Is it laminitis?

[Millysmum]

Following last week's article on problems during freezing weather, my
Connemara seems to have tender feet at the moment. He doesn't have
a typical stance but avoids walking on the hard surfaces. He is turned out
for the winter with a barn for shelter, strip grazing the field, with hay and Happy Hoof.

 

[bensababy]

If you are unsure dont leave it too late - do you have option of a stable? restrict his grass intake in this weather.

 

[ameeyal]

Is your horse unshod, may have tender feet, especially if your fields have ruts in them, have you felt if she has a digital pulse,or raised arteries, {it doesnt always mean laminitus if she has the pulse} she just might be walking slowly if you have slippy surfices. If you can stable her, best be on the safe side.

 

[Gilbey]

Ring your vet! Don't for heavens sake let your horse suffer if it has laminitis. It is quite possible he has or as above has tender feet from the icy ground, either way ring your vet!!

 

[cptrayes]

Don't bother ringing your vet, your horse is not suffering, it's just feeling the frozen ground, not an emergency. People tend to get over excited at the description "laminitis" but there are many shades of it and if this is it, it's very slight.

There is nothing your vet can say to you with a horse which is just mildly footie on iced ruts than "take him off the grass just to be sure, it could possibly be very early laminitis, yes"

So ....."take him off the grass just to be sure, it could possibly bevery early laminitis, yes" Simples

If you do ring a vet, be aware that there are a LOT of them who do not believe low grade laminitis exists as a condition and if yours is one of those he/she will tell you "the horse just needs shoes". This is nonsense, even if it is soreness from walking on ruts the horse needs you to work out WHY it is sore from walking on ruts. A barefoot horse with a good diet (your is OK but check the white bag label for sugar/molasses content in Happy Hoof) should not feel the ruts. Mine don't, though like any sensible person they would rather walk on good ground. Are you sure your boy is not just being careful about slipping???

 

[LucyPriory]

I more or less agree with CPtrayes.

I don't get why anyone would feed happy hoof? Treated oat straw, chopped oat straw and molasses are the top three ingredients.

Surely it would be cheaper just to buy a bale of oat straw - even at today's prices? And then you can skip the molasses altogether and spend the savings on something more beneficial?

Or am I getting to be an old, tired cynical baggage

 

[joeanne]

Or am I getting to be an old, tired cynical baggage

Well if you are Lucy, that makes two of us

 

[neddynesbitt]

I more or less agree with CPtrayes.

I don't get why anyone would feed happy hoof? Treated oat straw, chopped oat straw and molasses are the top three ingredients.

Surely it would be cheaper just to buy a bale of oat straw - even at today's prices? And then you can skip the molasses altogether and spend the savings on something more beneficial?

Or am I getting to be an old, tired cynical baggage

I totally agree with what you are saying. A fellow livery had the vet out to her mare today, whom she thought was just footsore with the hard ground.

Sadly she has laminitis in all 4 feet

Presently she is on oat straw chaff (nothing added just chopped straw), the vet said to knock it on the head & put her on Happy Hoof?????? :S

That is the complete opposite to what I think but not a lot I can do as the owner obviously wants to do what the vet says

 

[glenruby]

Neddynesbitt - i've found the opposite problem. Every owner of small ponies or laminitics around here seem to feed Happy hoof or worse still a mix of supposedly laminitic friendly chaffs. What is the point?? These ponies need no more than roughage - either grass, soaked hay or straw - absolutely no need to be adding any molassed or sweetened feed to their diet. Unfortnately many seem to be of the idea that no "dinner" is worse than fatal laminitis!

 

[brucea]

Or am I getting to be an old, tired cynical baggage

...goes and stands in the old cynical corner with Lucy and the others...

I think the main thing with lamis is to recognise that cutting back feed also means cutting back nutrients - so the approach to feeding has to be functional.

My OH is an independant nutritionist and she sauys most of her clients who were struggling to lose weigt had cut back on food, but had not maintained adequate minerals and vitamins and protein.

My lami gets a great bucket every day that fills him up - and he gets his hay and 20 minutes out on the grass to socialise wih the rest of the herd. When it is snowing and there is good ground cover then he gets out all the time.

He gets a good sized bucket of washed soaked unmolassed beet, linseed, MagOx, Brewer's Yeast, a specific local mineral supplement form a specialist feed company, and a sprinkle of seaweed - and then some herbs and other things like fennel seeds and fenugreek. No molasses and no sugars as far as possible.


BUT NOTHING - with a Laminitis Trust label or Anti-Lam on the bag!

All of mine walk very carefully in the frozen ground, and once they are over that then they loon like idiots. I think when they are bare they can feel everything, and they walk accordingly. It's shod horses that so the splits.


P.S. Another issue with the chaffs is the addition of antifungal and mould inhibitors - I am convinced some of the more sensive guys react to them.

 

[Lotty]

When my mare came down with lami early on in the year, my Vet, Farrier and the Laminitis Trust all told me to feed Happy Hoof and magnesium.

I only used to feed her a handful of Hi-Fi Lite as she is such a good doer. As suggested I changed her diet to the above as apparently it has all the nutrients in she needs and as I soak her hay for 12hours and she's out muzzled for 4hours, she needs these nutrients.

 

[amandap]

On soaked hay supplements are needed. A good pelleted balancer, magnesium (if needed) and salt plus micronized linseed may be lower in sugars though.

 

[LucyPriory]

When my mare came down with lami early on in the year, my Vet, Farrier and the Laminitis Trust all told me to feed Happy Hoof and magnesium.

I only used to feed her a handful of Hi-Fi Lite as she is such a good doer. As suggested I changed her diet to the above as apparently it has all the nutrients in she needs and as I soak her hay for 12hours and she's out muzzled for 4hours, she needs these nutrients.

I would recommend anyone who can't sleep to check out the ownership/shareholders and other ties between the recommendations by some organisations and products recommended before they buy.

 

[LucyPriory]

agreed lamis in particular need their vits/mins. But can be fed more effectively than by using expensive bagged products that are based on straw and molasses.

Only a small amount of 'carrier' material, such as Kwik Beet (100g pre soaking) will be more than enough to put in a full supplement dose. This is cheaper and much less sugary and still has the vit/mins.

If extra protein is required (perhaps the soaked hay is low) then micronised linseed from Charnwood is cost effective and high quality. It also makes the SB more palatable.

I often use a handful of horse safe herbs to mix things in.