Is it lami or something else going on?

[WandaMare]

Just wondered what you guys think about this..my mare has been gradually putting on too much weight with recent grass so 2 weeks ago I changed her regime. I reduced the size of her already small grazing patch, started soaking all her hay and bought her in earlier, at 3 ish and kept her in overnight. She is ridden or turned out for another hour in the evenings in the school. I also increased her exercise times, she is ridden most days.

Rode her on friday morning, good work-out in the school and she was fine, forward going and happy. As the horse flies were awful and she was hot I decided to let her graze on my yard in the shade, which is gravel with some grass growing but sparse. My lami pony grazes there all the time.

Left my mare there a couple of hours then when I came back she was sort of hobbling. Looked worse on one front foot than others. She was putting in the odd lame step but walking sound at times. She looked sore on the turn. So I immediately put in in stable, deep shavings bed and gave vet a call to get their view. Vet said treat as lami and we'll see how she is on Monday (tomorrow). Told me to give her bute and leave her in all weekend.

She is now moving around perfectly normally in the stable, in fact she was last night. She is on one bute am and pm so would this be enough to mask the pain if it was laminitis? She has got very flat feet and I'm wondering if the gravel on the yard had just made her sore or is that wishful thinking? It just seems odd that she would get lami two weeks after I dramatically reduced her grass intake.

Would be interested in your views as I think I might be in denial of potential lami. Thank you x

 

[FreshandMinty]

could well be a warning sign if not full blown lami, any heat in her feet or raised pulses? As Im sure you know as well, lami isn’t just grass related and can be concussive, stress related or EMS, cushings..

FWIW you would be far better turning her out overnight and keeping her in through the day if you can. If it were me for now Id have her off grass altogether if you can for a few weeks, with the way the weather has been recently the grass is at ‘red warning’ levels for lami.

 

[amandap]

I'd be suspicious of laminitis because she is much better after having soaked hay and no grass. They can improve very quickly and the bute may take more minor discomfort left away. Any signs of an abscess? It may be worth blood tests for EMS and Cushings (PPID) I would continue to treat as laminitis until you and the vet have a clearer idea.

 

[WandaMare]

hhmm...yes..I wondered about Cushings. She is 12 y o now so possibility although no other signs until now. Unfortunately she doesn't like staying out overnight as her buddy can no longer graze for that long (cushings and previous lami pony). She doesn't mind being out alone in the day but she stresses without him overnight. I think you're right about no grass for awhile, our grass is dairy rich anyway so this year it is a nightmare.

No heat in feet but I could feel a faint pulse in the foot she appeared most lame on. She is a 15.2 cob cross type, so a big worry if it is lami.

 

[amandap]

Laminitis can be the first presenting sign of PPID. Laminitis is a worry for all horses but with the right management, diet (for that individual)and treatment if needed, it can be treated and managed well. Have a browse round The Laminitis site (not Trust). Fingers crossed and great you took action quickly.

 

[WandaMare]

Thanks very much guys, really useful to get some objective thoughts. I've been stressing about it all weekend so struggling to think rationally about it now. I will talk to vet about PPID tomorrow with a view to getting her tested asap. Just been to check on her and she has trashed her bucket and was pulling grumpy faces at me so she is definitely starting to feel her normal self again today Thank you x