MS Equine Services

01/05/2026

YOU ARE BEING LIED TO ABOUT GRASS LENGTH !!!

Long grass is not lower in sugar and fructan for horses and ponies than short grass in terms of WHAT THEY EAT.

An attention grabbing headline?

Yes! I am getting really frustrated with this persistent nutribaloney that short grass is bad for horses, not suitable for laminitics, not suitable for weight loss or healthy weight maintenance.

This is Simply Not True.

Worryingly, it's not just uneducated people I've heard saying this, or writing it.

Even if short, overgrazed grass IS higher in sugar and fructan and lower in fibre per kilo, it is the TOTAL AMOUNT that the horse eats and the RATE they eat it that matters, not what is in the forage per kilo.

Capitalised because this is the key and why so many horse owners and even vets get this wrong.

Well-or over-grazed, short grass will generally provide more suitable grazing for a good doer or EMS / laminitis prone horse or pony.

On this type of grazing they will get LESS nutrients (less sugar, less fructan, less calories) per hour of grazing compared to the longer, stemmier grass, simply because of how much they can eat.

I cannot tell you how many owners I've had come to me for advice, and reported in my Facebook comments that their horse or pony has piled on the pounds (gained body fat) and sadly in some cases succumbed to laminitis, when they have tried putting them on free choice longer grass.

Now, the horse on overgrazed, sprouting pasture will likely need more fibre e.g. from a strip of the longer stemmier grass and/or supplementary forage like soaked hay BUT! grazing very short grass is sometimes the only way to keep a good doer slim and healthy (if they don't wear a grazing muzzle).

The key is to monitor the individual horse or pony and adjust their grass access from their bodyweight and condition, and any signs of metabolic disturbances or laminitis.

Some take home tips:
> always monitor your individual horse or pony and adjust their grass access accordingly
> never assume that long meadow grass is safe for your horse or pony prone to weight gain and laminitis
> over-grazed pasture with supplementary forage (if out 24/7) is a method used successfully by thousands of owners of good doers and laminitis-prone horse and pony owners
> if you have no option but to graze bottle-height grass (about 3" or 10cm) for overweight horses or ponies, good doers or those prone to laminitis, I recommend using a grazing muzzle (and potentially strip grazing as well)
> always monitor your individual horse or pony and adjust their grass access accordingly (yes, I meant to repeat myself!) - you can monitor their weight and condition (body fat), any signs of laminitis, their gut comfort and their droppings

Feel free to share!
🐴🍏🌱

22/03/2026

Friday focus…transitioning to spring / summer turnout!

With the recent weather changes here in the U.K. many horses and ponies will shortly be transitioning from their winter routines to spring / summer turnout, which will entail a huge change in diet for some of them, especially for those that have had no access to grass all winter and have been fed hay or haylage only diets. Even for those that have had access to grass over the winter months, field changes to rested pastures will still be a huge dietary change.

As we all know, forage is the basis of our horses diets, so it is really important that any changes in forage (hay, haylage & grass) are carried out slowly. This is more important than changes in feeds (although please also do this slowly!) as this is what they eat the most of, it is this that imposes a far greater risk of digestive disturbance.

I appreciate that it can be very difficult to gradually introduce your equines to new pastures but please do the best you can! Ideally it should be gradually introduced and increased over 2-3 weeks. This is particularly important for those that have been stabled all winter and those that are going onto rested pastures. Strip grazing, grazing muzzles or even grass tracks can be useful here to help limit intake.

I am still amazed that there are so many yards that go straight from being in 24/7 to being out either all day or 24/7 with no gentle introduction to grass at all. Particularly when there is so much evidence to support that sudden changes, particularly in forage, can be so detrimental to our horses and ponies. So please do not just turn your horse out onto lush pasture or the risk of digestive upset will be significantly increased. Colic can be particularly prevalent in spring and autumn due to sudden changes in diet and management. I have sadly witnessed mass yard turnouts on two occasions over the years and in both cases, they had gone from being in 24/7 on hay/haylage only diets to being turnout on rested grass 24/7 with no gradual introduction at all.

Even for those that live out all year, I would still very gradually introduce them to the rested pastures and restrict their intake however works best for you and for them. If you have a horse or pony with a sensitive digestive system, a good quality gut balancer could be useful whilst they are adjusting to their forage/field/routine changes.

Anything you can do is much better than not doing anything and just turning them out unrestricted onto new pastures without giving it a second thought can be detrimental. So please, err on the side of caution and do the best you can; it is not worth the risk!

27/12/2025

10/12/2025

*** Why we must stop looking for the perfect horse ***

From an orthopaedic point of view, no horse is perfect. We must stop thinking that if we look hard enough, we’ll find the perfect horse. He/she doesn’t exist. All that happens is that we miss out on the “not so perfect” horse that actually would have been the perfect horse.

If we look hard enough, especially with our X-ray machines, we can find something wrong with every single horse. We will find some kind of change in a joint of most horses over the age of six or seven. Before anyone starts, that’s not because they have been started too young. I spend some of my spare time looking at the radiographs provided publicly for auctions, and I can always find something wrong. These are often unbacked 3 year olds.

I have posted before that X-ray changes often don’t correlate with pain, or even future pain/lameness.

In my opinion, X-rays should be used to plan what help the horse *may* require in the future, and not to write a perfectly sound horse off. And for the record, I’d never medicate the joint of a sound horse, based on radiographic changes alone.

I often hear people say that they’ve had 5 horses fail a vetting, and that the “perfect” horse must be out there. Actually, you’ve probably just missed that perfect horse. Obviously a horse that is lame at PPE (the vetting) is an absolute no. But a horse with some hock arthritis, or some close DSPs (“kissing spines”) that is currently out competing and has an uninterrupted competition record, may well have been your perfect horse.

I bought Johnnie as a 9 year old with significant hock arthritis. I took a chance, as his X-rays were very bad. He went on to be the most exceptional Event horse I have ever sat on, going from Novice to Advanced in two seasons, and then subsequently popping around 4*s like they were 90cm. His back X-rays were just as bad. He was the perfect horse.

X-rays are useful, but we must be incredibly careful with their interpretation. We must also be incredibly cautious when deciding if a horse’s behaviour is due to that pathology found on the X-ray, or whether it is just a sharp, fit horse. I am a vet, so will always question if a certain behaviour is due to pain, but I am also a horsewoman, so I don’t agree that every buck, rear, spook and nap is due to pain.

Photo of the not-so-perfect, yet absolutely perfect, Johnnie.

04/12/2025

27/11/2025

27/11/2025

21/11/2025

Farmers Bloodhounds Presents Santa take over at Offchurch Bury…

Santa is joining us for a truly special and steady hound exercise on Tuesday 23rd December, and there are only limited spaces available.
We’ll meet at 10:30 and move off promptly thereafter.
This is a day for all riders, young and old, to share in a little Christmas magic alongside our beloved hounds.

We’ll start with warming arrival drinks, pause midway for hot chocolate out in the winter air, and finish with mulled wine to toast the season.
For every child under 14, Santa has a gift tucked safely away in his sack.

Christmas jumpers are heartily encouraged let’s make the fields sparkle.
A day like this is rare, so early booking is very much advised.

Your Huntsman 🎄🐾

https://www.horse-events.co.uk/horse-events/the-farmers-bloodhounds-santa-takeover-ride-out-with-the-hounds-at-offchurch-bury/

14/11/2025

Let’s hope the UK follows asap 🤞🏻

03/05/2025

Thank you to the Kenilworth Phone Clinic for fixing my phone super quick as it decided it would no longer charge at all 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️