gutted - laminitis and a warning

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JLD

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I have done literally everything to protect my pony from laminitis, he is nice and slim, had restricted grazing, soaked hay, in from late morning to dusk to avoid high fructans and is now on box rest with full on laminitis after reacting badly to a horse fly bite !! Also a warning as he doesn't have particularly hot hooves or bounding pulses and was seen by both farrier and vet the day before ( routine and for fly bite ) neither of whom could find any signs of laminitis - i asked them to check as his legs were a bit filled and he wasn't quite right. please tell me good things about 'good' laminitis stories - i feel i must have done something wrong and its my fault but i have tried so hard to keep him well. he has not to my knowledge had it before although vet reckons he has but was bordering last year hence my concern this year.
 
Ten, and no but he will be now ! I discussed it with my vet earlier this year but he was happy that everything was so under control and looking good that continuing preventative measures were all we needed.
 
TGM said:
How old is pony and has it been Cushings tested?
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This. And they can get concussive laminitis too so could be caused by that. But cushings would be my first thought. They end up getting laminitis no matter what you do - we had to put our shetland down a few months ago because she kept getting repeated bouts even though we took her off grass completely and she was on old hay and on very low sugar feed :( If yours is early though, putting them on prescend can really help, one of my other ponies was diagnosed with cushings about 4 years ago and (touch wood) has been great on it.
 
It's not just one event, except in catastrophic cases, which leads to laminitis (which is merely a symptom of another event or condition) and there could be a chain of them or historic management failures before he came to you.

You need to treat as for emergency laminitis (box rest on very deep shavings bed and conservative feeding of roughage) before consulting a vet and deciding on pain management and finding the trigger.

I wish you all the best with him - ponies mostly fare better than horses, due to their size, but it is gutting when you have done your very best to guard against it.
 
Hi - the vet has been 4 times in 6 days ! Twice in the 2 days before the laminitis became evident as he had lymphangitis after reacting badly to a horse fly bite. i really can't think what else i could have done differently - i have treated him as high risk all the time i have had him :-(
 
Had a massive problem to with lower leg swelling... Thought it was lymphangitus but was an allergy to Biotin. Have 2 shetlands with Lammi issues... (only in the very wet weather!) Have box rested all and given limited forage together with 'safe and sound' with Lamineze. All looking sound (fingers crossed?) Also a very small starvation paddock together with grazing masks... Good luck xx
 
Hey, all you can do now is look after your boy to keep him comfy, follow your vets instructions and stop beating yourself up about it. These things happen and can be beyond our control, just focus on his care and see each day through as it comes.
I have been there and nearly drove myself insane worrying and stressing and feeling guilty...wasted effort that could have been spent relaxing with my boy when he was poorly. Take care and hope your horsey makes a speedy recovery.
 
Thank goodness you are on box rest! I cringe time and time again when people say they have a horse with lami and they are turned out either in a bare paddock or with a grazing muzzle - when did treatment change? It used to be box rest on a super deep bed until the horse is comfortable again to prevent further damage - why isn't this generally done now?

I'm sure with your promp action and making your horse as comfortable as possible you will have the best possible chance of recovery xx
 
Did he have a steroid injection because of the fly bite?

I sincerely hope your speedy management results in a pain free pony some time soon.
 
Hello Fides, Love and expert opinion... All my horses are now sound... My vet agreed my course of action. Back in the day things were very different... No mobile phones, Sky or Wifi... Does it mean the horses were more healthy? xxx
 
I don't think he had a steroid injection - i think it was anti inflammatory, the poor boy has had so much in 5 days i have lost track. my vet initially told me to turn him out on a bare paddock as movement helps in the early stages and he is mega hot on laminitis so maybe treatment has changed although i was always taught box rest ? Was irrelevant as he came in onto box rest anyway as rain was forecast and i think even a bare paddock will flush after rain and vet agreed this was bad.
 
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PerfectPony said:
Hello Fides, Love and expert opinion... All my horses are now sound... My vet agreed my course of action. Back in the day things were very different... No mobile phones, Sky or Wifi... Does it mean the horses were more healthy? xxx
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I don't understand your point. I was giving support to the OP
 
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