EMS management support/solidarity thread?

teacups said:
Thanks for all responses: it's really useful to read what others' experiences and strategies are.

Could I ask, without having to do the research myself, which types of bagged haylage are OK to use for EMS/laminitics, please?

So far we've managed to soak as, apart from 2 days, we've had running water by mid afternoon and been able to drain the soaking container, and then refill it. I soak for about 3-4 hours (my vet advised 1-2 hours), sometimes longer. Ice is lifted off the container in the morning and nets put in. By about 2 pm they are taken out & drained for quite a while, before we've put them under cover. Even so they have frozen on the outside when it was -5C or lower (lowest here was -10C), and during those days we took the net into the house in a large plastic bag to defrost. We're lucky enough to have horses at home, so also access to pouring a boiling kettle of water or two into the water tub to encourage drinking.

It's been a lot of work and going back and forth. Knowing of an alternative would be handy, also as I think my hay supplier is going to run out of hay (we don't have storage for more than a couple of months' worth of hay unfortunately)
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We have used:
- Horsehage High Fibre and Horsehage Timothy
www.horsehage.co.uk

HorseHage Analysis

View the HorseHage nutrient analysis, including energy, protein, fibre, and essential vitamins for equine health.
www.horsehage.co.uk www.horsehage.co.uk
- Mole Valley High Fibre (can’t seem to find the analysis online)
- Country Haylage High Fibre Meadow Mix
https://www.countryhaylage.co.uk/_files/ugd/286ec6_50647d7926d941c59eb09a07bc1fc05d.pdf (Top analysis table)

For active laminitis our vet advised to mix with straw - up to 70% straw 30% haylage as needed. For maintenance we have fed mostly haylage, with free choice straw in the bed or in a large tub once the haylage has gone.

You’re looking for under 10% combined sugar and starch.
 
Has anyone got any experience of feeding Alpha Lipoic Acid(ALA)? It’s not a supplement I have any experience of but a ForagePlus advert for 20% off has just dropped into my inbox (it’s ALPHA20 for anyone who does feed it….)

It’s not a supplement I have come across before but I do have a pony who is borderline EMS & PPID so I thought I would ask on here for any success stores…
 
paddy555 said:
Kingofmagic has your vet had your hay tested? if not then as above I would get it tested to see what you are dealing with. You could use say Forageplus or D & H or other companies to do this. I have for example 2 sorts of hay from the same supplier, one is not even safe for my EMS/PPID horse even with a very long soak yet the other could be fed without any soaking (I soak just for a few minute for the dust) It is best to know what you are dealing with iro hay.

If your horse is giving up on eating I would be asking if he could have Marksway haylage Timothy. I find Timothy very safe and that make is very very palatable.
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No we've not had the hay tested. Its difficult as I just buy my hay from the dairy farm he's at. Spoke to the vet yesterday and she said to mix dry hay in with the wet and he's started eating it now. So I'm going to continue with this.
 
teacups said:
Thanks for all responses: it's really useful to read what others' experiences and strategies are.

Could I ask, without having to do the research myself, which types of bagged haylage are OK to use for EMS/laminitics, please?

So far we've managed to soak as, apart from 2 days, we've had running water by mid afternoon and been able to drain the soaking container, and then refill it. I soak for about 3-4 hours (my vet advised 1-2 hours), sometimes longer. Ice is lifted off the container in the morning and nets put in. By about 2 pm they are taken out & drained for quite a while, before we've put them under cover. Even so they have frozen on the outside when it was -5C or lower (lowest here was -10C), and during those days we took the net into the house in a large plastic bag to defrost. We're lucky enough to have horses at home, so also access to pouring a boiling kettle of water or two into the water tub to encourage drinking.

It's been a lot of work and going back and forth. Knowing of an alternative would be handy, also as I think my hay supplier is going to run out of hay (we don't have storage for more than a couple of months' worth of hay unfortunately)
Click to expand...
As said above, the more main stream brands- Horsehage High Fibre, Horsehage Timothy, Country Haylage High Fibre Meadow Mix, Silvermoor Lite, Silvermoor Timothy.

Depending on where in the country you are there could be some other brands, you need them to be under 10% sugar & starch combined. We have a brand called Timage who have a lite option. Do note that a lot of feed store's own brand haylage will be ryegrass based and not suitable at all.
 
Both of mine are fat 😬 so I’ve just ordered a new ThinLine muzzle, just looked at FB and a local farm cut silage last week! Bloody grass
 
Is anyone else fed up with the weather? It's too icy for us to get out, some can get out but I'm worried about the hard ground for my EMS guy. We have been snowed on the last few days and it's now turned to ice. He has been out in it briefly at the start of the week but I'm convinced he's not right. No signs of laminitis but not right, whether it's stiffening up from being kept in, who knows. Between that and arthritis you can't do right for doing wrong!
 
holeymoley said:
Is anyone else fed up with the weather? It's too icy for us to get out, some can get out but I'm worried about the hard ground for my EMS guy. We have been snowed on the last few days and it's now turned to ice. He has been out in it briefly at the start of the week but I'm convinced he's not right. No signs of laminitis but not right, whether it's stiffening up from being kept in, who knows. Between that and arthritis you can't do right for doing wrong!
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Me.

I just can't get the rugs right with my PSSM / arthritic mare. Totally boiled her the other night so changed out rugs only to find her stiff & grumpy this morning. She's another who could do without icy grass nibbles but rock & hard place etc...
 
