Articles by Katy Watts
Does this website apply to your horse? Many horses can graze all day without risk. This site is about horses at high risk for laminitis.
Your horse has laminitis. A one page summary of first aid for the easily overwhelmed.
Laminitis Attack: First Line of Defense A detailed plan for diagnosis, diet, and forming an effective team.
When Excess Carbohydrates Create Problems Various conditions that may be caused by too much sugar and starch.
Carbohydrate Confusion: a Power Point about the differences in nomenclature between labs, nutritionists and plant scientists.
There IS sugar in grass and hay Understand the basic science of how grass makes sugar.
How grass is being changed K. Watts Why the grass we used to have is different from the grass we have now.
Testing for sugar/starch in feeds
A Review of Unlikely Sources of Excess Carbohydrate in Equine Diets Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Aug. 2005 25(8)
Weeds and overmature grass may be high enough in NSC to trigger laminitis in susceptible horses.
What kind of forage is safer? Proceedings: Kentucky Equine Research, Advanced Management of Gastrointestinal and Metabolic Diseases, Lexington, KY, April, 2008
Is Teff Hay Always low in sugar? Teff is a good choice for testing, but do not assume it is always low in NSC.
The Influence of Solar Radiation and Temperature on the Diurnal Fluctuation of NSC in Grass 2008 Data showing strong correlation to the amount of sunlight the previous two days and daily increase of NSC during optimum growing conditions.
Grass in Shade is Lower in Sugar A study to evaluate the change in NSC of grass in shade.
Is Old Hay Better for Horses with Laminitis? A study to see how hay nutrients change over time. They don’t. The Pony Club Manual is wrong on this.
Soaking Hay to Remove Excess Soluble Carbohydrate and Potassium 2003, K Watts, P. Sirois, Dairy One It works. Use a lot of water.
Does sugar content determine hay preference by horses? 2011 No. If it doesn’t smell good, they won’t even try it. They liked the ones with the most clover, that smelled good, regardless of NSC content.
Factors affecting NSC levels in grass KA Watts, NJ Chatterton - J. Equine Vet. S 2004 (2) p. 84-86. A review of factors on the carbohydrate content of forage.
The signs of laminitis A detailed description of how mild, moderate and severe laminitis presents.
Risk factors for laminitis If you are shopping for a new horse, be aware that some are at higher risk of laminitis due to their breed or appearance.
Insulin Dysregulation, Equine Metabolic Syndrome, PPID (Cushing's )
What high risk horses look like
Lushness is not a factor in the WSC or Starch concentration of grass. K. Watts, Countermeasures to Laminitis, Waltham Nutritional Symposium, Washington, DC, Sept. 2005 Lush grass next to stressed grass was not significantly different in WSC or starch. Lush is a meaningless word to plant scientists. Everyone horse person thinks it means something different. Pet peeve of mine.
WSC content of forages in Autumn proc: K. Watts Countermeasures to Laminitis, Waltham Nutritional Symposium, Washington, DC, Sept. 2005. Fall grass after a few nights of hard freeze can have just as much WSC as spring grass. See AM vs PM data.
Pasture Management to Avoid Risk of Laminitis Vet Clinic Equine 26 (2010) p. 361-369 Methods to manage pasture for horses prone to laminitis
Forage and Pasture Management for Laminitic Horses March 2004 Clinical Techniques in Equine Practice. 3 (1): 88–95
Equine Laminitis - Managing pasture to reduce the risk (5.3 MB) 2010 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Pub. No. 10/063, K. Watts and C. Pollitt This booklet specifically addresses grasses in Australia, but much of the background material is pertinent everywhere.
When is dead grass safe? Don’t assume just because it’s brown that all the sugar is gone. Sugar is not green.
Dead grass and weeds can trigger laminitis Proc. 2005 Equine Science Soc. 19th Symp.
Nitrogen Deficient Grass is higher in NSC than grass fertilized with ammonium nitrate 2005 Eq. Science Soc. 19th Symposium Proceedings
Founder Fodder Weeds Weeds can have a lot of sugar and fructan. These are the ones you should get out of your pasture.
What Feral Horses Eat K Watts, 4th International Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, Nov, 2007, Palm Beach, FL
Stage of Growth vs. Environmental Conditions Non-structural Carbs in Oat Forage, K Watts, NJ Chatterton. J. Nut (2006) 136: 2111S-2113S The growing conditions have more effect on NSC than the stage of growth. Hay with high fiber can still have high NSC.
Why growing native grass is so difficult It takes a long time, you have to use a lot of herbicide, it has to be managed very intensively with light, rotational grazing and you get half the forage. When I teach people how to do this, and give them a budget, they buy a muzzle instead.
High Fiber Does not insure Low sugar 4th Intntl Conf on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, Nov. 2007, Palm Beach, FL
Fructan, sugar and starch concentrations in North American grass Kathryn Watts, Kevin Jensen, Phil Harrison, Howard Horton, AAEP Laminitis Researcher Roundtable, Palm Beach, Florida 2009 NSC were consistently higher in the colder, sunnier test site in Colorado. Native grasses were the lowest in NSC at both sites. A realistic max, concentration for pasture grass in the intermountain region of North America is 15%dm fructan, 15% dm sugar, and 4%dm starch.
Managing grazing for 'at risk' horses
When it's time to give up.