How do you manage your laminitic TB?

ellie11987

ellie11987

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Hi, I'm struggling to come up with a suitable routine for my laminitic TB in regards to her weight. She is currently barefoot so was on a suitable diet of 1 scoop speedibeet, 2 mugs linseed and 1.5 scoops whole soaked oats split between 2 feeds. She was brought in during the day and out at night. The grass is quite rich at the moment and stupidly I left her out Monday day and she came in Tuesday with a strong pulse, though not lame she was quite lethargic. Going down this morning the pulse has gone and she has perked up a lot but I am going to keep her off the grass until next week regardless. I cut out the oats and gave her ad lib hay but double netted.

I need to come find a suitable regime for her but the problem is that she is a poor-dooer and is at an ideal weight now but I can't afford for her to be losing weight. I'm just wondering how other people manage their laminitic TBs in regards to turnout and feed.

Is it worth investing in a muzzle for either turnout overnight and bring in during the day or vice versa? And then wean her back to being unmuzzled as the grass is grazed down/later in summer? She can go on a grazed down paddock with hay during the day if necessary.

Also in regards to her feed and supplements, are the soaked oats safe to feed to a laminitic horse? I am going to start her extra mag ox and salt again and am possibly thinking into a laminitis supplement as a preventative measure. Has anybody used the Global Herbs Laminitis Prone liquid?

Thank you!
 
Do you have her on Prascend. In my experience with 3 laminitic horses, they all eventually tested positive for Cushings Disease and the laminitic episodes stopped as soon as they were on the correct rate of medication.
 
vanrim said:
Do you have her on Prascend. In my experience with 3 laminitic horses, they all eventually tested positive for Cushings Disease and the laminitic episodes stopped as soon as they were on the correct rate of medication.
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It has crossed my mind but she's only just turned 8 and doesn't show any other symptoms. It may be worth getting her tested but I'm not entirely convinced that is the underlying reason atm.
 
The ACTH test is free at the moment. Ask your vet, as it may be worth doing while test is free.
 
I would choose either Pro Balance or Pro Hoof from Progressive Earth or a ForagePlus balancer, and feed that with the speedibeet. And test for EMS/IR/Cushings, even if she is only 8, it at least rules it out.
 
ellie11987 said:
It has crossed my mind but she's only just turned 8 and doesn't show any other symptoms. It may be worth getting her tested but I'm not entirely convinced that is the underlying reason atm.
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I would strongly suggest you take advantage of the free vouchers at the moment.
An 8yo TB really shouldn't be susceptible to laminitis under normal circumstances.

FWIW I had a 7yo diagnosed last year ....
 
Oats are generally not considered a good feed for a laminitic horse because of their high starch content - you say you soak them but its still probably not enough to make them more digestible, boiling them in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker gets better results - or if you want to feed oats and need something more convenient then buy the micronized product
TB's are just as prone as any other breed where laminitis is concerned - if there is an underlying cause it could be related to a low thyroid problem. If it were Cushings you'd be seeing other typical symptoms as well
A grazing muzzle might help or restricting how much access the horse has to rich grass by strip grazing
There's a lot of info on the Laminitis Trust website about feeding & approved feeds which is worth looking at
 
Two of my horses that got laminitis and were eventually confirmed to have Cushings did not show any other signs of the disease - just recurring laminitis.
 
Mine has not had acute laminitis but she is what I would call laminitic reflected in her hooves when she gets too much grass or unsoaked hay. She has restricted or nil grazing all year and is fed soaked hay always as I can't buy enough from one source to be worth getting it tested. She has been in for 12 hours and out at night for 12 hours but is now in for all May and ? some of June. In winter she is out during the day and in at night. The grazing is all provided she is doing well, the slightest hint she is at all stiff or getting footy or just a feeling she's not right, then she is in 24/7.
I am very lucky as I have large grass free yards with barn access and she is in a herd when in, I would be lost without my yards!. They all come in if she does, her grazing mates are natives, so coming in with her helps their weight managment.
She gets speedibeet to carry her balancer along with extra salt and micronised linseed. She doesn't work much so no extras except veggie treats.

HTH

ps. She comes in when there are any prologed sunny cold snaps forecast.
 
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