Help please!

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HaffiesRock

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I need help! My mind is bombarded with a million different opinions and ideas!
To put it briefly (you may have seen my other thread about my pony being foot sore) My pony has been on 24/7 turn out in a fetlock deep field of water and mud for the last month. The last couple of weeks she has been very tentative on her feet. Everyone on my yard, including my farier said it was just her softened feet being sensitive. The vet came and diagnosed thrush, but she said as she was so stiff, to treat as laminitis just to be sure. So she’s on a week’s box rest and bute, plus thrush treatment.
My query is what to feed her? I’ve been giving her 1 feed a day of a scoop of Dodson and Horrell High fibre nuts and 2 cups of baileys lo cal balancer (dampened as she has a toth problem). I’ve now split this into two small feeds, soaked as per the vet’s advice, with ¾ of a sachet of bute..
My question is, is this the right thing to feed her? I believe both are stamped with the laminitis approval badge. My vet says its fine, but my farrier says they are both still too high in sugar?
She is a 9 year old mare, never had laminitis before and where I bought her from she was turned out in a huge field with knee high grass with no problems. I am very conscious of laminitis as my last pony was IR and so I read up a lot on it a lot and managed her accordingly.
I am just so confused! Plus, laminitis hasn’t been officially diagnosed?! The vet said all being well in a week’s time, to carry on as I was before? No mention of restricting grazing or anything? Although I always prefer a bare paddock and to give hay, just in case…
Someone please help me!
 
Her feed is just bare minimum (lo cal balancer for vitamins and a small scoop of fibre nuts as she doesn't get much grass and to pad it out). It was small before, but now it is split into two feeds, even made very wet it barely covers the bottom of her feed tub, just enough to hold the bute and keep her sane. She isnt overweight and hasnt been diagnosed with laminitis.

My question really is more going forward. Are lo cal balancer and fiber nuts OK for laminitis prone ponies? I will be changing to fast fibre when I next buy the feed, but what about the balancer?

Thanks
 
Hi. I would feed hi fi lite (or the molasses free version), as this gives plenty of fibre, but doesn't gain weight, with speedi or quick beat. Again plenty of fibre and very little sugar, u can feed loads of this! Tbh as long as the diet is high in fibre the sugar at low levels isn't really a worry as its about where its digested. If there is a lack of fibre the sugar moves too far down tge digestive tract and alters the ph, thus killing the good bacteria, which is one if the caused if lami. However u do need to watch starch levels as these are harder to digest full stop and have the same effect.

Balieys low cal balancer should b fine. But u could use equivit (vit and mineral supliment), or spillers lite balancer. u should b ideally looking for under 10% starch. Spillers lite balancer is 8 or 9% I think, D&h high fiber cubes are about 13%, mixes are usually 23% upwards. So if the cubes r fed in small amounts, I don't really think it will b an issue. It is really hard to find feeds under 10% starch. Mixes r worse generally with the highest starch levels, although barley really high too!

Also magnesium tends to really help with foot issues and suspected lami.

Hay is good. U can always soak it too if need b.

The grass is coming through and a lot of horses r a bit sore at mo. Is ur horse barefoot or shod?

Mine r out 24/7 and barefoot. Still feeding hay, scoop of hi fi lite and balancer with equibeat. They r sound on the road, but trimmed at weekend and sum bruising from about 2 months ago when they changed pasture.

My advice is don't over complicate. Go back to basics start with plently if fibre and balance with cuts and mins. Then add if u needed any weight gain.

Good luck. X
 
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