Advice r.e. Laminitis

Mynyddcymro

Mynyddcymro

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Just after a little help and advice really from all you knowledgeable HHO's!

Tigger my shetland has got laminitis. Gutted is an understatement. I've finally got my way and he is now stabled with hay and out in the day in the menage. He has been given bute and was a different pony minus the pain, back to his extra cheeky self.
YO thinks I should be lunging him now whilst lame like you would with a navicular case but I can't recall ever hearing to do this in the past.
The day he is sound again will be the first day of being lunged every day for the rest of his life because the thought of letting him get like this again is awful. It truly broke my heart watching him struggle to walk across the yard.
So, what should I do now? Carry on with the stable/menage routine and leave be or try lunging (unless it's a majority vote at lunging I won't do it because I see no point in pushing him to move around on poorly feet without any benefit other than weight loss - which is a good thing but can wait now he's not getting grass).

Thanks in advance!
 
OMG! Yard owner is totally wrong! DO NOT LUNGE HIM!

With Lami you should box rest him until he is sound and some even box rest for up to 30 days AFTER horse is 100% sound. To lunge his whilst his condition is acute is a death sentence for him DONT DO IT!

Lunging is one way of keeping his weight down long term so as he does some exercise and helps keep his weight down, but there are lots of other ways to exercise him that are better than lunging. Long reining, driving, leading from another horse or a bike sping to mind.

I am no expert but to lunge a horse with acute laminitis is insane.
 
Personally I would leave be until he was sound again, I can't see lunging whilest still lame would achieve anything. Seeing as he's a little chap daily turnout in a menage should be enough to boost circulation and thus help the healing process.

Good luck with the little one, I know how arwful it is for a horse to suffer with lami :( my big cob has only just recently come sounds from a long spell of it :(.
 
What did the vet say?

He should be on box rest with no movement (on a deep bed) until he is sound for a few weeks. He should be on a small amount of hay to keep the gut moving - cutting down, but not starving.. I would then start leading him in hand, and build up to time in the menage. Let your vet be your guide - not your YO (who is giving advise that used to be given years ago, but is now considered wrong..) and not even us on the forum, who haven't seen the horse.

From now on he will have to be monitored, but could be fine if you do the right things.. We found grazing muzzles the way forward, combined with exercise.
 
Why on earth would your YO want you to lunge him if he's still lame?

Definitely no to that one.

Agreed that once he is comfortable then exercise will help to prevent him getting lami again in the future but only once he is comfortable moving.

You sound like you've got the perfect set up for him at the moment. Movement is important, but only as much as the horse is comfortable with. If they don't want to move then don't force them. Being out in the menage during the day is ideal as it is a nice soft surface. As he becomes more and more sound then I would place his hay at various points around the menage to encourage him to walk around more, but at his own pace! Never force movement on a laminitic horse.
 
Have you saked your vet about lunging your pony?
I would not lunge him if he is still in pain.
When Lucy had her first attack she was on box rest for weeks. She only came out her box to stand with all four feet in buckets of water.
Once she was sound and happy again I was aloud to start hand walking her for 10 mins and slowly built up the work till she was back in ridden work work but this took several weeks.
I would talk to your vet before making any desition about working him. Lucys attack was very very bad (rotation in all four feet :() But I don't see how any pony would benifit from working while in that much pain.
 
I presume a vet has been involved since the start of the laminitis as this is an illness that needs careful and correct management from the outset to maximise your chances of recovery? If he is still lame now, as it sounds, then you have all ready got too much movement going on by putting him out even for a short time. Sorry to be harsh. Get him in a stable with a thick wall to wall bed of shavings/flax/wood pellets to support his feet. Soak his hay for at least 12 hours before feeding it to him. Give him extra nutritional support with the recommended amount of Topspec Antilam. Frog supports will help now and discuss with vet and farrier the need for x-rays and what is going to be appropriate for him regarding shoeing/trimming.

Do not lunge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once he is sound, and has been sound while remaining on box rest for some time (a couple of weeks or so), then you can consider starting to reintroduce turnout and exercise. Lunging is still likely to be too intense a form of exercise for some time to come.

Have a read here http://www.laminitis.org/ and here http://www.laminitisclinic.org/
 
My horses had an attack this summer. You pony should be stabled on a bed of deep shavings to support his feet. You should give bute and sedalin. I wouldn't even turn him out in a menage. You should give him old soaked hay, and do not move him or do any exercise. When he is sound off painkillers leave him in for 30 days. It is very stressful and hard work, but thats what i did with my boy and he is now back in work. Good luck x
 
What a muppet your YO is...Do Not Lunge Your Pony.

Your pony should be stabled on a deep bed, not taken out of the stable, not even to muck him out. Weight loss should be done though his feeding not exercise. Soak his hay for at least 12 hours, stop all hard feed, no treats even carrots or apples. Your vet should have given you bute and sedilin.
Your pony needs to sound off bute before turnout is even thought about.
Your vet should gave suggested x-rays and speak to your farrier.
If you need to feed anything then get some Happy Hoof or Healthy Hooves and feed as recommended on the bag.
Do not turn out if it's frosty or on wet and warm days.
 
I've just had my whole reply deleted - typical.

