Have you had a horse experiencing behaviour changes in spring? Have you considered or have you experienced very low grade, mild laminitis?

[Cubbini]

Hi everyone,

I’m interested to find out more about people’s experiences with subtly mild laminitis? I have been told that low grade/very mild laminitis can go unrecognised, especially if a horse is being kept in a good low sugar environment where it won’t progress into full blown laminitis and blood tests do not show elevated sugar/insulin.

Apparently though, mild laminitis can be subtly ongoing (on and off) for ages if not recognised? And horses predisposed to conditions that impacts insulin resistance, such as EMS, can apparently make it hard to spot, for example no lameness at all. The only signs may be one or some of the following: behavioural changes especially in spring/autumn, mildly footy on some surfaces or after farrier, muscle stiffness in the hind end, back pain, stiffness or reluctance when turning, shortened stride, physio treatments that don’t ’hold’, reluctance to work and lethargy, to name some symptoms.

Has anyone experienced this and felt that something has been ‘off’ with your horse? Even after vet checks, blood tests and lameness assessments all come back clear and ok? If so was mild laminitis the found cause and how did you tackle it?

TIA

 

[Kirstineridesagain]

That’s very interesting and I will follow the thread. I have a separate post about sudden behaviour changes that I suspect are grass-related, I have noticed my mare is a bit footy but she is unshod and the track is stony so I don’t know if that’s related. She is however quite fat, and being an Icelandic she will be susceptible to laminitis.

 

[spotty_pony2]

Hi everyone,

I’m interested to find out more about people’s experiences with subtly mild laminitis? I have been told that low grade/very mild laminitis can go unrecognised, especially if a horse is being kept in a good low sugar environment where it won’t progress into full blown laminitis and blood tests do not show elevated sugar/insulin.

Apparently though, mild laminitis can be subtly ongoing (on and off) for ages if not recognised? And horses predisposed to conditions that impacts insulin resistance, such as EMS, can apparently make it hard to spot, for example no lameness at all. The only signs may be one or some of the following: behavioural changes especially in spring/autumn, mildly footy on some surfaces or after farrier, muscle stiffness in the hind end, back pain, stiffness or reluctance when turning, shortened stride, physio treatments that don’t ’hold’, reluctance to work and lethargy, to name some symptoms.

Has anyone experienced this and felt that something has been ‘off’ with your horse? Even after vet checks, blood tests and lameness assessments all come back clear and ok? If so was mild laminitis the found cause and how did you tackle it?

TIA

Pretty much what I am going through now. My boy (27) was diagnosed with Laminitis 2 and a half weeks ago. He’s only very slightly overweight, cushings test is negative and insulin levels are normal. Vet thinks he has just been unlucky with the fresh grass coming through. He has suffered with stiffness for years (he has arthritis) and I’ve always managed it, and he has thin soles and do started wearing pads. Vet thinks all of this has helped to mask the Laminitis symptoms for a while so looking back, yes he could have had low grade Laminitis for a while. He had become lacking energy to exercise and he’s always loved his work but there’s a lot lot of other factors that I considered first.
(I thought he was maybe just feeling his age) Tbh Laminitis never really crossed my mind - until he went lame and it was very obvious why the problem was. We are now managing it and he seem to be improving daily - Vet said it is isn’t diet related for him - it’s purely triggered by grass.