On Thu, 1 Nov 2007 06:29:30 -0800, you wrote: > Maybe it's true that if grass >is all they ever experience, they only eat what they need. It would scare >me, however.
Our youngsters and brood mares all have large (for the UK!) areas of grass, moor and heathland to range in, and ad-lib haylage in the winter. They are well-covered but not fat. BUT!!! this is pasture that has never been "improved", never had fertiliser near it, which is full of herbs, wildflowers and "weeds" as well as grass. They lose some weight in the winter (they do not get any grain, though they have salt and mineral licks). I only once had an Icelandic that had been allowed free range on "proper" pasture (40 acres of dairy cow pasture). She was actually NOT that fat - but she had had recurring chronic laminitis for 5 years (her owner could not understand why she was so often lame and thought she had damaged her shoulder, or had a back problem, or something.... she was one of our first rescue horses, 20 years ago). Mic Mic (Michelle) Rushen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solva Icelandic Horses and DeMeulenkamp Sweet Itch Rugs: www.solva-icelandics.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes"
