Barefoot/lammi peeps - when will the wretched grass be safe?

S

SCG

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 February 2009
Messages
269
Visit site
I have a 15.1hh, 8 yro, connie gelding who normally lives out 24/7, he went barefoot nearly 8 weeks ago and has such good, hard feet that the transition has been fairly effortless. He was sound right away on everything but very stony tracks and has been on the 'barefoot diet' for about a year prior to taking his shoes off. About 3 weeks ago he went footy and it was around the time we started to have some very severe frosts. I spoke to my trimmer who has been fab and so supportive, I stabled him for a couple of days with soaked hay but then as he was the only one in and he was only footy (as opposed to full blown lammi), I started turning him out during the day in a very small sectioned off area of the paddock, I put a load of straw down and in effect made him a sort of stable/straw bed area in the field where I tied his haynets up rather than having to stand on the very frozen hard ground. I also turned him out in boots and comfort pads and he was happy as larry to be out and could see his buddies and made sure he had plenty of soaked hay so wasn't interested in the tiny bit of frozen grass in his section.

This has worked well, being out in his little section during the day and in at night and has been a fab alternative to total box rest which I personally feel can be detrimental to the horse's mental health unless of course its having a full blown lammi attack.

On the advice of my trimmer, I also bought some Happy Tummy (http://www.finefettlefeed.com/index.htm) and after day 3 his footiness went, he is now perfectly sound and I don't know if it was due to this or the soaked hay/bringing in etc or a combination of the two but he's back to normal and that's what counts. (I am in no way affiliated to the company).

My question is (and sorry for such a long pre-amble), when is the grass safe? The forecast says that by Thursday the temperatures are coming up so all the frost and snow will be gone in a day or two after that, is the grass then safe? Does it still store fructans for a while from repeated freezing? Surely after all this snow and ice it must have stopped growing by now and have very little goodness left in it? I don't really want to be bringing in at night on a long term basis as I feel its healthier for him to be out and as he's fairly newly barefoot I also want him to be moving about as much as possible. Do you think I will be able to turn him out 24/7 again but keep him in a small section eg? He is in a fairly bare paddock, there is more grass down the bottom (currently sectioned off) but even that grass is sort of long and browny looking, it certainly doesn't look rich. I will keep soaking his hay as it can't hurt. Sorry for long post
 
The safety of the grass is dependent on the horse really. For my mare it is pretty much never safe - she seems very sensitive to any sugars so she is on a v bare paddock with soaked hay when needed. Spring is a total bugger! That said, after a couple of months of shoes off and regular road work she is very much less sensitive and therefore rather easier to manage.
There is always the possibility that your horse has a deficiency too or perhaps a sensitivity to alfafa or the anti fungal agents found in chaffs? For some horses there can be an endless array of things to go through! Can your trimmer help at all with other possibilities for the footiness as there are a few options. Your trimmer will have seen your boys feet and will know your management routine so would be in a better place to offer advice specificaly for your boy.
 
Yes I know what you mean, every horse is different it seems. He has never been footy or sensitive to frost or anything before so far as I am aware but of course it may well have been going on underneath his shoes without me noticing, I am now so much more aware of my horse's feet, his environment, diet, everything. He was often quite relucant to go forwards and sometimes even nappy for no obvious reasons at all (all usual back, tack, teeth etc done) and in retrospect I now think its possible he had hoof pain/discomfort or lgl that I didn't recognise at the time.

I can't wait to get him working again, because of the footiness and then the weather he hasn't been ridden for 3 weeks, I think regular work is one of the best preventatives for lammi.

Re feed, he has a scoop of topspec top chop lite (no molasses) just so I can put in the magnesium, salt, small amount of linseed/brewers yeast/seaweed mix, Happy Tummy charcoal stuff and the last bit of GH Restore. Im looking into getting a decent multivit and mineral supplement as think the linseed is fattening and the seaweed high in iodine and not particularly beneficial for vits and mins. Surelimb was recommended to me but think it may be too high spec for my native.

Yes I will contact my trimmer to see what she thinks and as she says nobody knows my horse like I do and it may be a bit of trial and error I guess.
 
Your feed is v similar to mine! I just leave out the seaweed and use yeasacc as she does seem to have rather a sensitive stomach! I am aware that the antifungals in the chaff might cause probs, so I am thinking of swapping to a little speedibeet. She doesn't get a tea for cals, only for her supplements so is easier from that point of view! We are also off work and it isn't doing her feet the world of good! With your boy it might just be a combination of less work and the frost. It is due to be warmer from thurs so we might be cut a break!
Have you found the happy tummy to be useful? I'm considering it for my mare to see if I can clear out whatever is causing her v slight footyness atm. She will happily go over any ground, just not with quite the forwardness that she usually would. Does he eat it up ok?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top