Laminitus

[kirstyanwillie]

I have a loan pony who is prone to laminitus. He has global herbs laminitus prone supplement and is fed spillers pony/horse cubes and dengie hi-fi light once a day with half a scoop full of each and is barefoot. My big concern is recently he as become a bit foot sore and before christmas his crest got really thick so he is on a diet hence only half a scoop of feed. And has lines on his hooves which i have never seen in a horse before spoke to my farrier and he said it is due to the time of the year and also his hooves growing.
My main concern is him coming down with laminitus after all the hard work iv done and with it coming upto the show season i dont want to be left out.
Do you have any tips advice please as iv run out of resources to look at as they all say the same thing.
sorry if i seem to have rambled on im just concerned
thanks

[eventerbabe]

lines on the hoof can be caused by laminitis (disturbed hoof growth during attacks) but they can also be caused by growth spurts (due to grass etc.) so if farrier has ok'd them don't worry :)

Diet is vital, as is shifting that crest. If you go down the restriction route, turnout at night and stabling during the day is best as sugars are low in the grass at nights compared to during the day. Muzzles are effective, the best friends one being my fave. Avoid feeding really good hay. Infact, it's a good idea to soak your hay to get rid of some of the goodness, or mix with oat straw if you can get any.

Please remember none of the supplements from a feed shop will prevent lamminitis. The only proven preventative supplement is founderguard, which is about £70 a tub and only availible through licence from your vet. A probiotic is a good place to start. Laminitis starts in the gut so keeping that healthy can ward off an attack.

Avoid lots of hard roadwork (concussion is a major cause of laminitis) or work on less than perfect ground. also watch when turning out onto frosty grass as we've had recently. Either wait for the frost to lift or provide plenty of hay to stop them nibbling the grass.

[Yann]

Personally I would cut out the horse and pony cubes from the diet, they aren't ideal for a laminitic as they're still relatively high in starch and sugar. Something like Happy Hoof or Speedibeet would be a better bet. Adding some magnesium oxide to the diet would possibly also help as it's meant to help with crests and strengthen hoof wall attachment. Working her as hard as possibly whilst keeping her comfortable will also help, using hoof boots with pads in would reduce the risk of problems with concussion.

The main thing though is to restrict grazing as nothing else will help if your pony is getting too much grass.

[Dinsarsio]

I would cut out the nuts.I feed speedi beet and hi fi to my chronic laminitic and hay.He went a bit foot sore shifting his weight a bit but then look at all the grass growth we had and the warm weather.I put him in at night he soon got over it.

[kirstyanwillie]

Thanks for the advice. I will take him off the cubes! I have been looking round for advice on feed and i have been told to stay clear of speedibeet/sugarbeet.
I would leave him in during the day but all the others are turned out an he hates being in on his own!
I will start soaking my hay for him then.
I may be over reacting and worrying to much. Just its the first time i ahve looked after a laminitic on my own and now we are having frosty mornings more and the spring grass is starting to come through im just getting concerned maybe a bit to much!

[doris]

The problem is, once a horse has had laminitis, they will always be more prone to it. There's already some good advice on here, and Yann has given some good tips on management and feeding. Stick to fibre based feeds only.

I've never had a problem with Speedibeet, as it's free from molasses whereas the ordinary one isn't.

The only way to really manage is watch the weight and limit the grazing, either by stabling for some of the time, or strip grazing, or using a grazing muzzle.

[Yann]

No, speedibeet is fine for laminitics, it's not mollassed and is also approved by the laminitis trust. Ordinary sugar beet flakes that need soaking for 24 hours aren't necessarily though as they're usually mollassed.

You're right to be cautious, but remember that the slightest of problems will show up as footiness in an unshod pony, things have to be much more serious before they show up when the horse is shod.

Something else to keep an eye on is warmth in the foot and digital pulses, if you have either it can be a sign that something is going on. This is something that's true of all horses not just confirmed laminitics.

