How do you put weight on potential lami pony?

[kbt2661]

Title says it all really. I have taken on a 12hh pony section A for my Sis in law, to sell. As the pony had a mild attack of lami when they first got her (2 years ago) they have always kept her very lean, but I think that she could still safely carry a bit more weight, neck is thin and you can see her ribs. I used to have a section A several years back but she was always very well covered even though she only lived on air. This pony is only 12 and has nothing else wrong with her but I just feel she should have a bit more of a covering before I try to sell her. Have her in paddock but no grass and am giving her 2 hour soaked hay twice a day. Any other ideas, am a bit worried as I don't want to give her lami again.

 

[AmyMay]

Why not try her on a small feed of Hi Fibre cubes twice a day - plus a good vitamin suppliment.

 

[kbt2661]

So am I right in thinking that it is sugar that you have to avoid? Daughter wanted to give her chaff yesterday but I only have mollichop at the moment and that is molassed so I said no. Is the two hour soaked hay ok? That is what my farrier advised. Would the Hi Fi cubes have to be specially for lami ponies?

 

[AmyMay]

Spillers Hi Fibre cubes are perfect - and are approved by the Laminitis trust. Don't feed things like mollichop, sugar beet, mixes to the pony because they are high in sugars and callories - which contribute to laminitis.

Why not ring a couple of feed companies and see what they say. But remember, they will always advice you to feed the recommended amount for the weight of the animal - so go cautiously. You are much better off feeding less, and ensuring that a good vit suppliment is added to the feed.

Absolutely yes re: the soaked hay.

 

[kbt2661]

thanks Amymay, I know from previous posts on here how quick it can develop and am going to go very cautiously. Will try the spillers Hi Fi cubes can you recommend a vit sup that would be safe, and I will stick to the hay - she is definately hungry and gets so excited when I take her hay out to her, doesn't seem fair to starve her, and she is such a little darling.

 

[AmyMay]

Of course - you could just increase the amount of hay you give her that may do the trick!!

 

[kbt2661]

would it matter how much I give her then? I am currently only giving her about a slice and half a day, split into two haynets (small hole). Note:- am being very cautious. She does eat it all straight away. Never having had to deal with lami I am terrified that she might get it whilst in my care, how would I explain that.

 

[AmyMay]

Well, either way you have decided to give her more food. So it's just a decision of what's best.

If the paddock is totally bare - then I would have though that actually increasing the hay would probably be the best thing to do.

However, if there is a pick of grass, and you are satisfied that she has something going through the system for most of the day - then give her a small feed.

I think sometimes it's a questions of seeing what actually works - and monitoring it very carefully (almost day by day).

 

[kbt2661]

Ok then, there is a small picking, but I am going to stick with the hay for a few days as I have plenty of that, mine are both on comp cubes and mixes so won't be using that for her. I will assess the situation on a daily basis, and perhaps get some feed for her at the weekend if no noticeable difference. Thanks for helpful advice!!

 

[OWLIE185]

Don't you dare put any weight on the pony and risk another attack of laminitis. You are asking for trouble. and jepordising the future health of the pony.

Thery have clearly managed to prevent any attacks of laminitis by keeping the weight down.

Before you do anything you must get your vet to assett the pony and also teach you how to take the horses digital pulse so that you can tell when there is an onset of laminitis.

 

[kbt2661]

hold your horses, this pony is very lean on the verge of being skinny (did you read original post). I know that this is not necessary to avoid laminitis, she is starving, is that fair, I am asking all the right questions here and doing my best by her. What the h*ll did I do to deserve that outburst.

 

[Doublethyme]

Its sugar and starch you have to avoid, but I would disagree that sugarbeet is bad to feed. Only mollassed sugar beet is bad, the unmollassed beet is an excellent fibre feet and low sugar/starch.

Top Spec AntiLam is a good vit/min balancer for laminitics.

 

[Lynnes]

We feed our section A Top Spec Anti Lam pellets with a handful of Happy Hoof and spedi beet and he is right as rain (touch wood)!

