Help!! Laminitic pony that wont stable

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Mutl3y1512

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hi, i am after some help please? i have a laminitic shetland who wont go in a stable and will fight her way out! i have tried to keep the top door shut but she just goes berserk but does eventually calm down. however as our yard isnt manned 24/7 i am worried she will harm herself. when i do put her in she tried to jump out.

SO what i have done is I have penned her off a starvation paddock with soaked hays and elctric fencing but she escapes to be with the others. i am at my wits end and dont know what to do.
 
Mutl3y1512 said:
hi, i am after some help please? i have a laminitic shetland who wont go in a stable and will fight her way out! i have tried to keep the top door shut but she just goes berserk but does eventually calm down. however as our yard isnt manned 24/7 i am worried she will harm herself. when i do put her in she tried to jump out.

SO what i have done is I have penned her off a starvation paddock with soaked hays and elctric fencing but she escapes to be with the others. i am at my wits end and dont know what to do.
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Shetlands are a knightmare, trust me I know! Mine could be on deaths door with her laminitis and still escape!

What i did was get some rubber matting and lay it out side her stable door and then I built a pen around that with road traffic cones (don't ask me where i got them) and metal gates and chicken wire. I would then leave the stable doors open and she had double the sapce and seemed happy with that. If her feet are very sore I would put shavings down outside too. That's what we did.

I feel for you, it's hard especially with a Shetland, mine's battled with laminitis for 7 years on and off.
 
Most horses/ponies will fight at first when stabled alone for the first few days. I don't know any horse yet that hasn't protested for the first few days.

All, have calmed down without exception.

What is your set-up like? Is there a "yard" outside of the stable with proper fencing that she can be kept in safely? That way she can see her companions. Can you section off a slightly bigger paddock and have a companion in with her?

Can you increase the exercise to reduce her weight more? Can you muzzle?
 
tallyho! said:
Can you section off a slightly bigger paddock and have a companion in with her?

Can you increase the exercise to reduce her weight more? Can you muzzle?
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Sectioning her off with a companion would definitely help settle her. Is she in the chronic stage on laminitis at the moment or is she coming through the worst of it?

What do you feed her?
 
We had this problem with a Dartmoor. Ended up dong herself serious damage in the stable.

So we made a starvation paddock. It was like a blooming 5* hotel. It was half under our willow trees (shade); reached as far as our brook (she used to stand in the water and cool her feet); in sight of our back door; a deep bed of shavings at one end of it, and one or other of our horses in with her at all times (the change of horse kept her interested in life). It really worked well. She got soaked hay.

It may not work for yours, and the facilities will be different, but worth a try. Good luck.
 
A companion is a good idea in the starvation paddock if possible. The other thing to try is using a five bar gate or other (safe) see through barrier for the stable so pony can see out. I have one that hates not being able to see out if alone but settles with an open type gate.
 
thanks for all your replies. I have been down the yard and have put done a deep bed of shavings and have left the stable door open which opens into a secure yard with post and rail and view of the others. i will give this a go and see how that works. at the moment she is only foot sore with slight heat but as you can imagine i dont want this getting any worse. if this doensnt work then i will try a bigger pen with another horse? if all fails as i know she is an escape artist would she be ok in the field with the others but muzzled 24/7? i dont really like doing that but just thinking of worse case?
 
Mutl3y1512 said:
thanks for all your replies. I have been down the yard and have put done a deep bed of shavings and have left the stable door open which opens into a secure yard with post and rail and view of the others. i will give this a go and see how that works. at the moment she is only foot sore with slight heat but as you can imagine i dont want this getting any worse. if this doensnt work then i will try a bigger pen with another horse? if all fails as i know she is an escape artist would she be ok in the field with the others but muzzled 24/7? i dont really like doing that but just thinking of worse case?
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While she is in the chronic stage with heat in the feet she can not eat grass, muzzled or not. She needs to be put on what i call starvation diet where she can have a layer of old hay (if it's the square bales) newer hay could cause her to have laminits if it is too fresh. (Again I learnt this the hard way) she can then be given 2 small meals morning and night but only something approved by the laminitis trust. I gave mine D&H Happy Hoof and Dengie Healthy Hooves alternating which one each time I bought it as they soon get fed up of each one with there not being any sugar or nice things in there. The most important thing is absolutely no sugar whatsoever.

