Diet for a possible laminitic?

S

Stasha22

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 July 2006
Messages
434
Location
Bucks
Visit site
Lottie is still at the vets and I don't know yet when she will be coming home, but I want to be as prepared as I can. The vet isn't 100% sure that she has laminitis, but I think as she is showing all the signs it would be best to feed her as if she has.

Obviously I will run everything by the vet before she comes home.

I am going to send hay samples to D&H for analysis as I plan to give her soaked hay and I have read that it is well worth getting this done, plus it only costs £5.

I'm not really sure about what her hard feed should be? I should probably mention that she is not overweight, the vet said she is just right. She is not in any work as she was retired a few months ago due to severe kissing spines. Plan to have her out during the day (approx 8 hours on typical winter field) and stabled at night with ad-lib soaked hay (she doesn't eat masses so ad-lib for her is approx 3/4 slices).

At the moment I am thinking HI-Fi lite with maybe Topspec Comprehensive or Topspec AntiLam and KwikBeet, all fed at the recommended rates for a 15.2 TB. Or possibly D&H Safe & Sound with KwikBeet?

I spoke to the D&H helpline last week and am awaiting a call back from Teresa Holland with her recommendations.

Does this sound ok? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I really want to do the very best for her.

Thanks in advance.
 
Forgot to add that she is also suffering from Gastric ulcers at the moment due to the stress of everything that is going on (is on Gastrogard) so any diet must also be suitable for a horse prone to ulcers. Plus she is a very fussy eater so it will also need to be appetising.

She has been on Formula4Feet which I plan to carry on as their website says it is safe for laminitics, and I am also thinking about adding Yea Sac.

Talk about management hell!
 
Topspec is great for some horses but seriously disagrees with others. Another good balancer that seems ok for all is Bailey's Lo-Cal. It's cheaper than Topspec too.

Spillers (or D&H) High Fibre cubes are great. You can soak them to make a mush to add supplements, feed dry or put them in a snak-a-ball to make them last longer. Hi-fi lite is also good, although some horses are sensitive to alfalfa so you need to be sure before you use it. Safe and Sound is alfalfa-free and it's got little 'nuts' in it to make it look like a proper feed so some horses prefer it to hi-fi lite.
 
Teresa Hollands is fantastic - I'm sure she'll give you excellent advice
smile.gif
 
this is a good website to read for all round advice

http://www.laminitis.org/

there is some research into magnesium being important in the diet of a lammi prone, i have started feeding magnesium, i did used to feed laminaze 5* but thought that it wont single handedly save her from the awfulness of this condition

this part of the above website mentions magnesium and others, if you read up on magnesium and laminitis you will find a lot of interesting information
http://www.laminitis.org/feed%20supplements.html

hope your horse will be ok x
 
I would wait for Teresa Holland, & do exactly what she says, I use the Safe & Sound for my lammi pony, & if I need a bit extra I add some speedi beet. Don't think you need a balancer & the S&S as that is a complete feed. If she is currently suffering an attack you won't be able to turn her out at all, until she is sound in walk & the pulses are normal, could be 6 weeks I'm afraid, as advised by the laminitis clinic. Then you can start with an hour, & build it up, if the pulse increases, then reduce the time spent out. My pony's grazing muzzle has literally saved her life, might be good to get one?? She wears it all year round, as the milder climate means the grass is still quite good even in winter, she goes out overnight in summer, & all day in winter, & I diligently strip graze my field. Good luck, hope that helps a bit.
 
Thanks for all your helpful replies.

I just spoke to D&H to find out when I might be getting a call back from Teresa Hollands and have found out that she is away for a week. I'll ask the vet what feed he thinks she should be on but I think I am now leaning towards Safe and Sound with Kwik-Beet, Yea-Sac and Formula4Feet.

Kizzywiz - I know that ideally she needs to be kept in for longer but the vet has said that with all the other complications he does not feel it is viable to keep her on box rest for the normal period of time. Lottie's management is becoming an impossible balancing act and we have to try to do what is best for all her issues. Obviously if when she comes home and is turned out she has a further attack we will have to seriously think again but my vet is quite confident that she should be ok as we don't think it is food/grass related.
 
Good luck, of course follow your vets advice re: the turnout etc, sounds like you are doing absolutely everything you can to manage her & I hope it all works out.
 
Thanks. I do try to do the best for her but sometimes it just seems like it is not enough! Vet said tonight that hopefully she can come home on Saturday (will have been there for 2 weeks by then - expensive bill coming my way I think) so I can't wait.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top