One of the primary risk factors associated with digestive upset is dietary change.
All diet changes should be made gradually over a 2 to 3 week period. This time frame gives the microorganisms in the digestive system time to adjust to the new feed.
When making a change start replacing no more than 250 grams per day of the old feed with the new feed – each day increase the new feed and decrease the old feed until you have reached 100% new feed. Introducing horses to pasture should also be done gradually over a 2 week period.
Time spent on pasture should be no more than 1 hour per day for the first week of exposure.