Filled in hollows above the eyes - warning of laminitis

Thanks for the photos. Henry doesn't tend to get filled hollows/orbits, but maybe it's harder to tell the difference, as exmoors have 'toad eyes'. Main warnings with him are filled glands behind the jaw and puffy fetlocks. Hinds first, then fronts. Using these signs in conjunction with pulse checking he's been laminitis free for 5 years. Have already dusted the muzzle off. It's cleaned and ready to go on!
 
Fransurrey said:
Thanks for the photos. Henry doesn't tend to get filled hollows/orbits, but maybe it's harder to tell the difference, as exmoors have 'toad eyes'. Main warnings with him are filled glands behind the jaw and puffy fetlocks. Hinds first, then fronts. Using these signs in conjunction with pulse checking he's been laminitis free for 5 years. Have already dusted the muzzle off. It's cleaned and ready to go on!
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That's very interesting about the glands and the fetlocks. The big 17 hh WB here gets what I think are 'grass glands' but it may indeed mean that his system is finding it hard to deal with the grass sugars. My mare doesn't get them, nor does the other lami prone horse, but then they are restricted to a couple of hours a day on the grass and never put on lush grass. I do recall her getting them a few years ago though. I wonder if that was a warning of things to come?
 
Wagtail said:
That's very interesting about the glands and the fetlocks. The big 17 hh WB here gets what I think are 'grass glands' but it may indeed mean that his system is finding it hard to deal with the grass sugars. My mare doesn't get them, nor does the other lami prone horse, but then they are restricted to a couple of hours a day on the grass and never put on lush grass. I do recall her getting them a few years ago though. I wonder if that was a warning of things to come?
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Who knows, Wagtail. These are signs that I only took note of AFTER he had laminitis. Thankfully it was caught early and whilst there was a little rotation, he's in normal 'work' (he's a hacking pony), but I started taking an almost obsessive note of everything. When he was restricted from grass, the puffiness went down. I forgot to say that the other signs I look for when I think he may be having too much grass are spongy coronet bands. MUCH easier to check than a pulse and more reliable (I think) than relying on hoof heat, which is variable anyway. First sign of puffy/spongy areas and he's into a bare paddock on soaked hay.

I did try to find pictures of his eyes, yesterday and realised that in every shot, his ample forelock covers the tops of his eyes, so that might be why I never notice them!!
 
I checked all mine last night too. Funny how the full TB's have the deepest orbits. The warmblood/TB crosses have the more shallow ones. All were not puffy in the slightest. Good thing as they have been on saved long grass for a couple of hours per day. Then it's up to the swamp for soaked hay! And the sad faces of "we're so neglected"!

Terri
 
Dont always go on the hollows above the eyes for warning signs for lami, as my old gelding who diagnosed with severe EMS and lami, never once had filled in hollows above his eyes.
 
Thanks for posting this - although now im confused & concerned

My old cobby lad no longer with us, always had an incredibly hard crest, filled hollows/orbits even when he was an ideal weight never had lami either, my old lad who is 27 has never had lami, when he was younger had filled orbits and has only in his older years got hollows now :confused: and i also have a youngster, 3 in June, she also doesn't have hollows and you wouldn't say she was overweight, can see/feel ribs etc should i be worried?
 
Joyous70 said:
Thanks for posting this - although now im confused & concerned

My old cobby lad no longer with us, always had an incredibly hard crest, filled hollows/orbits even when he was an ideal weight never had lami either, my old lad who is 27 has never had lami, when he was younger had filled orbits and has only in his older years got hollows now :confused: and i also have a youngster, 3 in June, she also doesn't have hollows and you wouldn't say she was overweight, can see/feel ribs etc should i be worried?
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Personally I wouldnt panic yourself, like a said above my boy didnt once have filled in hollows all the way through his lami...but he did have a massive hard crest and 'fat pads' which is obvioisly another warning sign. He was cut late and extremely riggy so never ever lost the crest.
 
Fransurrey said:
Thanks for the photos. Henry doesn't tend to get filled hollows/orbits, but maybe it's harder to tell the difference, as exmoors have 'toad eyes'. Main warnings with him are filled glands behind the jaw and puffy fetlocks. Hinds first, then fronts. Using these signs in conjunction with pulse checking he's been laminitis free for 5 years. Have already dusted the muzzle off. It's cleaned and ready to go on!
Click to expand...

yes, I have Exmoors as well. With my 20yo it's his crest and coronet bands, if crest is less than very squishy he comes off the grass. That and checking for pulses all the time has done the trick. The 4yo is OK atm and starts work this year but still play very safe with him.
 
I had a Cushings pony with fat raised orbits, even when she was really poor she had them. She couldn't have any grass at all without raised pulses.
The next pony had EMS and had fat pads around her tail and on her crest, even when you could see her ribs clearly, she was lami prone as well, her orbits were alsways sunken.
I would say any unusual in size or distribution of fat is a bad thing, but the orbits are a nice easy daily checking point.
 
Joyous70 said:
Thanks for posting this - although now im confused & concerned

My old cobby lad no longer with us, always had an incredibly hard crest, filled hollows/orbits even when he was an ideal weight never had lami either, my old lad who is 27 has never had lami, when he was younger had filled orbits and has only in his older years got hollows now :confused: and i also have a youngster, 3 in June, she also doesn't have hollows and you wouldn't say she was overweight, can see/feel ribs etc should i be worried?
Click to expand...

The cob here has filled hollows and has never had any sign of laminitis, but we treat him as though he is possibly prone to it. Filled orbits can be a sign of Cushings, and not all Cushings horses get laminitis. As with people, they are all different, and their tolerances vary. But when I see filled orbits now, I always treat as though they are lami prone. You certainly can't lose anything by it.
 
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