[noodle]

My daughters pony loan is laminetic, she is stabled alot of the time but has access to a non-grazed paddock.
We do as much work as possible with her and she looks really well, being ridden 6 out of 7 days, she is shod and also has the lines in her hooves.
She did start to get a very thick neck but have upped the exercise.
She is on Safe and sound, and hay but I am always parraniod about the laminitis coming back, poor pony must get fed up with me feeling her hooves all the time LOL

[eventerbabe]

Thanks for the advice. I will take him off the cubes! I have been looking round for advice on feed and i have been told to stay clear of speedibeet/sugarbeet.


whoever told you that is wrong. Speedibeet is PERFECTLY ok for laminitics because it's unmolassed and has a very low sugar content. Even my very, very laminitis prone mare was 100% ok on speedibeet

[Skippys Mum]

Mine do not go out on even a hint of a frosty morning! Thats when I have my biggest problems. I can actually control it better in the summer than the winter for some strange reason. When they are out just now, even though its winter, they are muzzled (although the grazing is poor its enough to knock them over the edge).

They get plenty of hi fi lite and ad lib hay (they are not big eaters so ad lib is really only a leaf morning and night) so they are not hungry as apparently starving them can make it worse (?). Neither of mine are fat (one is in light work and one has cushings) and I would love to feed them some sort of conditioning feed but I just cant get away with it. They were on Spillers Happy Hoof but T doesnt really like it:(

In the summer they are in a starvation paddock with added hay (if that makes sense:)). In the winter they are usually in the arena with added hay but do get a wee bit of field turnout with muzzles as their starvation paddock tends to be under water.

I find keeping them in too much actually makes them sorer. They do much better getting to wander around a bit.

Hope this helps xxx

[kirstyanwillie]

He is in a starvation paddock at the moment with hay in as it is just mood!!
These grazing muzzles do they need to controlled when used IE
Do i put it on for a few hours then take it off. As i turn him out or bring in as i work silly shifts and cant really be their to control it. I do turn him out on frost but with plenty of hay in the feild for him to munch on while the grass thaws out.

[martini55]

Speedi-beet is perfectly fine for laminitics. If it is the spillers high-fibre cubes you are feeding then they are fine but if it is another type of pony nut you are feeding your best bet it to switch to the high fibre cubes or cut them out altogether. If your horse is a good doer you will want to be reducing how much feed he is getting as the grass starts coming through.

Managing a laminitic and what the best method is will depend on the individual horse and what the cause of the original laminitis was. You certainly will have to restrict grazing, either by use of a grazing muzzle (which i would not be happy with leaving on 24/7) or strip grazing. If your horse is particularly sensitive to grass then he may have to be stabled for part of the day. Just keep an eye out for any signs. With my horse an early indicator is always her neck firming up a bit. Others might just become a bit sluggish coming in from the field or a bit footy on gravel (when they were fine before). My best advice is if you suspect there might be a problem, no matter how trivial or small the symptoms might be, take your horse off the grass completely.

Definitely get used to checking digital pulses and find out what is normal for your horse. Again, if you find an unusual pulse then I would take the horse off the grass completely. May seem extreme but could prevent a lot of heartache!

[kirstyanwillie]

\Just a quick question that might sound silly but do you soak you hay in its hay net and how long for? I never done it before and i cant find any info anywhere also when ever im up at my yard no one is their so i cant ask somebody their
Thanks

[Painted lady]

When Tara was diagnosed with laminitis my vet told me to soak her weighed hay (in a hay net) for at least an hour to remove everything out of it. If fact I used to put Tara's in 2 haynets. Drain it for quite a while too saves wasting bedding.

Hope that helps



Nicki xx

[martini55]

\Just a quick question that might sound silly but do you soak you hay in its hay net and how long for? I never done it before and i cant find any info anywhere also when ever im up at my yard no one is their so i cant ask somebody their
Thanks

You can soak it in nets in a dustbin or something similar. Just fill it up and leave it for a minimum of 30 minutes or upto 12hrs. Hay for my horse gets soaked for around 8hrs a day (I soak it in the morning and drain and feed in the evenings).

[Joyscarer]

Defo in a haynet as I wouldn't fancy handling wet hay and it is easy to get back of the container you are soaking in. You can then empty it out again if you feed in the floor but a haynet makes it that much easier :)