What kind of grass should I plant for a low sugar pasture or hay crop?
Can I use my hay soaking water over again?
How can soaking hay remove sugar, when it is enclosed in a fibrous cell wall?
Will soaking hay remove other important nutrients?
I have heard that testing for Cushing’s is not accurate therefore a waste of money. Is this so?
What kind of grass should I plant for a low sugar pasture or hay crop?
According to the data I have collected over 4 years of field studies and seeing a lot of hay analysis, every kind of grass that is easy to grow can be too high in sugar under some conditions. There are no grasses that are risk free for grazing 24/7, year round for a horse with Metabolic Syndrome, unless you live in the desert and have several hundred acres of land. You may have a better chance of having low sugar grass if you live somewhere cloudy and warm. The question that is more pertinent is ‘How can I manage my grass to lower sugar concentration’. To answer that question I have to teach you how to grow healthier grass. Sugar is more about stress response than it is about genetic potential. That is very dependent on where you live, what your soil is like, and a lot of other questions that are unique to your situation. For a more detailed description of what I need to do a pasture management program, please download this document.
I have to say ‘it depends’. Some hay, under some conditions may get funky soaked that long. If the hay had a lot of mold spores to begin with, or the weather is warm, it is apt to get funky faster. Use your nose to decide.
Can I use my hay soaking water over again?
No. You are trying to get a diffusion gradient to work for you. If the water is already full of sugar, it can’t pull anymore out. That’s also why the more water you have in ratio to the hay, the more sugar you are apt to leach out.
How can soaking hay remove sugar, when it is enclosed in a fibrous cell wall?
While plant cell walls are made of cellulose and hemi-cellulose, cell walls have pores that open into the apoplast, or intracellular spaces that allow transfer of water soluble nutrients like sugars between cells. Sugars and potassium are leached out very easily with water even in high fiber hay.
Will soaking hay remove other important nutrients?Probably. Testing for vitamins is too expensive for me to study, but we should assume we are losing water soluble vitamins such as C and B. If you are forced to soak hay long term, it is probably good insurance to have your horse on a broad spectrum vitamin/ mineral supplement. Some research indicates that horses with Metabolic Syndrome have higher markers for oxidative stress, so making sure adequate amounts anti-oxidants are available seems like good insurance.
I have heard that testing for Cushing’s is not accurate therefore a waste of money. Is this so?Some studies have shown that in fall or early winter, ACTH is elevated even in clinically normal horses. This may give a false positive to baseline ACTH and dexamethasone suppression tests on borderline cases. But if ACTH is extremely high, or there is a complete failure to suppress, these results should still indicate the need to put your horses on pergolide. Animal Diagnostic Health Lab at Cornell charges $35 for ACTH and insulin. Glucose and insulin, the most important tests for laminitis prevention, cost $25 and are accurate all year round. I believe this is money well spent on a horse with laminitis or other signs of metabolic disease at any time of the year. You can always retest for Cushing’s during spring or summer if results are borderline and you are still uncertain. Waiting until your horse has foundered from lack of proper medication or diet will waste far more money.
Home | Articles | Shop Safergrass | Clinics | Schedule | Consulting
Help Safergrass.org | Favorite Links | FAQ
