Laminitus advice

[wondergirl]

What's the best way of managing / preventing your horse from an attack?

[Yann]

The most important thing is to make sure you feed the right kind of diet and restrict grass intake. Without that anything else you do won't help.

Plenty of exercise is meant to be helpful and will keep weight down, which is also important. Supplements might also help.

[showqa]

Hi Wondegirl,

I second the advice already given - but watch particularly at this time of year because of the early flush of fructan high spring grass. Keeping weight down is essential, as is good foot care, avoiding working on very hard ground (thus avoiding trauma to the area), keeping a serious eye on carb rich food fed, even turning horses out onto frosty fields has been proven to trigger an attack. It's a really complex condition, and is still being understood by the experts. Ponies tend to be more susceptible, but that is certainly not to say that horses are immune - they aren't. Even post partum mares ( I know one in particular that ended up losing her life as a result), can develop it because of hormonal imbalance.

[showqa]

PS. Should you have the slightest suspicion of an attack - get the vet in ASAP. It doesn't always have to turn into a horror story, but the longer the condition is left, the more compicated it becomes and the poorer the prognosis. So, even if you end up realising that you've over reacted, with laminitis better that than having missed it.

[Pottamus]

Also be aware of how much your horse weighs with a weight tape and keep measuring ever 2 weeks and that way you can keep an eye on any weight gain and do something about it before it gets out of control.

[eventerbabe]

laminitis is not simply caused by being overweight. I think the important thing is identifying the trigger for laminitis in your horse and acting accordingly. Mine got stress induced laminitis, so we moved her away from the trigger (our old yard) and bingo, no more attacks. Diet is very important too, as has been said. Stick to low sugar foods, hifi lite and speedibeet being ideal. A good probiotic is also useful for maintaining gut health and can ward off an attack.

[wondergirl]

My horse will be out 24/7 during spring and summer. She is currently stabled 24/7 during winter (yard rules), but is exercised every day.

Im not sure that she suffers from lami - the lady I bought her from (who had the horse for a year and a half) said she had no problems with it, but she was being worked regularly. However, her owner prior to this said that she had the horse for 4 years, and in the last year with her, she got lami really badly. However, on further investigation, it sounds like it stemmed from not being ridden at all and just left in the field.

I dont want to keep her in during the day (or night) in summer, because she will be isolated from the others, but I dont want to risk her getting lami again. What are my options?

[Yann]

Either a grazing muzzle or a sectioning off an area of the field I suppose, depending on what your yard will allow?