Spring might be the season most horse owners associate with fresh grass and laminitis, but autumn deserves just as much attention.
After a dry or slow-growing summer, wetter conditions combined with mild temperatures can trigger an autumn grass flush. For horses and ponies that are prone to laminitis, overweight or sensitive to changes in pasture, this sudden availability of fresh grass can present another period when careful management is essential.
If you’re concerned about autumn laminitis in your horse, paying close attention to grazing, body condition, forage and digestive health can help you navigate the seasonal change more confidently.
Why Can Autumn Grass Increase Laminitis Risk?
Grass doesn’t simply become harmless when summer ends.
During autumn, rainfall and relatively mild temperatures can encourage renewed pasture growth. Bright days and cold or frosty nights can also affect the way sugars accumulate in grass.
For susceptible horses and ponies, unrestricted access to changing pasture may therefore be problematic.
Laminitis itself is a serious and extremely painful condition affecting the sensitive structures within the hoof. Horses with underlying endocrine conditions, including Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), can be at increased risk.
Weight gain and recent access to grass have also been identified as risk factors for laminitis, making pasture and weight management particularly important.
The key message is simple: don’t assume that the end of spring means the end of laminitis season.
Which Horses Need Extra Care in Autumn?
Although any horse can develop laminitis, it is particularly important to monitor:
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Horses and ponies with a previous history of laminitis
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Good doers and native breeds
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Overweight or obese horses
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Horses with a cresty neck or abnormal fat deposits
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Horses diagnosed with EMS or PPID
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Animals that gain weight rapidly when grass availability increases
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Horses moving onto new or richer grazing
Regular body condition scoring and weight monitoring can make subtle changes easier to identify before they become significant.
If you are concerned about unexplained weight gain, abnormal fat distribution or your horse’s laminitis risk, speak to your vet about whether further investigation or testing is appropriate.
Managing the Autumn Grass Flush
For a horse at increased risk, autumn pasture needs to be managed rather than simply treated as “winter grass”.
Depending on the individual horse, your vet or equine nutritionist may recommend strategies such as restricting grazing time or area, strip grazing, using an appropriately fitted grazing muzzle, monitoring pasture conditions and providing a carefully managed forage-based diet.
Avoid sudden dietary changes wherever possible. A horse’s digestive system is designed around a steady intake of fibre, so dramatic changes in grazing, forage or concentrate feed can disrupt normal digestive function.
Exercise can also form part of weight and metabolic management where appropriate, but never exercise a horse that has active or suspected laminitis unless specifically instructed to do so by your vet.
Know the Early Signs of Laminitis
Recognising a problem quickly matters. Signs can vary in severity, and they are not always as dramatic as the classic “leaning back” laminitic stance.
Look out for changes such as:
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Reluctance to walk
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Short, pottery steps
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Increased sensitivity on hard or stony ground
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Difficulty or reluctance when turning
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Shifting weight between feet
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Strong or bounding digital pulses
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Unusual heat in the feet
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A reluctance to pick up one foot because of discomfort in the opposite foot
Suspected laminitis is a veterinary issue. Contact your vet promptly rather than waiting to see whether the horse improves.
Autumn Management Is About More Than the Hooves
Changes in pasture management can have consequences elsewhere.
A horse that previously spent long periods grazing may suddenly have restricted turnout, a grazing muzzle, different forage or a changed feeding routine. Autumn can also bring changes in stabling, exercise and daily routine.
That makes digestive management an important part of the wider autumn care plan.
The aim should be to maintain a consistent, fibre-focused feeding programme appropriate to your horse while avoiding unnecessary dietary disruption.
Targeted Nutritional Support with Lamino
Lamino is Aviform’s targeted nutritional supplement designed for horses requiring additional hoof and nutritional support.
The formula contains calcium carbonate alongside sodium and potassium chloride, methionine, zinc and Jiaogulan.
Calcium carbonate helps buffer stomach and intestinal pH, while sodium and potassium provide important electrolytes. Methionine and zinc supply nutrients involved in normal hoof structure and keratin formation.
Lamino can be incorporated into a horse’s daily feeding programme and is suitable for year-round nutritional support.
Important: nutritional supplementation does not replace appropriate grazing management, weight control, veterinary diagnosis or treatment of laminitis.
Supporting the Stomach with EGF
Changes in grazing and forage availability can also mean changes to the way a horse eats.
EGF – Equine Gastric Formula is designed to provide targeted stomach and digestive support, particularly during periods when management or forage intake changes.
Its formula includes:
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Calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide
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L-glutamine
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Fructooligosaccharide prebiotics
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Actigen® mannan-rich fraction
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Lecithin
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Apple pectin
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Slippery elm
Calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide help support a balanced stomach environment, while ingredients including prebiotics, lecithin, pectin and slippery elm provide broader nutritional support for normal digestive health.
This can make EGF particularly relevant during periods of management change, when maintaining a consistent feeding and forage routine may be more challenging.
When Changing Grass Coincides with Loose Droppings or Faecal Water
Seasonal changes can affect individual horses differently. Some develop digestive disturbances when their grazing, forage or management routine changes.
Free faecal water is characterised by liquid passing separately from otherwise formed droppings. Persistent wetness can also leave the tail and hind legs messy and may irritate the skin.
Pro-Choice FWS is Aviform’s targeted digestive supplement for horses experiencing faecal water problems.
Its formula combines several digestive-support ingredients, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast products, mannan-rich fractions, psyllium husk, bentonite clay and lecithin.
The combination is designed to support normal hindgut function, fibre digestion, digestive balance and normal manure consistency.
Persistent diarrhoea, unexplained changes in droppings, weight loss or other signs of illness should always be discussed with your vet rather than managed with supplementation alone.
A Practical Autumn Checklist
As the weather changes and grass starts growing again, keep your management plan under regular review.
Check your horse: Monitor weight and body condition, feel for changes in the crest and fat deposits, and watch movement carefully.
Check the feet: Get to know what is normal for your horse, including digital pulses, and arrange regular farrier care.
Check the grass: Don't assume autumn pasture is automatically low-risk simply because summer has ended.
Check the diet: Keep forage at the centre of the feeding programme and minimise abrupt changes. Horses requiring restricted diets should have a feeding plan developed with appropriate professional advice.
Check the gut: Watch appetite, droppings and general digestive comfort when grazing or forage changes.
Check with your vet: Horses with previous laminitis or suspected metabolic or hormonal problems may require closer veterinary monitoring.
Don’t Let Autumn Catch You Out
When it comes to autumn laminitis horse management, prevention is built around the whole picture rather than one product or one management change.
The autumn grass flush can bring renewed grazing at exactly the point when owners may be starting to relax their spring and summer precautions. For susceptible horses, however, maintaining careful pasture management, controlling body condition and responding quickly to early warning signs remains essential.
At the same time, supporting normal digestive function can help horses cope nutritionally with the changes in grazing, forage and routine that autumn often brings.
Aviform’s equine range offers targeted nutritional options depending on your horse’s needs:
Lamino - targeted nutritional, hoof and digestive support for horses requiring careful management.
EGF - stomach and digestive support during dietary, forage and management changes.
Pro-Choice FWS - targeted hindgut and digestive support for horses experiencing faecal water problems.
The best autumn plan combines appropriate grazing management, a balanced diet, regular weight and hoof monitoring, good digestive management and veterinary advice whenever there is concern.
If you suspect your horse has laminitis, contact your vet promptly. Supplements are intended to provide nutritional support and should not be used as a substitute for veterinary diagnosis or treatment.