Thankyou for all the replies. Vet and farrier have seen him and agree with his new routine.
Honey 08 - that would explain the lunging theory. YO is a 70+ year old woman however is very experienced and knowledgeable but didn't agree with her idea of lunging as that goes against box rest.

Just to clear up Tigs' routine..
He's on a deep shavings bed on rubber matting and goes out between 9am - 3pm on a thick rubber menage where he is completely sound - even before he was on bute.
He is only receiving two wads of hay which lasts him from 3pm till the following morning and he usually leaves a little bit - unlike most Shetlands he has never been incredibly greedy he just piles on the pounds.
Before he got brought in he did have a grazing mask but whenever I turned up at the yard I found it hung up on the fence post - atleast now I know he's not getting any grass at all.

Thanks for all the replies and i'll have a look at them websites too!
 
Hudsonw - my YO really isn't a muppet, quite the opposite and well respected within the showjumping circuit. She was simply going on what she knew from years ago.
Tigger has a tiny handful of Happy Hoof along with Lamiguard just to get the supplement into him.
 
DO NOT LUNGE, rest is very much needed. hope all will be ok, heres a wee recipe i used, made it uo myself but it's great try it.
cut some nettles just from field good handful and boil like soup with loads of garlic in it loads. once cooked put in blender then seive and cool. when left with juice put into syringe (ex large syringe) bout 5 or 6 in her same as you would worm a horse. store rest in a old bottle (coke bottle) or anything keep in fridge till need. give this night and morning give her as much as she will take you can give her anything with this as is all natural. this is my own remedy and it is amazing for circulation and heat in hoof. do this for few days or week. but should see a difference with heat in hoof after 1st day .
worked on my horses and my uncles and friends. try it hope it works for you.
 
charm said:
DO NOT LUNGE, rest is very much needed. hope all will be ok, heres a wee recipe i used, made it uo myself but it's great try it.
cut some nettles just from field good handful and boil like soup with loads of garlic in it loads. once cooked put in blender then seive and cool. when left with juice put into syringe (ex large syringe) bout 5 or 6 in her same as you would worm a horse. store rest in a old bottle (coke bottle) or anything keep in fridge till need. give this night and morning give her as much as she will take you can give her anything with this as is all natural. this is my own remedy and it is amazing for circulation and heat in hoof. do this for few days or week. but should see a difference with heat in hoof after 1st day .
worked on my horses and my uncles and friends. try it hope it works for you.
Click to expand...

Not saying that this doesn't work, but personally I| wouldn't do it with a laminitic. Laminitis is often triggered by gut distubances and large volumes of garlic will kill off the beneficial bacteria as well as any nasties and leave your horse vulnerable to another laminitis attack. Large quantities of garlic have also been associated with anaemia, and although you'd have to feed loads of it to cause this, I still wouldn't be happy for a horse with and already challenged system to have large quantities of garlic.
 
touchstone said:
Not saying that this doesn't work, but personally I| wouldn't do it with a laminitic. Laminitis is often triggered by gut distubances and large volumes of garlic will kill off the beneficial bacteria as well as any nasties and leave your horse vulnerable to another laminitis attack. Large quantities of garlic have also been associated with anaemia, and although you'd have to feed loads of it to cause this, I still wouldn't be happy for a horse with and already challenged system to have large quantities of garlic.
Click to expand...

Agreed - I don't giver garlic to any of mine and advise people to avoid it.

Like the use of nettles though - all I do is cut down nettles, let them dry for a few days then feed them.
 
Thanks for the recipe although I think i'll steer clear simply because he's happy with what he's getting at the moment and i'm too much of a wuss to pick nettles
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.. Plus I remember reading something about garlic not being all it's made out to be.
 
The dangers of a horse having Laminitis is that the pedal bone will rotate and/or even sink eventually going through the sole of the foot. If this happens then the horse will have to be put down.

Your horse should be kept in 24/7 on a thick bed and be fitted with rubber foot supports.
Any hay you feed your horse should be soaked for at least 1 hour to remove the nutrition. Your horse should be fed a small amount of hay every 4 hours and nothing else.

Your vet should x ray the feet of your horse to determine any rotation that has occured.

Your horse should remain in it's stable 24/7 until it has been sound for at least 4 weeks. Only then should it be taken out for very short walks for the first fortnight and returned to it's stable.

Your vet should also determine what triggered this incident of laminitis by carrying out a blood test.

Laminitis can be caused by a number of different triggers such as Cushings Disease, Insulin Intolurence, Medical Strees, Concushion of the feet and emerging encysted small red worms.

Once a horse has had Laminitis it is more likely to get it again and it is important to worm it regularly.

Do not put your horse n a menage for at least 6 months after it is completely sound as this will lengthen it's recovery period or even worse cause more damage.

Take a look at the Laminitis Trust website.

Also would suggest feeding your horse a small amount of Formula4Feet daily as this will help your horse.
 
The lunging thing is now dis-proven. I once heard about a horse with Laminitis being hauled along behind a car in a last ditch attempt to get it moving - this was back in the 80's though & it made me cringe then. Horse was PTS.

Good luck with your little chap, it sounds as if he's responding well to treatment.
 
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