Am i a bad mummy?

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MarinaBay

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I feel so guilty. I posted in here yesterday saying that I thought Angel might be in the early stages on laminitus. Well I had the farrier yesterdayand he confirmed that yes she is on the boarder of getting it.
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I feel so bad as I haven't been riding her as much lately and she has put on some weight. She does just have to sniff grass to put on weight but i so should have seen this coming sooner.
She has been in the shortest paddock at all times. I just hop I have caught it in time.
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and it she dosn' get a full bout of it.
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Farrier advised me to keep her in for 2 days then turn out at night only... he told me to do this yesterday afternoon, she has been in since. He sais not to ride her for a few days is this the right sort of advise? Sorry I have never dealt with it before and panic when its my baby! Could I turn her out tonight and then bring her in tomorrow or keep her in till tomorrow evening? I have heard that stress dosn't help and she isn't to happy being in.... The other thing is I am meant to be moving yards in the next week, will that unsettle her to much causing yet more stress!
Sorry so many questions but I am in panic mode!
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it will make no difference to whether you turn her out night or day, what you MUST do is restrict her grazing. strip grazing often works best or maybe use a grazing muzzle if you cant strip graze.
do NOT starve her in an attempt to get weight off her, give her the normal amount of hay she would recieve but soak for 24 hours first.
keep her off hard surfaces (the softer her bed right now the better) and watch carefully to see she is not getting worse.
if she appears to be getting worse, then call the vet and keep her in her box to minimise further damage.
good luck!
 
When you say early stages of lami and then say the farrier said that yes she is close to getting it, do you mean she has the hard crest? Or is she proper pottery? If she is pottery she has it and I would not advise any stress-related things. Don't turn her out unless you have had a vet to see her that tells you to do that. Does she have heat/pulse/stance of a lami?

Make sure she is on a very very thick shavings bed, soaked hay. No riding, no moving her and no stress!

And no, you are not a bad mum. My mare died from lami 3 weeks ago. She got an infection in her off fore and the stress and infection led to lami. It's an evil disease. You seem to have caught it early and I hope for a quick recovery for your mare.
 
Why your farrier said put her out at night is that the sugar levels in grass are a little lower at night. But if your girl already has laminitis, she can't go out on grass at all! Have you had the vet out yet?
 
Carrie1983 - So sorry to hear about the loss of your mare.

She will be in day and night for as long as she can stand. But i don't want to stress her out by keeping her in... tricky circle!
She is cresty, no pulse, slight heat from the coriner band, when he took her shoes off she did shift her weight slightly from foot to foot, she is a bit quieter then normal. He thinks we have caught her just in time.
I havn't had the vet out yet, do you think I should? The farrier said only if she gets worse.
She is getting the normal amount of hay that she would normally, shall i soak it or steam it?!
I guess i should keep her in for as long as poss, I am bringing one of her buddies in on a rota system, I feel bad bringing them in but she hates being in on her own so much.
Ideally what do you think I should do?
Sorry for so many questions I am in panic mode!
 
I think in your position I WOULD have the vet, but I'll probably get shot down in a barrel of flames for saying it, like I did on another thread not so long ago. Maybe the people who jump on me haven't had the unfortunate occurrance of watching their beautiful mare die from laminitis.

For the peace of mind and sound advice I would get from my vet, in this case I would pay the £30 call-out charge. If she has heat round the corinary band and is shifting weight then although you have caught it in time, it does sound like she's there sadly and I WOULD get the vet just to say where you are at and what you should be doing. I certainly would not be turning her out in 2 days' time if I hadn't had the vet's say-so.
 
When I say she is there, I mean the laminae are inflamed. She will probably need bute to reduce inflamation and any pain she is experiencing. He may also give her some ACP. Although it sounds very mild it is very very important to treat them ASAP as things can soon escalate. We had the vet out with the infection and as soon as she showed signs of lami we had the vet a third time. It was quite a mild attack then but then she had another attack which caused rotation and a third attack which made her a sinker. You can't odds it.
 
Thankyou for all your responses guys, will give the vet a ring. The vet visiting will stress her out more then anything she hates the vet big time! Will see if the female vet is on as she is much better with her.
Right so things for me to do -
- Big soft bed - its already rather large but will put shavings up to the door.
- Soak all hay for at least 12 hours.
- Keep in with adequate (sp) hay for a good few days
- get vet out.
What am I missing?!
Just so stressed at the mo my YO is away and I have her 2 to look after, one of which was meant to be a camp for a week but then reappeared last night at the yard! ????!
 
Do not move her even to muck out. Do not exercise her. Be positive around her. Strictly no grass or concentrates. You can feed lami-friendly chaff to give the bute if she is given any. Listen to everything your vet tells you and ask again 100000000 times if you have to. I would also postpone moving her.
 
Don't stress, you sound like a great mummy! you've picked up on the fact she's not quite being herself which is great AND you are doing something about it!

You're getting the vet out who will be able to tell you exactly what you should and should be doing based on her assesment of the horse. Vets tend to have slightly differing opinions on how to treat laminitas, some say in for a few days then gradually out and other say box rest for at least a week then no grass. Hopefully you trust your vet enough to take her advice
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http://www.animed.co.uk/laminitis.htm
Someone posted the above link when I was panicking about my borderline pony. I got the vet who at least gave me a bit of peace of mind (although pony didn't need any treatment). Pony was at the pottery stage, but caught him quick so it only lasted 24 hours. I kept him in for a couple of days, then let him out on the yard for another couple, then out at night with a grazing muzzle and now (a couple of months on) his daily regime is out during the day with a muzzle on and unmuzzled at night.
As someone said, the grass has a higher sugar content during the day so is more 'poisenous' to the hindgut. Stressed grass (ie that in starvation paddocks) is also higher in sugar and so is the stalk so if a field has been mowed or topped wait until it's greened up with leaves before turning out (the muzzle also prevents them from nibbling right to the bottom of the stem where the sugar is highest).
I know and understand why people panick about laminitis, but I think you can find a balance between minimising the risk of it and letting your pony having a decent quality of life, out in the fields with her friends.
 
I'd imagine the farrier is saying she is borderline because he may have seen some blood in her trimmings. That is usually one of the first signs a farrier will notice.

Turning out overnight, as has been said, is because the fructans are lower overnight than they are during the day.

If your horse is right on the cusp of having laminitis, then you stand a very good chance of dealing with it quickly and effectively. In the acute stage, she needs to be on a deep shavings bed and yes soaking her hay is the way to go.

Exercise is paramount. Even if it is just handwalking around the yard a few times a day. If the ground is uncomfortable for her to move on, then buy some Old Macs and these will give her the comfort she needs, but will also allow her the much needed movement. Exercise gets the blood circulation going in the legs and feet and this is exactly what you want to happen. To increase levels of blood circulating in the feet is your biggest chance of them self-righting; particularly at the stage you are at. So your farrier's advice is pretty much spot-on.

It would be very advisable to have a vet come check on Angel. Anti-inflams would be useful at this stage. Good luck.
 
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