 

[kbt2661]

And is he skinny or would you say well covered?

 

[Lynnes]

well covered

 

[kbt2661]

thank you Lynnes - you have been very helpful to me today, both here and in Dogs!!!!

 

[Lynnes]

aaawww you are very welcome, good luck with your puppies

 

[brighteyes]

You have the right attitude as lami is awful. Do EVERYTHING gradually and keep a careful eye on the digital pulse. Check it when you know the pony is fine and then you'll know when it is starting with the early signs. Look for the Laminitis Trust symbol on feed bags and plenty of feed companies have feed helplines and will give sound advice for free. Plenty of exercise on a suitable surface and I think you should be fine on soaked hay. Watch you don't let her get constipated due to underfeeding though and feed as often as you can. Spillers Hi Fibre Cubes and Dengie Hi Fi Lite and Speedibeet work for me, with carrots garlic and salt. Calculate and weigh out the whole day's rations into a pile so you can see how much you are feeding (can be an eye-opener) and dish it out as little and often as you can. My farrier and vet both say you very rarely see ponies which are dangerously thin, but plenty that are dangerously fat. Have you ever seen a wild Welshie which has just done a winter on the mountains? Stick thin but bouncing, and ready to take on the summer glut of grass in perfect safety - as nature designed our native ponies to. Not likely to win an M&M class I grant you, but that's a matter of vanity and stupidity. Do please give her new owners a thorough lesson in her requirements and let's hope they aren't showing types who feed her fit to burst and end up doing just that...... Good Luck

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

I echo whats said here really,bright eyes puts it very well at the end here to sum up. I would go with giving a slight increase in the soaked hay,and you could look for the high fibre feeds with the lammi trust mark of approval on them. High oil is good too as suggested and make sure she is getting enough magnesium,a crucial mineral especially in relation to lammi.
Good luck with it,sounds like you have totally the rght attitude as brighteyes says

 

[OWLIE185]

Yes I did read your post.

Do the owners know why the horse had Laminitis? Was it due to an overload of fructans from the grass, or a medical shock (such as emerging encysted red worms), having been put on Steroids, or the onset of Cushings Disease etc? The cause will effect the medication and management of the horse.

The owners have clearly managed the horse very well to avoid it getting another incident of Laminitis and I would consider very carefully if you want to predjudice the future health of the horse because you want it to improve its appearance.

The secret of managing a horse with a history of Laminitis is to check it's digital pulse in the morning and evening and any increase in the amplitude of the pulse may indicate the onset of Laminitis. Another indicator is an increaseinr heat in the hoof.

If the horse gets another incident of Laminitis then the regime required to get it better again is time consuming, expensive and uncomfortable for the horse.

It is also in the interest of the horse that any potential new owners are warned about it's previous history of Laminitis.

Why not post a picture of it to show it's present condition?

 

[rforsyth1984]

You are sensible to want to feed enough - underfeeding can cause many problems too (lipoaemia (?) - something to do with mobilisation of fat into the bloodstream). I had exactly the same problem when my (ex!) vet put my horse on a starvation diet after a mild attack of lammi.
I think the first thing to do would be to increase the hay - this will provide a few more cals, ensure the pony is getting enough fibre and wont upset the digetive system like the introduction of a new feed would.
A vitamin and mineral supplement is also pretty essential for those on restricted diets, try giving her a good quality one, perhaps in a bit of chaff (happy hoof, hi-fi lite, that sort of thing), maybe with a bit of speedi-beet to make it a bit more palatable (mine wont eat plain chaff!).
Most important thing is to make this a long term plan, my horse looked like a hat rack this time last year, and even now is quite lean, but there has been no lammi this year! He is now on ad-lib haylage, with a small feed each day of alfa-a oil and D + H ultimate balancer (plus supps).
Perhaps you could also chat to your vet and/or nutritionist to discuss the individual needs of your pony, as every case is different?
Best of luck in getting her right again