Barefoot/turnout advice please

[janei]

My horse has been barefoot for a few years with no issues, we do have to watch his weight but I set up a track in his field. However he got quite footy on hard/stony ground recently and seemed a bit down, vet came to do routine vacs and advised treat as suspected lami - box rest 2 weeks, weighed and soaked hay and lose some weight. He has lost about 30kg with weight tape and is looking brighter, farrier came to trim last week and said not lami but to go with vets advice and manage his turnout accordingly.

so 2 weeks is up tomorrow, providing he is sound on hard ground - there is no digital pulse, no tender spot under coronet band, no heat etc then how much turnout should I start introducing? Also he needs to start exercising to help keep trim, should I just go back to normal exercise if he is sound? I generally ride 5-6 times per week mixture of hacking/schooling

thanks for tips/advice

 

[d_morrow]

Well I would say be guided by your vet on this, but one thing you could consider is to keep him in during the day and turn out at night, when the grass will have lower sugar levels.
Also, if he has had some time off it makes sense to drop the exercise levels back a bit to begin with - perhaps ease off on schooling for a while and just hack sensibly (eg walking, but uphill perhaps) until you are confident that he is 100 per cent. .

 

[canteron]

One of the good things about barefoot is it gives you an early warning system of lami. Did you notice whether it went puffy below and above the eyes, that is another thing I look for in my lami horse.

Regarding turnout, it slightly depends on what type of grass you have/how free draining and the amount of rain. As it has been a dry summer there has been a lot less lami about recently, but as most of us have had a lot of rain recently then I would be careful initially and reintroduce turnout very gradually.

I can keep my lami horse out 24/7 in winter and in summer when the ground is dry. So it really is a case of making a daily judgement. Best though to reintroduce it gradually and look out for the early warning signs (solid crest, footy over stones, puffy eyes, etc). But sounds as if you are really on the case as far as that is concerned.

One other thing, did your vet blood test for cushings. However unlikely it seems, it really is worth doing (even if your vet is unwilling push for it for peace of mind) as if he has even low grade cushings it will give you an indication of how you need to change your management routine to be more effective (and less work!).

 

[janei]

thanks for your replies. Am turning him out on small area in his field that is well eaten down - I know it has grass but is limited, first day he was out only an hour, yesterday he was out for 3 hours and exercised in the school - he felt great, very much more forward and happier! He had an hour this morning, then hacked (walked) he is still tentative on stony paths but otherwise was good, turned out this afternoon for 4 hours and am then gonna bring him in. His hay is weighed and soaked.

Canteron - he was a bit puffy round eyes and definitely appears much happier now so like you say am really hoping it was an early warning sign, I am totally paranoid about it though! Vet didn't test for cushings or IR/EMS at this time but it seems to me (my limited knowledge) that he is so much less tolerant this year so there may be an underlying issue which needs exploring - can I ask how much exercise you do with yours pls? Many thanks