Spring is coming. Create a grazing schedule to reduce spring colic risk.
In early spring, many horses find themselves confined to their stalls. Why? To prevent damage to fragile, growing pasture grass. In theory, this is a good idea: you definitely want a full stand of nutritious grass for summer forage. But when horses are confined during this period of intense grass growth, they are not eating green or live grass. Their digestive system is used to hay and other non-forage foodstuffs. Meanwhile, the new grass is growing fast and producing high levels of sugars and carbohydrates.
Released onto lush pasture, horses devour these sweet, tender blades. The micro-organisms in the gut go into overdrive, trying to digest the carbs, the gut produces large quantities of gas...and your horse colics.
The solution? No sudden changes. In early spring when the pasture is fragile, limit grazing to 15 minutes a day for a week. Gradually increase grazing in 15-minute increments until the horses are out for 3 or 4 hours. Allow 4 hours of grazing for 2 weeks, then allow full access. During this limited grazing period, continue to feed hay on their regular schedule.