fat little ponie's

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louise1967

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I bought my daughter a Welsh Sec a last Sept and I am now getting paranoid about laminitis. I have had horses before but never little fat ponie's. He is fat , but not enormous and has never had laminitis and I have restricted his grazing to 4 hrs per day at the mo.Anyone got any advise for me reguarding laminitis as I hardly know anything about it.
 
Oh dear, where to start? Firstly, I would turn him out at night and in during the day due to the grass being at its sweetest during the hottest part of the day. The sun produces fructans in the grass (sugars). At night, the fructans are at a much lower level.

Try to feed unfertilised hay during the day. There are lots of feed companies to choose from regarding bucket feeds if you feel the need to feed him. Look for anything with 'Approved by the Laminitis Trust' stamped on it, i.e. Hi Fi Lite, Spillers High Fibre Cubes etc.

Go on line and amass as much information as you can. Try The Laminitis Trust too, I printed off reams of information.

You are quite right to be paranoid as any and every horse is capable of getting it.

Pm me if you want any more info.
 
O Dear, was paranoid about mine too, she was quite chubby.....she losing weight now, due to more work and less feed!! slightly happier now! and i have had her for 3 years and shes never had it before!!

But definatly in during the day and out at night, and a very strict diet!! I also have a grazing muzzle!!!
 
Thanks for that, unfortunately all the horses at our yard are still in at night and out in the day, so I wouldnt want to leave him out on his own at night. I was feeding him happy hoof with a little top spec anti-lam, but stopped a few weeks ago. He gets ridden about 4 times a week but my daughter is only 4 1/2 so obviously not heavy work. I turn him out usually about 10ish for about 4 hrs, the grass thankfully isnt as lush as it could be due to the lack of rain, but he still seems to come in bloated everyday. I then bring him into a stable with nothing but water untill 7ish when he has a small haynet of haylage which we have to have as the yard dictate what bedding and hay/halage we use.
 
I'd turn him out for longer with a grazing muzzle, that way he will be wandering around more working for food and boosting his metabolism.
It's true what they say about grazing at night the grass is lower in fructan but to be effective its really got to be from dusk to dawn, not 4pm til 10 the next morning like people used to try and do with mine!
 
See if your YO will allow you to put up an electric fence so that you can control his grazing. Quite likely there could be a few other owners who would be only too glad to limit their ponies' intake as well, then you can share the job of moving it now and again, and possibly doing the water if the ponies can't get to a trough.

I wouldn't bother with hard-feed at all - unless the pony is doing A LOT of work, then he won't need it. Just give a very small amount of hay when he comes in. He may try to eat his bedding if it is straw, so shavings may be better.

Good Luck!
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Is the yard owner not adaptable? This would be quite worrying to me dusty.

To leave him for long periods without anything trickling through his system is not good for him either. Its finding a happy balance! What I do is use a small hole haylage net, then put that inside another small hole net so it lasts longer. I also have a decahedron treat ball which they love. Put a few handful of high fibre nuts in and let him play with it in the stable. He gets some exercise and fun from the long hours of boredom.

Also, you can do some stretching exercises with him using sugar free mints. Carrots are a no-no as they are high in sugar, same as apples. It would also be useful if you could do 20 minutes of gentle lunging with him each day.

I would speak to the YO and ask if you could get him some hay rather than the haylage. Although the haylage shouldnt create too much of a problem if other management factors are taken into account, hay would obviously be better. Perhaps you could also ask her if you could turn him out at night with a little friend?

Hope this helps.

PS This advise is from personal experience. You should really speak to your vet first (this is my disclaimer
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Thats an interesting point Peter. However, those horses who have laminitis should not worm. I was told this by the vet and by Wormers Direct due to the accociation of laminitis and the hind gut.
 
Thank you for all your helpfull advise, I am very gratefull, the muzzle always seem so harsh, like sending a kid into a candy store with a muzzle on thats why he only goes out for 4 hrs per day I felt too guilty putting a muzzle on him. He doesnt actually mind coming in on his own his stable is in an american style barn very open and airy and he is 2nd from the opening and I have got him a chain to go across his door so it feels very open and he can see whats going on in the farm at all times. I think I may get some hay rather than use the farmers haylage as a few people have suggested that to me, I already use a small hole haynet and have stopped feeding hard feed. I am also thinking of starting excersising him myself but at 9stone I feel too heavy for him he's only 12hh.
 
Okay. I've been in the same predicament with my kid's pony.

He's out 24/7 now, but the last few weeks of him being in we only had haylege. I soaked the hell out of it (for 12 hours at a time) , and fed restricted amounts. By restricted I mean one haynet inside another, and half a haynet of haylege. You can use hi fi lite as a hay replacer, and add a multi vitamin to a small amount of chaff to replace any nutrients etc he won't be getting from the haylege (as soaking will remove them). A horse needs a constant supply of roughage for it's digestive sytem, so this way there'll always be some available, it'lll just take longer to eat. Ours has a snackball, which we fill with small amounts of diced swede, fibre cubes etc. It keeps him quiet in his stable, keeps his mind busy and prevents hi just standing munching haylege all the time.

In the field he has a grazing muzzle on. Whilst he hasnt lost weight with this, he hasnt put any on either. The key is plenty of exercise. So walks inhand, lungeing etc will all help to keep the weight down. I find that by sticking to a walk when I'm working with him he doesnt get 'fit' and so is still calm for the children. I don't agree with strip grazing as this reduces the space for the pony to have a hooley and exercise himself. Much better to restrict the length of grass he can eat via a muzzle (the shires nylon one is good for ponies!) and give him plenty of space to gallop around.
 
All I can say is just be very careful guys, there is no age limit, as far as I am concerned they are always prone to it at whatever age, my friends horse is 14 and has just been diagnosed with it, so always expect it and be careful, that is what I do.
Kate x
 
I couldnt agree more Kate. My neighbour had to have her 21 year old pts last week after the mare went down with it for the first time and got it bad. So sad, after leading such a useful life my neighbour put her out on loan to an experienced family, 3 weeks later the story ends.

Imo, until you have experienced it for yourself, the enormity of the problem cant be truly appreciated. Once you've had it, a lifetime of watching and wondering starts.
 
put a muzzle on him so he can go out more, mine has had a cronic bout of it 2 years ago and he wears his everyday.. they may not look nice but they work... is he on hard feed? does he get exercised regulary?
also in regrards to a post above about worming - vets advise against worming when laminitic.
 
I have listened to all your comments and have done the doubling up with the small holed haynets today making it more difficult for him to get haylage out. I have got a bale of hay instead of using the farmers haylage to start as from tomorrow. I did go to the shop to buy a muzzle today but didnt have the heart to buy it I FELT TOO CRUEL!!!! I have also asked to section off a part of the geldings field for him to stay in, and it has been agreed. He is staying in tomorrow and being ridden untill the field is sorted now. Thanks for all your helpfull hints!!!!
 
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