Advice Please - new to laminitis

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pepperandoran

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I have a companion pony on loan to keep my horse company.
He has had laminitis in the past.

Can anyone with experience share advice with me please. I have never had to manage a pony that is prone to laminitis before. I have a grazing muzzle that came with him - its one with a hole at the bottom so that he can still get a picking of grass through it. When would you normally start to use this? I.e. how much grass would there need to be? How long do you leave it on?

We are up in the highlands of Scotland so our grass is a lot later at arriving in Spring.

What else should I be looking out for/doing?

Any advice greatly welcomed!
 
I posted about laminitis yesterday - and got some very helpful responses on long term management - well worth a read.

On top of that I would say look at the pony, measure its waist, look at the bit above their eyes, feel its feet for heat, and monitor any changes daily, so you can pick up the signs early.

Also... don't be fooled by your pony that it is starving, you have to be tough minded and keep it on very small rations!!!!

Good luck.
 
I would start using the muzzle now as the shorter the grass the more goodness is in it, I would leave the muzzle on whenever he is at grass. My big horse has a greenguard grazing muzzle, becuase he can eat for England so it is used as a weight control, he has it on whenever he is in the field, winter or summer. You will need to keep an eye on the temperature in his hooves, we had one pony on my yard a couple of years ago, never had laminitis before, she was a little uneven in the field one morning, checked temperature by feeling hooves, were a little warmer than would normally expect, called vet who was pleased that we had caught the laminitis before it really took hold and the condition was managed and nipped in the bud before it took hold so thus avoiding full blown laminitis. Just be vigilient, even over cautious a telephone call to the vets costs nothing.
 
I would start putting the muzzle on now to be honest as the first spring grass will be coming soon (even in the Highlands
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). Obviously you can't keep the muzzle on 24/7 so depending on your size of field and how much grass there is you may need to section an area off to put the pony in when the muzzle is off, either that or bring it in. I used to turn our wee one out with muzzle on and bring her in at night all year round
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.
Signs to look out for what looks like stiffness and general being footy, this can be in one or all four feet. Generally you find it tends to flair up in pairs, either the front or back feet but as I said can be in any. Oh and obviously, try to keep its weight down.

Good luck
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Yes he will be out 24/7. I was going to have the muzzle on say through the day and take it off at night but section off a small part of the field for him and keep it bare!

Does this sound reasonable?

Its so different as my old companion pony before was not a good doer so needed plenty grass!
 
Without getting too technical, just keep him 'lean'. Not underweight though - just lean. I watch my horses's weight like a hawk as he had laminitis year before last.
Over the winter I over rugged him and fed him a little too much, and he developed a crest, and he became ever so slightly unsound. Alarm bells rang, so I immediately put a lightweight rug on him and cut his feed down to next to nothing just to get the weight off. It worked a treat, and now he is a perfect weight (slightly lean) with no signs of laminitis. He is also on a very good laminitis supplement.
 
Good advice above, I use my weigh tape weekly to monitor weight increases (decreases are fine!) and make sure he is exercised as much as possible...I aim to have him slightly sweaty after each ride.
 
i dont like muzzles but i strip graze so i give a tiny bit of grass every other day. if ffeding hay soak it for a good 12hrs to take all the goodness out of it. if going to feed hard feed look out for the lammi trust logo on the front of the bags then that way you know it is safe to feed. keep hoofs in good nick at all times. nettle herbs are very good for lammi ponys because it gets rid of all the free radicals in there body and hawthrone is very good aswell because that gives good circulation to the lammi. weigh tape every week to keep an eye on his weight even if you can not ride i got fast pace of work for twenty minutes a day keeps the fat gene away! keep an eye out for heat and digital pluses and for a cresty neck! i hope this helps!x
 
I don't like muzzles either. We have a lamintic because she is an escapologist!! We restrict her turnout and stable her for part of the day.

The laminitus trust give very good advise which also dispels myths!! Don't starve your pony and you CAN give SB. Keeping the digestive system working with lo-cal hi fi is important.

My pony has been on restricted grazing for 4 weeks but we are in France. Your grass should not be a problem for a few weeks yet.

NOTE we found our pony became very dehydrated on dry rations and actually had a mild bout of colic. By accident we found she likes WARM water. We give her a bucket each morning and it seems to help as she drinks gallons and we suppose it flushes through her system.
 
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