Feeding an aged lamintic boy!

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helly86

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Without saying too much, my friend has just aquired a horse who we think to be about 20-25. He is in poor condition and has suffered with bad laminitus prior to her having him. She has the vet coming tomorrow to give MOT but does anyone know from experience what might help to get this boys weight back up? She's asked for my help but I don't know enough to give advise on it, hence me suggesting the vet come but if I could come up with anything helpful I know she's appreciate it!
Thanks,xx
 
I knew someone who had an oldie who was laminitic (and had cushings) He had Blue Chip Pro, Outshine (not sure who makes it?) Happy Hoof, Speedibeet and a range of suppliments (BLK, Digest Plus and Global Herbs' Laminitis liquid)

Not sure if that helps but may be worth looking into them?
 
Its a tricky one as he is older and laminitic and in need of weight.
I would try happy hoof or hi fi lite accompanied by a laminitic type balancer(baileys lo-cal or blue chip lami light) if he does not improve.
 
I have a laminitic 29-yr old that holds his condition really well with Mollichaff Hoofkind (which is not as 'claggy' as some laminitic feeds which he won't touch), a touch of bran, speedibeet and some carrots/apples as well as soaked hay. He also gets at night 'seaweed and rosehip' which was recommended by my farrier (approx £16 for 3kg bag) and has really improved his feet. Tell your friend not to hesitate to phone the nutritionalists at various feed companies as they have always been really helpful whenever I have phoned for advice. Oh, by the way he only goes out for a few hours a day (providing not frosty or snow) and always with a grazing muzzle.
 
One of the first things she needs to do is get the teeth checked, as older horses often lose condition when their teeth start to deteriorate and they can't eat enough hay. She may be lucky and find that the horse dentist can remedy the situation, but usually it is necessary to partially or fully replace the hay with a short chop or soaked alternative. Obviously if the horse is laminitic they need to be careful, but both Spiller's Happy Hoof and Dengie HiFi Lite are short chop feeds which are suitable to be used as hay replacers and are approved by the Laminitis Trust which means they have controlled levels of soluble carbohydrates. Soluble carbohydrates such as starch and sugar are a dietary trigger of laminitis. Another alternative, if the teeth are really bad, is to soak something like Spiller's High Fibre Cubes (again Laminitis Trust approved) to a mash.

Another useful feed is unmolassed sugarbeet (such as Speedibeet) which is high in calories (dry weight it has a similar calorie level to many conditioning nuts/mixes) but low in soluble carbs.

If you are using non Laminitis Trust approved feeds then check with the manufacturer the total sugar/starch content. For a laminitic it should be below 10%.

If the horse is able to eat normal hay then it is best to get the hay analysed to ensure it is a low sugar type. Soaking the hay for at least 12 hours (in a decent volume of water) is a way to reduce the sugars in the hay, but may not be enough to make a high sugar hay 'safe' for laminitics. If you do soak hay to remove sugars then it will also remove vitamins and minerals in which case you will have to supplement these in some way.

Given the horse's age, poor condition and history of bad laminitis, it is quite probably that he may have Cushing's, and the vet may suggest having him tested for this. There is a drug treatment called Pergolide which is very useful in such cases and can help prevent further laminitic attacks.
 
qr- Fibre- and lots of it. If his teeth are ok, then ad lib hay. If they are poor then allen and page fast fibre is a very good hay replacer.

Other suitable feeds- unmollassed sugar beet, hifi light, Badminton fibre nuggets (can be soaked), alfalfa pellets (must be soaked) and linseed. All of these are low starch and sugar.

Pink powder would be a good choice too, as a vit/min supplement and probiotic.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Laminitic horses are best managed by keeping their weight well down (ribs and haunches showing). You most certainly do not want to put weight on them.

[/ QUOTE ] A lot of laminitic horses actually have Cushing's and therefore often have problems maintaining condition. Whilst you don't want to have them fat, you do need to make sure they are fed enough to keep them in healthy condition, so a minimum condition score of 2.5.
 
Thank you all so much, v helpful advice. TGM and Smudge 87, I took one look and though cushings so will suggest she look into it further. Thanks again.xx
 
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