Laminitis

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Dizzy

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Jan 11, 2001
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My friends horse has laminitis, she's had the vet out and been advised to keep her in until she's pain free without bute and not to ride her for at least a month.

Obviously she's following her vets advice, but is being told/encouraged by others that she should walk her out, to exercise her. She's sticking to her vets advise, but getting a bit stressed with the conflicting views she's getting.

She's also very worried about it re-occuring, which it obviously will if she returns to the turnout she's had. Ebony's a Dalesx and a big girl, she has lost a good bit of weight since she's been in, and she's going to be fitted with a grass muzzle when she's sound and returns to the field.

Has anyone any advise on laminitis management I can pass on to her. I have told her to ring her vet and tell him her worries, which I know she will. But I know she'd love to hear from folk in the same boat as her and how you cope on a day to day basis.

Lesley
 
Walking out in the early stages can do a lot of damage to the foot structure, and can actually encourage foundering, by tearing the already damaged laminae. That's why the vet recommended the horse be kept in.

Midnight had a touch last year, but Julie caught it in the very early stages, did *everything* by the book, and so far hasn't had any further problems. There's no reason why your friend's horse should get it again provided she's extra vigilant about taking pulses, managing diet and so on.
 
Charlie had a mild case this year, and we followed the vets advice to the letter. This included complete box rest for 4 weeks, so be prepared for a long wait, then no riding for a further 4 weeks. He is fine now, has a muzzle on when required, moving to a fresh paddock etc, and is back on 24/7 turnout with no problems.

He has a very small feed, happy hoof, Top Spec balancer, unmolassed soaked sugar beet, his is absolutely fine now and in good condition and maintains a good weight of 455kg for a 15.1hh cob which is fine and healthly.

There was absolutely NO walking in hand, at at no point should she do this until the vet has given her the OK to put back out.

His bed should be very very thick, not straw, but a thick layer of shavings or flax is best, about 6'' deep, this can then be used as a semi-deep litter system.

The vet should have made recommendations regarding hay to be fed, ours could have 2 4-5 kg hay nets during the day, and one over night, this was of poor quality hay.

It sounds, bad but the less quality hay you can give the better, it will take her longer to eat, so keeping her occupied and not interfer with her digestion allowing her to eat for long periods of time. Give her a small holed hay net, or if you don't have this two hay nets into one will have the same effect.

You must then keep her occupied, we left the radio on all the time, we found that talking during the day was good, an then classical music overnight was soothing, but this may depend on how busy the yard is.

I hope all goes well with her, but be prepared for a long haul and a comnplete change in diet to help avoid problems in the future.
 
Do not walk a lamanitic. It can be fatal. Robert Eustace in his book Explaining Laminits & Its Prevention states " the more excercise taken the worse the mechanical strain on the laminae. On humanitarian grounds there is no justification for making an animal in such pain walk about. the analogy is to walk on the tip of one finger & toe per limb & have the nail tearing away from the quick as you go. Not pleasant." He recommends absolute box rest, at least until the horse has recovered enough to walk around the stable without pain killers & lameness. After that one month walking in hand 2 or 3 times a day for 15 mins or the horse turned out into a quiet areana to able about at his own pace. Nothing in the way of ridden excercise should be attempted for a month & then the horse needs to be brought back into work gradually.

Lesley tell your friend to igmnore the advice from others re walking her horse out & if she needs more info tell her to contact the laminitis clinic. Thier website is very helpful as well. www.equilife.co.uk/laminits-org

I did this when my pony Storm kept getting laminitis back in 1997 & since I have followed the advice from Robert Eustace he has been fine. (Fingers crossed!)

Good luck

Let me know how your friend gets on.

