Keeping weight on a Laminitic TB

[Ziggy_]

I posted a few days ago about my mare after the farrier commented that he thought she was close to getting laminitis. Anyway the vet has been out but wasn't overly concerned - he said to treat her as if she is prone to laminitis, especially avoiding hard ground as he thought it was probably concussion related.

Now though I'm worrying about how to keep weight on her. She is in an almost bare paddock with ad lib hay. She hasn't had any hard feed for the last week since the farrier came and I swear she's dropped weight already. For a TB she's not a bad doer as such but I use a small amount of conditioning feed all year round except spring as I find it the easiest way to keep her weight on. All the laminitic feeds seem to be for very good doers and I don't know whats safe to feed.

I've read about how fast laminitis can turn into a serious illness and I'm desperate for her not to have a full blown attack but I feel like the vet was dismissing me as a hypochondriac horse owner

Any advice? Apart from find a different vet, which I'm tempted to do?

 

[joeanne]

i had the same problem recently with our 35 yr old welshie, after he suddenly dropped a large amount of weight.
page and allen, fast fibre, and cereal and sugar intolerance mix.
he has a kilo of each a day split into two feeds with half a scoop of speedi-beet per feed.
if you call the nutritional helpline they will taylor a plan for you, cant really rate these helpline services highly enough!

 

[louise4208]

I have 2 horses with laminitis, 1 has chronic and the other cushings related lami. I feed them Happy Hoof, which is approved by the Laminitis Trust. My older horse is 30yo and he struggles to keep his weight up on restricted grazing. He's been really good on this feed, for about the last year.
I also feed them supplements, Global herbs laminitis prone supplement has done wonders for my pony - I've been feeding it since spring and he hasn't had a serious attack this year so far (touch wood!).
Try not to worry, at least your aware of a potential problem, and can take steps to help her.

 

[Kallibear]

Alfa A Oil. No sugar what so ever in it, but very high energy. It's great conditioning feed, and all fibre too, so good for digestion, bordum and keeping warm.

Speedibeet (not normal sugarbeet) is also great. Again, very good conditioning feed, very low sugar and all fibre. And cheap!

 

[kellyeaton]

high fibre cubes and speedi beet and a lib hay! and a gulp of oil soya maybe that will but condition on with out the ceral grain!

 

[TGM]

If you were only feeding her small amounts of conditioning feed before, it shouldn't be too hard to maintain her weight by feeding larger portions of 'laminitis safe' feeds. If you choose foods endorsed by the Laminitis Trust then you know they have been analysed to be low in soluble carbohydrates (the trigger for dietary laminitis). Laminitis Trust approved feeds include Dengie HiFi Lite, Speedibeet, Dengie Alfa Beet and Spillers High Fibre Cubes.

Just because a feed is low in soluble carbs doesn't necessarily mean they are very low in calories as calories can come from highly digestible fibre. Of the Laminitis Trust approved feeds, Alfa Beet and Speedibeet are the highest in calories and might be a good bet for your mare.

If she still struggles to maintain weight, then try adding an oil source rather than adding cereals.

 

[mystiandsunny]

I have a very laminitis prone TB - to the point where she's not allowed grass, or any hay that hasn't been soaked for 12 hours! She was always a poor doer until I took the alfalfa out of her diet but now, with that gone and being in more, she is pretty much at a perfect weight - nicely covered without being fat!

She has: 3-4 sections of Timothy horsehage per day, 3 scoops spillers high fibre cubes, an overall supplement including pre and probiotics and if she's in a lot of work, baileys outshine (v high oil, high energy but v low starch). No grass whatsoever - that's her total diet. If it helps to compare with yours, she's 15hh and does about 1-2 hours' work per day (less if she gets to go out in the school/grass free paddock, more if she doesn't).

I have also reduced environmental stressors and keep her warm as necessary, which helps with the weight. She has a half-height wall between herself and her friend in the stable so they are never alone and can touch over it, which helps enormously, and she's out with the same friend during the day, so her routine is calm and secure.