Advice on laminitic horse please

michellev123

michellev123

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Hi


I moved Oscar to his new yard last week and touch wood other than being a bit cheeky he has been a star!!

The question is regarding his lami. I have him on a bare paddock although there is grass as he is picking rather than eating his hay!!

The question I have is being careful as wartching him like a hawk as always how long should he be ok out for?

I monitor his pulses, heat and fottyness daily and he has been good so far (not even very footy on stones I have had his muzzle on for 3 hours a day when he is out (he is in stable 13 hours a day:-( ) However he is now allowed to merge with a small herd of 4 horses at the yard. I dont want him to go in with them with a muzle on as i dont feel its fair for him trying to find his place.

Also the grass is so short in all the paddocks that he can not eat through his muzzle so the few hours he has it on he can not eat anything as is very miserable. I put hay out but he cant get this through it either (only long grass!)

I dont want him to get lami again but i cant watch him getting more depressed in a field by himself or being muzzled and picked on by the other horses!

There is no hardstanding etc and no yards around my area have this facility so i have to make do the best i can with what i have!

I know this is a particularly bad time of year for lami but roughly when does the grass become less rich?

I find it so hard to find out any info on lami and i know its specific to each horse but just any general advice is appreciated.

Roll on winter when i dont have to panic quiet so much!!! :)

Thanks
 
I empathise with you wholeheartedly. I have a lami prone horse and up until last year watched him like a hawk too... except I couldn't bring myself to leave the muzzle on, he just wouldn't eat!!

I started him on Formula4Feet two years ago, his feet improved, this year he went out with two others in a large paddock 24/7, no muzzle, no restrictions. I bit my nails constantly but to my relief and utter amazement, he's been better than he has any other year!!!

I can't tell you why, he only has f4f as a treat and also, I decided to take his shoes off after months of research into it. He's much brighter and if I had a picture to compare his stance last year in a strip-paddock to now I would post it. (Plus he constantly jumped over the tape!!)

I went to horseworld in Bristol for a day's seminar on lami and how they manage it there. Their perspective is to put more horses in a paddock instead of one in a small paddock. The idea being they will move more and play equalling more exercise and less grazing time. It works there so that's why I decided to change and give it a go and so far, it's worked for us :)
 
How about you put him out for an hour without the muzzle to let him mix with the herd for a few days/weeks/however long it takes for them to find their pecking order.....then put him in his bare paddock for a couple more hours (if this is possible time wise?). Then when the herd has settled, he could go out with his muzzle on??
 
Glad to hear he has moved well as that on its own can be enough to set some off so thats one hurdle over.The paddock problem is tricky though. The grass pretty much stops growing when the temperature drops below 6 degrees, so its still going to be growing ta a rate for quite some time to come, but the quality depends on what its like at your place. We are on a dairy farm and the grass is amazing. It's a nightmare for lammys though and we have to work really hard to manage them and the do sadly end up spending quite a lot of time in or with muzzles on. The problem you face of course when the grass stops growing at the rate it is now is that then its more likely to be frosty which is a whole different problem for lammy ponies.

Can he be introduced to his new field mates over the fence at all so when you do then put him in with his muzzle on he already 'knows' everyone fairly well? Is there an adjacent area you can put him in or fence him off on so there isn't much grass?

It's so hard to find info though isn't it and so many people have conflicting opinions. Each case is different though so it's not surprising.

Good luck with him.
 
Hi, sorry if I'm being a bit dense but you've put he's out 3 hours with a muzzle and he's stabled for 13, that leaves 8 hours unaccounted for?
If he's not eating hay then try a hay replacer such as Happy Hooves or Healthy Hooves both of which are recommended by the Laminitis Trust.
As for the grass, it should be less rich at the end of Oct but remember not to turn out on frosty days due to high levels of sugar in the grass.
Could you ask if one or two others could go in with him or tape off a bit of thier field so he has horsey contact? Or perhaps for the first few hours of him going out with them take his muzzle off until they get themselves sorted and then put it on. Once they have established who's boss it's normally face pulling and kicking rather than bites.
Websites try the laminitis trust as they have quite allot of stuff you can read about.
 
If he's only out for a few hours and the grass is really short, there shouldn't be too much problem. Let him play and be a horse for those few hours. Watch him like a hawk for any sign of lami - from footiness when he comes in (doesn't always show when with "his mates"). Fingers crossed.x
 
hudsonw said:
Hi, sorry if I'm being a bit dense but you've put he's out 3 hours with a muzzle and he's stabled for 13, that leaves 8 hours unaccounted for?
Click to expand...

Yea the other 8 hours he is out without his muzzle. :)

Thanks for all your advice, I think the best thing to do for him is watch him really closely and manage him accordingly.

Its so hard because he is fairly underweight atm. On adlib hay throughtout the night and is improving but lami is hard enough to manage without him being too skinny too!!!

Thanks :)
 
I've had my mare for 7years and she got laminitis for the first time this year.

I turn her out for 4hours with her muzzle on and she's stabled the rest with soaked hay. Were on cattle grazing and it's so lush at the moment that I'm on edge every time I bring her in.

I don't think I'll ever be able to feel at ease.
 
Our girl has lami and she's not overweight either :(
I feel for you!!
She's recently recovered from a severe bout of it (brought on by stress the vet thinks) so she's now only out for an hour per day with her muzzle and she's ridden every day.
She's fed Happy Hoof which she seems to love!! :) Last year she was out at night without her muzzle and she seemed to be quite happy with that and nothing came of it.
Good luck with your horse, its a nightmare isn't it!!
K x
 
8 hours with no muzzle and he's miserable for the other three? He's luckier than ours - they get NO muzzle off time, and no more than three hours at grass on a very good day. I'd be watching him like a hawk if I were you.
 
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