How do you increase your horses grazing time after laminitis?

[Annie&Amy]

The vet has just put my girl on founderguard, she is grazing for 1/2 hour twice a day at the moment. Vet said i've got to increase slowly till she's out all night. She's on a small paddock that i've made for her as she wouldn't/didn't get on with muzzle. How am i going to increase the time, i work 10 hour days so only have at the most an hour up there twice a day. No-one can help me bring her in etc as everyone else works full time and the yard owner won't do it!!!

 

[shell1978]

Have you not got a family member who could pop her out for you, or is there other people who has horses at the yard that can help?
What muzzle did you try, as im thinking of getting the Greenguard one for Lacey.

 

[bensababy]

If i was you i would persevere with the muzzle. Its the best way of limiting the grass intake and minimising the risk.

 

[Eaglestone]

You must go slowly slowly to have a chance of success and not reoccurance and hearbreak.

Can you reduce the size of the paddock so that she has turn out but no grass and even have a shelter of some sort for her.

If not then there must be a couple of days at the weekend that you can increase her time out and try and extend it each week (end), it will be slow, but that is what she needs.

It is amazing how us Laminitic Horse owners devise a plan of action .... my brain has to go into overdrive to solve some of the issues that I (and you now

) need to resolve

 

[kizzywiz]

Would advise that you persevere with the muzzle, it cuts down the grazing time by 1/2, so 2 hours is actually 1. In my experience it takes months to build up the grazing time, I started with 1/2 an hour, then 1 hour etc etc, its a complete pain, but sorry you just can't cut any corners, couldn't you turn out early before work, then again after & go home for tea then come back & bring her in, the best advice I can give you is to take it all very slowly, too much haste will see you right back at the beginning again.

 

[Nudibranch]

Would it be possible to set up a small paddock behind electric fencing, and increase the size a little each day rather than turnout time? It's not ideal but it would expose her to a little more grass each time. I'm only talking about a foot or less each time. I did it with my laminitic and it seemed to work quite well.

 

[Maisy]

HOw big is the area you have sectioned off?? I would have thought, if it is small enough, it should become a dust bowl in no time!! Then with winter coming, and the grass fading off, I would have thought you can make the area bigger and bigger as the grass disappears?

Even if the area is stable sized, it will be a nicer environment that being stuck inside....

I may be wrong of course??

 

[Fransurrey]

Hi,
I have just been through the exact same thing, only I went against my vet's advice as she wanted me to shut a pony in a stable where he couldn't see over the door and leaving a 30 something year old shetland without shelter (the stable is in the field acting as a shelter).

What I did was make a small pen outside the stable, where it had no grass (about 10m x 10m), giving them soaked hay (overnight soaking) and I started Henry on founderguard BEFORE introducing grass. I then started increasing the pen size a few inches each day, still feeding them both soaked hay. The pen is now more of a small paddock. I increased it a little each day and started to feed UNsoaked hay to wean them onto grass, until it got to the current size (about 40m x 15m). Because it has been strip grazed, it's got very little grass in it and so far so good. It's now big enough that enough grass grows through to keep them going WITHOUT hay, but not enough to increase weight/overload the gut.

It's a right royal pain in the bum to do it this way, what with adjusting the electric tape, but it was the only way I could do it. Trying turn out on full grass for any period was a no-no. I've been on this regime for 5 weeks now and have just started light exercise with Henry, so it has worked!