Once she has got past her chronic stage and the laminitis has passed she can go back out with the others but you must muzzle her 24/7. I know it is hard to begin with but it is absolutely essential if you don't want her catching it again. Cruel to be kind is what i always tell myself.

Perseverance is key with laminitis, once they've had it once they are always suseptable to it again and you have to make changes for good. There is no point changing the diet and all the above while it's in the chronic stage and then reverting back, she will come down with it again before you know it. You and her will get used to the change it will just take time.

I also feed mine Formula 4 Feet, it has really helped mine's feet.

How old is she?
 
Hi Dannyboy

She is 13 years old and i have only had her since April and has been living out fine until last week. i have left her with a section of hay and she has water and has had a small feed of happy hoof and a scoop of formula4feet i will make sure she has no sugar/grass. How long would you suggest to keep her away from the grass. Its ironic as i have had horses for years and years and never had one with lami!!!

I would be happy for her to be muzzled 24/7 if that stops her from getting lami again, as you say cruel to be kind doesnt hurt.
 
Personally, I think as horse/pony owners we have to get rid of the stigma that muzzles are cruel.

What is more cruel? Turning a pony out on grass that it cannot tolerate and gets hyperglyceamic, or using a device that ALLOWS 'natural' turnout but PROTECTS the pony from hyperglyceamia - which in equines causes massive damage to foot tissue and in worst case, death.

My "diabetic" horse learned to live with a muzzle and he lived very happily roaming a huge paddock but could still run around and exercise, groom, shade in the trees and be part of a herd. The alternative was a lifetime in his "starvation" postage stamp paddock with no shelter, no interaction, no social life, no natural exercise. Basically a prisoner.

Muzzles for some equines are the KIND alternative to the cruel "starvation paddock".

Once they have got over the acute stages, consider alternative pasture/turnout management such as rotation grazing or devising a track system such as paddock paradise which allows optimum movement and natural behaviour but less sugar into the bloodstream. You are the only one that can make the change for them.
 
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There must be another chubby on your yard who would benefit being in a dry lot with soaked hay along with yours? Far better to minimise psychological stress, which hinders the recovery process, by allowing companionship and some movement. The stress of being locked up alone can potentially exacerbate the original problem (see my blog post from last week below...).

BTW if avoiding sugar, Safe&Sound and Happy Hoof both contain molasses. The Laminitis Trust stamp seems to mean diddly squat WRT to what feed contains. You'd be better off with e.g. FastFibre or some speedibeet. The age of hay is also no guarantee of low sugar levels, far better to buy good hay and soak well.
 
Can you put a mirror in the stable, so she thinks she has a friend in there with her?

A muzzle can work well, until they learn how to get it off - by hooking it over a fence post and pulling until something breaks. Ponies, eh?
 
Buy some electric sheep netting. This usually does the trick with very small ponies. Good luck, it must be very worrying for you. I would not want to shut her up in a stable where she can't see out. No wonder she is reluctant.
 
Mutl3y1512 said:
Hi Dannyboy

She is 13 years old and i have only had her since April and has been living out fine until last week. i have left her with a section of hay and she has water and has had a small feed of happy hoof and a scoop of formula4feet i will make sure she has no sugar/grass. How long would you suggest to keep her away from the grass. Its ironic as i have had horses for years and years and never had one with lami!!!

I would be happy for her to be muzzled 24/7 if that stops her from getting lami again, as you say cruel to be kind doesnt hurt.
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I would say you will find she's more than likely had it before, a good farrier should be able to tell. Last week we had all the lovely weather and the grazing will have had a boost hence bringing on this bout.

For now you are doing the right thing while she is in the acute stage. It is difficult to tell when it will subside, but usually when she becomes sound again and there is no heat left in her hooves. However, depending on how bad it is and how quickly you caught it there could be damage that will leave her permanently lame on hard ground. Again a good farrier will be able to tell the damage by trimming her. If you were in South Wales I could recommend an excellent one.

