Feeding a horse with laminitis

[PennyJ]

Can anyone help me please?
We have a big cob mare lodging with us at the moment with lami in all 4 legs. On a deep straw bed right up to the door. We were giving her '05 hay soaked, which she was refusing to eat. Not eating the straw bed either. Is getting to eat 1 full stubbs round scoop hifi original and 1/4 scoop bran (all wetted) and she ate all that up. that's 2x a day. Gave her some '06 hay dry and she's not that interested in that either.

Weight on Tuesday morning was 618kg, she's now down to 601 but she's eating virtually nothing, way below the 2% bodyweight calculation of what she should be eating. Should we be worried that the weight is coming off too quickly?

Can't say too much as you never know who's reading this, but I think her teeth are bothering her, but she's not ours and I don't think her owners are too bothered. They have agreed to the farrier trimming her feet though. She's a sweet thing, very grateful for all we've done to her, but we are worried about her eating so little.

Anyone any good ideas?

 

[bubbledreamer]

I would feed her Happy hoof as a hay replacer. Thats what my vet told me. Its really lo cal and sugar and its designed for laminetics.

 

[dozzie]

I would also use happyhoof. Is she on bute?

You could also try soaking the hay for 10 minutes as it might be dusty as it is old.

It may be that she does doesnt do well in a stable and being uncomfortable in her feet wont help. Has she got another horse next door to talk to? It might help to settle her. I just think you have to try lots of things until you find something that works.

I have a horse who will go off his food when stabled so I always try to get him out even for just an hour to keep everything moving. This usually does the trick. Once she is sound is there anywhere she go go to move about but not pigout? Obviously check with vet first.

It does sound like she may have a teeth problem too. But it hasnt stopped her becoming overweight!

 

[touchstone]

I have to say that I found Happy Hoof wasn't a suitable feed for my laminitic, and have heard similar reports from others too, even though it is Laminitis Trust approved.

Dengie have brought out a Healthy Hooves chaff, but you wouldn't be able to feed that as a hay replacer, but certainly it would help to boost any feed intake.

Hi Fi original contains molasses, so I would switch to Hi-Fi Lite as soon as possible if she will eat that.

Speedibeet is safe to feed laminitics and will help to keep her weight dropping too quickly which is dangerous; she needs to keep her system moving to help to flush out any toxins.

I'd also encourage getting her teeth done, it could be that if she has an abscess or something she will not want to eat and the toxins from that (and pain) will not help laminitis at all.

Hope she feels better soon!

 

[Thistle]

Happy hoof is 4.5% sugar, Hi Fi lite 4% so not much different. If you feed Hi Fi lite you will also need a feed balancer like Top Spec antilam.

Swap the straw bew for shavings, they will pack up into the foot better and support it.

12 hour soaked hay is best, she will probably get used it it, try rinsing it after soaking.

Do not feed bran, it affect the phosphorous/calcium ratio, or Hi Fi original as it is high in molasses (sugar).

Feed little and often and aim for 1 - 1.5% bodyweight, as she is on box rest she won't be using much energy.

Try sprinkling her feed with dried mint.

Do not feed apples, carrots etc as they are all high in sugar.

 

[openbluesea]

<<but she's eating virtually nothing>>
It definately sounds like a teeth problem,i dont see how laminitis would affect her apettite. On the contrary loosing weight will help her laminitis.
Does the Horse takes any other medications? I would strongly suggest get someone have a good check of her mouth.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I presume she has been seen by a vet. Many years ago we had a lami pony who was put on a restricted diet and she stopped eating completely. We tried everything to tempt her but in the end she became very ill and died. This was nearly 20 years ago and in recent years I have become convinced she had hyperlipaemia, which can happen in overweight ponies who are stressed (sorry bit of a vague description). I don't want to alarm you but if might be worth just running this past your vet because as I understand it , it is important to put sufferers on the fluids as soon as possible. Hope you don't think I am scare mongering but would hate to say nothing when this may just be a possibility. Good luck and hope she starts eating soon.

 

[Thistle]

Are you putting her drugs in her feed. Try putting them into a large syringe and mixing with a little honey and squirting them into her mouth.

You could also try adding a little diet apple drink to her feed.

 

[PennyJ]

Thank you for your comments.
I'm not too keen on Happy Hoof either.
I reckon she's only eating about 2kg a day, that's why I'm worried. She's perfectly happy in her stable, honestly, quite content to be there and very grateful to be being looked after.

We've tried soaked for 10 mins, soaked for hours as well as dry. It doesn't seem to make a difference, she takes a few mouthfuls and then ignores it. We know the hay is fine, all the other horses eat it including a very very fussy TB.