Deb

deb.robin@btopenworld.com
 
Yes would definately reccomend NOT walking a laminitic pony unless vet states otherwise.When punch was x-rayed during his laminitis attack it had showed he had foundered.Punch has bad arthritis and keeping him stabled 24/7 would finish him off really .He was stable confined until the heartbars were fitted and then gentle walking inhand on soft ground twice a day was advised.If you walk a lamintic excess pressure will be put onto the laminae (which supports the bone)the laminae then tear and stretch leaving the pedal bone with little or no support causing it to rotate and drop .If the bone is supported correctly then being turned out in a sand pen or simular so the horse can chose whether it wants to move or not.But in general don't walk until off painkillers.Punch foundered 6wks ago and seems to be doing extremely well at the moment(long may it continue) hes on a tiny amount of bute for his arthritis and is now being led out inhand on the roads 3 times a day for upto 30 mins at a time.Turning out at night is the safest time for a laminitic as the sugar levels are lower,strip grazing is ideal! good luck
 
Now this is conflicting. I was told by my vet to walk Merlin out when he came down with laminitis but not to ride him ( as I did ask as I had been told by my farrier to ride him). However his other bit of advice was not to force him if he did not feel like going for a walk then don't but if he would even if it was a short distance then do. Maybe this was because Merlin was worse if he just stood around than if he kept walking. Also he had COPD so I do not know if this was a factor for keeping in the fresh air.
 
Miriam

I was told by Robert Eustace (in my opinion the expert on laminitis), never to walk a lamanitic. It causes more harm than good. My first pony had laminitis over 20 years ago & at that time we were told to walk her by the vet. Now the correct thing is not to walk them. Check out the laminitis trust, they will confirm this for you. Walking can cause the pedal bone to seperate from the laminie & can be fatal, so I understand. I must admit that I have seen people walking lamanitics & it looks so painful for them, that I would never walk one now.

Deb
 
My pony has just had an acute attack of laminitis, the first for 10 years. He is fine now. I did not walk him. I got Founder guard from the Vet. The pony was sound in a few days & has been off bute for over a week.
 
My old horse got really bad laminitis one year. I would stable him and have him on bute twice a day with a mild case. When he had a bad attack he was on box rest on thick woodchips for a week, then egg bar shoes were fitted (still on bute) and he was turned out in a confined area where he could choose to walk or not. From then on his grazing was restricted 1 hour a day from April to September with lots of old season hay being fed along with a high fibre diet, alfalfa, high fibre cubes and farrriers formula. This o going routine prevented him from ever getting laminitis again. All he had were a few foot abscesses resulting from the attack of laminitis he'd had.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Lucy, I'll pass info on.

I've been away for a few days and during this time Ebony has improved enough to be turned out in our little paddock with the donkeys. She's sporting a grass muzzle, not sure of the make, but its a head collar/muzzle (all in one) made from soft leather, she resembles Hannibal Lector poor thing!

The vet said her attack was mild, and caught early, so fingers crossed its her first and last. I think she has a long Summer ahead, I've never seen grass grow as fast as its growing this Summer.

I'm going to up Breeze's exercise and restrict her grass intake, she is rippling :( My hubby asked today, after videoing Breeze if horses get cellulite! After watching the video I can why he asked:eek:

Lesley
 
re,walking laminitics,
there is a lot of conflict on this subject,mainly because years gone by it was a standard treatment for laminitis.I think laminitis has more myths and so called 'good treatments then any other.Its not until recently that more research has been done into this terrible illness,and we now apreciate that a lot of the treatments given in the past actually worsened the problem.

if you think your horse may be suffering from laminitis
call the vet
put him in the stable,trailer him home if the stables a long way from the field.
do not feed him before the vet arrives.
Vet will normally prescribe ACP's to help with the blood supply,painkillers such as bute or arquel.
Also will suggest a suitable diet ,normally hi-fi lite hay or straw.
The vet may also want to take x-rays(the sooner the better i learnt the hard way).to see if there is any movement of the pedal bone,and or supportive shoes such as heartbars,reverse shoes or edss (sp) is used.
Normally box rest until sound and off painkillers,then walking inhand for a month then start working lightly.
Thats standard treatment for laminitics,if your vet suggests walking your horse if he has laminitis without providing a good reason for doing so,eg other health complications seek a second opinion

i found these websites really good for support when punch foundered,might be of use to some of you.

www.horse-talk.co.uk

this is liz's website dedicated to lucky gamble,after she died from laminitis,liz's website has some excellent info on laminitis,and the treatments available as well as a forum to ask questions on.

www.equilife.co.uk

has some information on the laminitis trust and also a contact number for robert eustace.

hope thats of some help.
if you horse has laminitis make sure you get the farrier envolved as well,to get your horse better it takes team work from both vet and farrier.
 
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