how much haylage for 14.2 laminitic

laurenn1010

laurenn1010

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Hi there i have an 19 yo 14.2 pony doing no work and is stabled during nights and out for a few hours most days, she suffered a bout of laminitis a couple of years back but thus far has been ok.

Thing is this is the first year we have had her stabled and im wondering how much haylage should i be feeding her as at the min im just throwing it in and not weighing however she is keeping her weight a bit too well and would like her to shed a bit before spring time!

I am going to start weighting a hay net for morn and night for her but how much???
 
None.. she should really be on Hay.. but failing that, your need to feed about 2.5% of her body weight.

Her being prone to laminitis, and if she is over weight, i would feed her less than 2.5% of her body weight.

Lou x
 
Sorry to disagree Nailed, but unless one knows the energy and protein content of the hay and haylage it's not possible to say which one is better for a laminitic. First cut hay may well be worse that second cut haylage.

OP you might want to look into EH Haylage who do a high fibre haylage suitable for feeding ad lib to laminitics. http://www.ehhaylage.co.uk/ All of mine are on this with no problems, I feed ad lib but I find even the greediest one gives up after a certain amount!
 
I would prefer to feed low grade, coarse hay, this is what I have my 19/20yr old 14.2 laminitic on.
Haylage is known to be rich and not ideal for laminitics, I do understand the point about hay potentially being problematic and having to be sure of its goodness.
If you can find lower quality, more straw like hay I think that is more ideal.
as said, its 2.5% of bodyweight but as your horse is doing a little too well just cut it back a little more
 
Overweight horses should be fed 2% of body weight really.
I would personally find a source of older hay and soak it. Then weigh haynets. Feed her by the pound not by volume.
 
I would be feeding a maximum of 2% of the horse's bodyweight in dry hay double netted in small holed haynets. Even better if you can soak it but due to the weather that may not be possible.

you don't say what hard feed the horse is getting if any? you might want to revise this too...
 
I agree with you, I usually feed Marksway Blue Horsehage as the sugar & starch is guaranteed at less than 3%. Our farmer makes his own hay, but it is good quality first cut hay, so without an analysis I cannot be sure it isn't too high for her. I had to have Topscore Haylite this time, haven't opened it yet but am ringing them today to check its ok.
 
she is getting a small amount of hard feed just a cool mix...

can anyone reccommend where i would get a weight tape that actually fits horses, i got one off ebay but wouldn't even go around the pony never mind the horses!
 
I would cut out the mix. Mixes generally contain starch which is not a good diet for laminitics. Starch loading in the hind gut can cause lami. If she does need to be fed a "dinner" feed something with no starch in such as chaff (unmollassed).
I guess it all depends on the reason behind her lami episode in the first place, but no doubt being overweight will risk another episode. If shes not doing any work and is overweight she really doesnt need a mix. Bit of chaff and a balancer will be fine.
 
My horse is prone to weight gain and has laminitis in the past. She has Happy Hoof which is specifically for laminitics and does not have any mix at all. She has hay and as shes been on box rest she sometimes gets a little haylage mixed with it if the hays not so good. She has Equilage Timothy & Ryegrass which is less rich and ok for her. She has also in the past had Marksway haylage in the purple and white packs which is specifically ok for laminitics to have. If you look at the Laminitis Trust website its very helpful.
 
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