The dreaded laminitis

[evie's mummy]

My sons pony has just been diagnosed with COPD (See other thread about bedding) I am now keen to give her as much turnout as possible but I'm terrified of her getting laminitis. I've only just bought her this year and the farrier and old owner confirmed she has never suffered with this and apparently was used to 24/7 grazing. Problem is that one of my stable mates is obsessed with this disease and now I'm terrified that if she eats a blade too much she will come down with it. I need to keep her out as much as poss because of the COPD but I thought I only needed to worry about the grass intake spring/autumn times? My friend would personally leave her in a small paddock with a grazing muzzle on for most of the day even now. She is 11.2hh 11 years old and definately a good doer! I feed her just a handful of hi fi lite (as she has medication in it for COPD) and only two leaves of hay at night. Poor thing must be permanently starving. Can any of you very intelligent people give me some dos and don'ts on keeping laminitis at bay. As she has got this far in life without suffering does that mean she is unlikely to get it now or is my friend right to be soooo cautious??:D

[Nik-n-Kia]

Hi what kind of ground are you putting her out in???

if it has been rested all summer then definate NO!!

If it has been grazzed all summer but rested revently then It should be ok if you feed a laminitus supplement as well.

I would suggest laminaze by NAF very good and economical........... my frind uses it and her horse summers out form May onwards.

Hope this helps!!!!

Nikki xxxx

[cloang]

Hi, this is a tricky one because if you get it wrong you will feel guilty. We were so worried this spring with our little pony. Everyone at the yard told us to limit her grazing and use a muzzle. We did use a muzzle to start with but had a grumpy pony so I spoke to her previous owner who assured us she had lived out 24/7 with no muzzle and had never showed any signs of lami, farrier said he didn't think she was "the type", ri agreed, vet could see no reason to limit her grazing or use a muzzle so she stayed out 24/7 all summer. She was fine and is very healthy and fit.

She is definitely a grumpy pony when she is hungry tho so that helped us make up our mind.

Perhaps you could ask your vets advice and go from there.
Good luck
ang

[evie's mummy]

Thanks for your answers guys. She is currently kept at livery where the grazing is rotated every couple months but it is grazed alot so she doesn't really have access to long lush grass. But i am moving to a house with my own yard and fields (BIG YIPEE) so there is going to be a hell of a lot more grazing as its 14 acres and only my two. I suppose I should just electric fence of a small portion of a field so she can see her buddy but not eat herself silly:eek: Does this sound sort of the right lines? What about the 2 sections of hay at night? I double bag her haynets to make them last longer but i feel so bad when she see's her 'brother' with a bulging haynet that I can hardly carry:p

[jovi_y2k2]

you can always soak the hay for about 8-12 hours then you can feed her more but it wont have much nutrient content

[eml]

If she needs more bulk mix the hay with some oat straw (oops sorry just reread she has COPD so not a good plan!)

Main thing to avoid is letting her gorge on the grass or get seriously overweight so 24 hour turnout on limited grazing is often preferable and lots of exercise is essential, if your son can't ride then lunge, long rein, drive her.

[eventerbabe]

There are many, many causes of laminitis. I've known super fit PC event ponies to come down with it. Laminitis can be grass-related, caused by vaccinations/steroid injections, concussion, cold legs........ i'll point you in the direction of www.laminitis.org

Soaking hay for 12 hours is a good idea, make sure pony is turned out on to grass that's neither too lush nor too sparse (sparse = stressed = lots of sugars which can trigger laminitis). Strip grazing is a good way to limit their intake, as are muzzles in the danger periods. My cob has no history of laminitis but he's muzzled in spring and autumn just to make sure he doesn't pig out.

Just be aware of the symptoms aswell (hot feet, digital pulse, elevated heart and breathing rates, footy, leaning backwards stance) so if it were to happen then you can catch it early.

My first pony was a laminitic, as was my loan pony before her. My pony wasn't overweight, was fit and she got laminitis. You can take all the precautions in the world and they can still get it.