No she's not been seen by a vet. We are looking after her on behalf of a neighbour, who is away at the moment. It is up to them to call the vet out or give us permission to do so, we feel we are doing all we can but are not prepared to start shelling out money on someone else's animal. We are already looking after her for them which is saving them a fortune on livery costs. Sorry I know that might sound hard, but ... Yes she has been on bute though. That is also the reason she is on straw which is unlimited and free rather than shavings which we all know are not cheap at £6+/bale and we would have to start from scratch.

Please be assured that I am not a hard faced cow in any way shape or form despite how it might come across above. We are very concerned about this mare's future prospects, she would actually make a lovely broodmare being well put together and with the sweetest temperament, but we believe what will happen is that she will lose the weight, get better, be taken back by the owners and put back in her field for the cycle to start all over again. In many ways the kindest thing if they will not rehome her would be to have her PTS even though she deserves more than that.

 

[openbluesea]

If the Horse is in pain or discomfort due to teeth problem neither soaking or adding sweeteners will help her apettite. Please have in mind that if the Horse continues to loose weight so fast...with no or very little eating,it could destabilize her organism and make her immune system collapse. I hope your neighbours get back soon and decide what actions have to be taken. We are not here to judge you,you are already doing more than enough for this Horse and the fact that you are looking for advice through this forum shows that you are a caring person.

 

[Orangehorse]

I have been told not to feed Happy Hoof either to an overweight horse even though it is approved by the Laminitis Trust. It is very sweet.

 

[eekmon]

If the teeth are a problem then give her saoked Spillers high fibre pony nuts. But a visit from the EDT would be better. Good luck

 

[TGM]

If she is eating bucket food happily but not long fibre like straw or hay then it is almost certainly a teeth problem. Presumably before she got lami she was out at grass which is how she managed to get so fat with poor dentition. You do need to feed some low starch, low sugar, fibre-based feeds to compensate. We had an old laminitic pony with dental problems and she did very well on Spiller's Happy Hoof. It does contain some molasses (presumably for palatability reasons) but is low in sugar overall. Other options are Dengie HiFi Lite, Dengie AlfaBeet, Speedibeet or soaked Spiller's High Fibre cubes. I would suggest you ring either Dengie or Spillers for nutritional advice on what amounts to feed.

 

[TGM]

Also wanted to add that I think you do need to get the owners to agree to vet/dental treatment and also to run to a shavings bed. The shavings will compact in her feet and support her pedal bones much better than straw will. You do need to stress to the owners that they are in danger of being reported to the ILPH/RSPCA if they don't ensure their pony has the correct treatment.

 

[amandaco2]

shavings frog supports and acp with bute would do alot to relieve her pain.
it couldbe shes not hungry as shes in pain.
shavings is better bedding but a huge bed of chopped straw is better than nothing.
you could feed hifi lite with a mineral and vitamin only supp;liment rather than hay but obiously feeding that alone would cost a fortune!it would probably be cheaper to get the dentist/vet out!
i would also have a look at her mouth-preferably get a vet and referal for dental treatment for her as it sounds like shes possibly got a broken/loose tooth if she cant even manage hay.
2kg a day is not really enough. 1.5% of her weight is about right, 1% being the minimum i would feed.

hyperlipaemia is mobilisation of fats into the blood and causes heart the fail(the blood looks creamy like marg) due to lack of diety intake of energy.
if i horse gets it it is VERY serious.

while shes suffering an attack she needs as much fibre and as little sugars as possible-hence soaked hay(12hrs) /straw and a mineral and vitamin only suppliment is ideal.

really hope she starts eating soon, its a really awkward situation for you with her being owned by someone else.prehaps if they refuse to have their animal treated properly you should involve the ILPH or a similar society to help out-sometimes just a call from the ilph can be enough to get peoples butts into gear!

 

[mrsbloggett]

I'd like to add a warning about using straw beds for laminitics.

My pony had a bad attack of laminitis last August, she was immediately put on box rest (straw), but by October she still wasn't improving. It turned out she was eating the seed heads left in the straw and was therefore getting the equivilent of two large hard feeds of cereals a day!

I changed her to shavings and she improved within days. Just something to be aware of.

Re your neighbour being away, you are now "loco-parentis" and therefore should get the vet to assess the horse. Laminitis should be viewed as a veterinary emergency just like colic, call the vet and if your neighbour objects quote the "Animal Welfare Act 2006". Clause 5 states owners (or carers) have a duty "To be protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease"
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/act/index.htm