Agriculture Commons^™

Effects Of Transitioning From A Free Choice Tall Fescue (Lolium Arundinaceum) Hay Diet In Late Winter To A Free Choice Spring Tall Fescue Pasture Diet On Plasma Fructosamine Concentrations, Body Weight, And Body Condition Scores Of Stock Horse Mares, Paige A. Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Approximately half of all reported laminitis cases are the result of “grass founder” (laminitis associated with long-term over consumption of lush, early spring pastures). Elevated body weights (BW), body condition scores (BCS), and blood glucose concentrations have all been associated with the onset of grass founder. Plasma fructosamine concentrations (PFC) have recently been used as an indicator of long-term (14–21 d), mean blood glucose concentrations in horses and numerous authors have reported that elevated PFC were observed in laminitic horses (Murphy et al., 1997; Keen et al., 2004; Knowles et al., 2012). This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term …