Depending on how sore she is, it might be worth fitting frog supports (just google it) simple enough and they can bring a fair amount releaf to them.

Once through the acute stage usually they are fine to go back on to grazing (WITH a muzzle) as normal, depending on how lush the grass is, I have never had to strip graze once through the acute stage.

My advice would be to get a very good farrier out to see her and maybe give her a trim if it can help. He will be able to tell you how bad it is and what damage has been done. In my experience I have found that my farrier was always more knowledge and a lot cheaper than the vet! If you or anyone on your yard have any bute I would put her on half a day.

People may say don't trim if her feet are sore but i'll give you an example from my experience with my own Shetland. One day Sumi was down, panting and sweating in a terrible state and I honestly thought her day had come. I had my farrier come out to see her and he gave her a trim, after that he had her up on her feet trotting around the arena! It was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen.

The frustrating thing with Laminitis is that there is constantly new things discovered that will cause it. Turning out onto grazing after a hard frost because as the frost clears the sugar sits on top of the grass. Stress to the hoof by something as little as standing on a sharp stone. Hay that is too fresh and green. Obviously the fresh spring/summer grass is the worst. My Shetland has had bouts caused by all of these things and many more that we just don't know.

If your pony seems to end up a chronic laminitic having bouts all the time at a drop of a hat I would strongly suggest having her tested for Cushings. My pony was constantly getting it and the test came back negative. Since being put on the medication for Cushings she hasn't had a bout since and that's in over 2 years, a miracle in Sumi's case!

Whatever you do, please do not take Laminitis lightly. It can and will (given the chance) cause incurable permanent damage and death.

If you are ever worried just give the Laminitis Trust a call they can be very helpful, or the vet will give you advice over the phone, a very good farrier as I say can be a great help more so than a vet with Laminitis or you are more than welcome to PM anytime, trust me I've had my fair share of dealing with it over the last 7 years.

Sorry for the long post! :)
 
Brightbay said:
There must be another chubby on your yard who would benefit being in a dry lot with soaked hay along with yours? Far better to minimise psychological stress, which hinders the recovery process, by allowing companionship and some movement. The stress of being locked up alone can potentially exacerbate the original problem (see my blog post from last week below...).

BTW if avoiding sugar, Safe&Sound and Happy Hoof both contain molasses. The Laminitis Trust stamp seems to mean diddly squat WRT to what feed contains. You'd be better off with e.g. FastFibre or some speedibeet. The age of hay is also no guarantee of low sugar levels, far better to buy good hay and soak well.
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Bright bay you are right!!!

I am so glad you said that about the TLC. A feed company only needs to meet very basic nutritional analysis to be able to buy the right to put a TLC logo on your products. It's a big scam.
 
Brightbay, you beat me to it!

Just had a look at the ingredients in 'Healthy Hooves', Laminitis Trust approved and all that.

Ingredients: Oat straw, molasses, dried alfalfa, NIS pellets, rape seed oil, garlic, vitamin and mineral premix

How do they get away with it? :confused:

Read the labels, people!
 
Ingredients for Safe and Sound. Love the fact it contains umolassed sugar beet!

Oatfeed, Wheat, Wheatfeed, Full Fat Soya Meal, Vegetable Oil, Full Fat Linseed, Cereal Straw, Grass Chaff, Chopped Cereal Straw, Grass, Cane Molasses, Unmolassed Sugar Beet, Limestone, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcined Magnesite, Yea-Sacc, Fruits & Herbs.

Happy Hoof is a bit sneaky.

Nutritionally approved Straw, Chopped Straw, Wheatfeed, Dried Lucurne, Low Sugar Molglo, Oat Feed, Ricebran, Grass Nuts, Calcium Carbonate, Vegetable Oil, Soya Oil, Vitamins and Minerals, Calcined Magnesite, Dried Spearmint (0.25%), Garlic (0.25%), Salt, Lysine

Can you get low sugar molglo/molasses?
 
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