I'm feeling so deflated. Had the vet tonight for Merlin's 7 day check up post coming out of hospital after his admittance with laminitis and his initial EMS/PPID diagnosis. Vet was happy with how he was looking mobility wise, still a little bit stiff on the turn but 10x better what he was when he first got admitted to hospital. However - his pulses are back in his hind feet, which had disappeared prior to discharge from hospital. His front pulses are still the same. Very deflated about the hind foot pulses returning :(
I spoke to another vet at the practice the other day when Merlin wouldn't eat his soaked hay who told me to mix a couple of handfuls of dry hay in with the wet just to get him eating, which has worked. The vet I had this evening told me she wants him on purely soaked hay and if he doesn't eat it, then so be it - I felt like I was being told off! I'm obviously sensitive at the moment as I'm so worried about him so maybe I'm just being a wet wipe. She also told me that the vet I spoke to the other day discussed the chance of liver damage with me - that never happened, but she's added it to his notes?! So now I'm panicking he's got liver damage too!! All we spoke about was Prascend an Ertigliozin affecting appetite - nothing about liver damage!
I'm going to ring the practice tomorrow and ask to speak with the two vets who were working with Merlin when he was at the hospital, as I feel like there's too many chefs here and information isn't being relayed properly. Which is resulting in me becoming a nervous wreck!!
On the positive, she has decreased his bute to one a day instead of two and is going to put him on Perogolide paste instead of the Prascend tablets so we can taper his dose more accordingly which will help with any appetite issues.
I just feel like I'm doing everything I've been told to do, trying my best to get food into him as he is ulcer prone and I don't want to eradicate the laminitis to be left with another issue of ulcers.
She also told me to keep an eye on how much he's drinking as he's on box rest and not moving around, he's at more of a chance of colic. I know she has to warn me, but I just feel like I've been told every worse scenario going - again, I may be being over-sensitive which is probably the case. I'm just emotionally exhausted :(
 
Kingofmagic05 said:
I'm feeling so deflated. Had the vet tonight for Merlin's 7 day check up post coming out of hospital after his admittance with laminitis and his initial EMS/PPID diagnosis. Vet was happy with how he was looking mobility wise, still a little bit stiff on the turn but 10x better what he was when he first got admitted to hospital. However - his pulses are back in his hind feet, which had disappeared prior to discharge from hospital. His front pulses are still the same. Very deflated about the hind foot pulses returning :(
I spoke to another vet at the practice the other day when Merlin wouldn't eat his soaked hay who told me to mix a couple of handfuls of dry hay in with the wet just to get him eating, which has worked. The vet I had this evening told me she wants him on purely soaked hay and if he doesn't eat it, then so be it - I felt like I was being told off! I'm obviously sensitive at the moment as I'm so worried about him so maybe I'm just being a wet wipe. She also told me that the vet I spoke to the other day discussed the chance of liver damage with me - that never happened, but she's added it to his notes?! So now I'm panicking he's got liver damage too!! All we spoke about was Prascend an Ertigliozin affecting appetite - nothing about liver damage!
I'm going to ring the practice tomorrow and ask to speak with the two vets who were working with Merlin when he was at the hospital, as I feel like there's too many chefs here and information isn't being relayed properly. Which is resulting in me becoming a nervous wreck!!
On the positive, she has decreased his bute to one a day instead of two and is going to put him on Perogolide paste instead of the Prascend tablets so we can taper his dose more accordingly which will help with any appetite issues.
I just feel like I'm doing everything I've been told to do, trying my best to get food into him as he is ulcer prone and I don't want to eradicate the laminitis to be left with another issue of ulcers.
She also told me to keep an eye on how much he's drinking as he's on box rest and not moving around, he's at more of a chance of colic. I know she has to warn me, but I just feel like I've been told every worse scenario going - again, I may be being over-sensitive which is probably the case. I'm just emotionally exhausted :(
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Honestly if that was my experience with a vet in the midst of acute laminitis, I would be looking at changing vets. Mine have been nothing but supportive during my horse's current unexplained laminitis episode - remember, you are paying for a service, not a scolding. If it's any consolation, my horse came in lame with laminitis on 20th December, she still has weak pulses in hinds and still very lame on a circle. It was explained to me that some horses recover quickly whilst some can be very slow progress. It seems there is definitely conflicting advice about soaked hay - I would be getting a refractometer to measure the sugars in your hay, it may give you some piece of mind re soaking. Have you had X-rays? My vet explained the laminitis itself can clear but if there has been rotation this can make the horse still symptomatic and still appear very laminitic.

Apologies for the rambling reply - just empathising as I'm currently in the laminitis trenches and can't imagine what it must be like with vet giving a ticking off
 
Tbf I've had nothing but good experiences with them until then. They're the best vets round here and the vets that other vets refer to, so I have no other option! But no, you're 100% right. The visit just left me feeling so deflated and down. Almost doubting myself that I'm not doing enough. I'm really sorry to hear about your horse and I really hope she gets better soon! It's so horrible being in this situation and I completely empathise with you.
I have been looking into getting a refractometer. Yes, he's had two lots of x-rays and no rotation or movement of the pedal bone thank god. He's also got gauze blocks on his frogs to help support/lift the sole.
No need to apologise - it helps a lot and I appreciate you taking the time to reply!!
 
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