminitis. When temperatures drop below 5˚C, limit grazing or offer conserved forage instead.

References

Cameron, L., Challinor, M., Armstrong, S., Kennedy, A., Hollister, S. and Fletcher, K., 2025. Tracking the Track: The Impact of Different Grazing Strategies on Managing Equine Obesity. Animals, 15(6), p.874.

Kirton, R., Sandford, I., Raffan, E., Hallsworth, S., Burman, O.H. and Morgan, R., 2024. The impact of restricted grazing systems on the behaviour and welfare of ponies. Equine Veterinary Journal.