Most helpfull video, thanks for the quality production level and detail instructions. Need to check pasture grass prior to letting horse graze. Kind regards:
This is perfect thank you. I indeed needing to test the grass so a round little pony doesn't get sore feet. I think the grass tester is called a refractometer. Now to figure out where to get one. I'm not sure about what is ok for a pony. 15% would be very high I think.
Question...I have donkeys that need a low sugar content diet. So what does the number 15 mean? Where is that on the scale? Is it high or low and where can I get a tester from?
I think that indicates 1.5% 2% is starting to be higher. More research needed. The other commenter says this method might have issues but I know it is commonly used. Dairy farmers are looking for high sugars, but we are looking for the opposite
My grass ranges between 3 in winter and 18 percent sugar in spring. The recommended level is less than 10 percent, but personally I think 5 to 7 percent is safer.
We had a recent enquiry from a stables where they had a laminitis problem last summer & wanted to Measure Sugar content to only graze their grass when the Sugar Content was lowest. Since Sugar Content goes Up & down through the 24hr cycle, I can see A refractometer would greatly help. Charles Goldingham
I gathered a lot of data on replicated plots and compared this method against that of the USDA forage and Rangeland Research Lab where the world experts in grass sugar worked. There was not enough correlation for refractometer data to be useful. Refractometers test total dissolved solids and plant sap contains a lot of different stuff. Potassium and nitrate have a very high refractive index, so fluctuations in those fractions throws the whole thing off. A high refractometer reading only means 'the soup is thicker right now'. You cannot say anything about the concentration of any single fraction in the soup. Katy Watts safergrass.org
Thanks will look up your organisation. I know these refractometers are being used on farm. Everyone here is looking for lower sugars rather than higher though.
Charles Goldingham - Its brilliant - Would you give us permission to put a link to your video from our website? www.agrisupplyservices.co.uk I am sure many UK farmers would find it useful.
Most helpfull video, thanks for the quality production level and detail instructions. Need to check pasture grass prior to letting horse graze. Kind regards:
This is perfect thank you. I indeed needing to test the grass so a round little pony doesn't get sore feet. I think the grass tester is called a refractometer. Now to figure out where to get one. I'm not sure about what is ok for a pony. 15% would be very high I think.
Question...I have donkeys that need a low sugar content diet. So what does the number 15 mean? Where is that on the scale? Is it high or low and where can I get a tester from?
I think that indicates 1.5%
2% is starting to be higher.
More research needed. The other commenter says this method might have issues but I know it is commonly used. Dairy farmers are looking for high sugars, but we are looking for the opposite
What is the grass tester actually called?
Refractometer
searched for you on Facebook with no luck. could you provide a link?
facebook.com/TestYourGrass/
What range does your grass fall in, and high would you still let your pony out to graze on?
My grass ranges between 3 in winter and 18 percent sugar in spring. The recommended level is less than 10 percent, but personally I think 5 to 7 percent is safer.
We had a recent enquiry from a stables where they had a laminitis problem last summer & wanted to Measure Sugar content to only graze their grass when the Sugar Content was lowest. Since Sugar Content goes Up & down through the 24hr cycle, I can see A refractometer would greatly help. Charles Goldingham
@@helenhornsby4555
That was helpful. Thank you.
Thing is, you wouldn't let a grass affected horse graze that type of grass???
I gathered a lot of data on replicated plots and compared this method against that of the USDA forage and Rangeland Research Lab where the world experts in grass sugar worked. There was not enough correlation for refractometer data to be useful. Refractometers test total dissolved solids and plant sap contains a lot of different stuff. Potassium and nitrate have a very high refractive index, so fluctuations in those fractions throws the whole thing off. A high refractometer reading only means 'the soup is thicker right now'. You cannot say anything about the concentration of any single fraction in the soup. Katy Watts safergrass.org
Thanks will look up your organisation. I know these refractometers are being used on farm. Everyone here is looking for lower sugars rather than higher though.
Charles Goldingham - Its brilliant - Would you give us permission to put a link to your video from our website? www.agrisupplyservices.co.uk I am sure many UK farmers would find it useful.