Lami prone, overweight and in work; what are you feeding?

V

vicksey

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 November 2007
Messages
529
Visit site
Just wondering what people are feeding (hard feed and hay) horses that are prone to laminitis, or have had it in the past, are on a diet or restricted grazing but in work. Ridden maybe 5/6 days a week, hacking, schooling, jumping, XC, clinics, local shows ?

To my horror my horse had his first episode of laminitis just over 2 months ago, it was very mild and he didn’t need specific treatment as we caught it really early, just a few days stabled and then on a bald paddock, muzzled etc. We are still on a stripped paddock, with muzzle and soaked hay during the day.

So, I’m just curious really what others are doing exercise and feed wise to keep their lami's and fatties trim?
 
Good grief almost nothing!
Mine are on a ten foot wide track round their 4 acre field, you would swear there wasn't enough to feed a couple of guinea pigs but they manage with a section each of soaked hay a day
I feed them Thunderbrook base feed because it's anti-inflammatory, they have 400 g of this a day and a bit of unmollassed sugarbeet with it. They work about 4 days a week, hard work for 2 hours.
 
I just wanted to confirm that tracks are great for minimising in-take but maximising movement if you are able to instigate one? Ours have been on theirs round their 3 acre field since March (and last summer too).. they have moved into the other paddock for a bit to tidy up the corners since the hay was cut (only an acre) but there is pretty much nothing left now as its been so dry so they do get a bit of hay (neither has had lami but both reasonably good doers). Do you feed magnesium?

Hard feed wise fastfibre or speedibeet, minerals as per grazing analysis and oats (as I said not lami prone ;)! )
 
Mine gets a bit of molasses free chaff, just as a base for her forageplus summer hoof balancer as that smells and tastes a bit rank so needs something to carry it, plus pink powder. And soaked hay when in at night.

Nothing else and on a bare paddock.
 
Thanks guys, I dont have the option to change the layout of my paddock really, so it exercise exercise exercise ! Now we have finally got a better paddock with much less grass I am hoping to see an improvement. The stuff just keeps growing though!

He is on just a low calorie balancer and literally tiny handful of chaff, but engery wise he is struggling, but then I suppose its hot and he is a little over weight. When he had a little episode of lami he was a fat score of 6/9 fat and then went up to 7/9 at the last visit to the vets which I was horrifed at depsite working him and muzzleing etc! So the only thing I can think was he just had access to too much pasture.

ester; Why do you feed magnesium please?
 
I've just done a quick google for links, but quite a lot of UK grazing is magnesium deficient (hence why magnesium-based calmers work) and anecdotally people seem to find that their laminitics are better if supplemented (I get mine from pro-earth on ebay as magnesium oxide)- the reason no one quite knows why it works as magnesium does lots of things in the body but is also involved in sugar processing/insulin etc . I don't know how long you have had your horse/how old but it also may well be worth testing for cushings/other metabolic diseases.

I only started looking at supplementing minerals when my lad had his shoes off for lameness issues (other than lami) and because we graze/make hay off our own field went down the forage testing route. Both forage plus and pro earth make their own general spec versions though for all round hoof health with reasonable amounts of magnesium in if you want to 'cover all bases a bit more'

I also feel I must apologise as this post is not half as sciencey factual as I would normally post but am no expert on it and quite a few things are unknown anyway, but wanted to throw a few things out there!
 
Thanks ester, much appreciated. We are clear of EMS but borderline cushings :( being re tested in a few weeks time. Suppose we should wait till then before reviewing the diet.

The magnesium doesnt always act as a calmer then?
 
doesn't make any difference calmness wise to our two lets put it that way! Franks a bit of a slug in summer anyway but it doesn't make him any worse, the other is an anglo...and it doesn't make her any better ;).
 
I treat my boy as lami prone, he is light work but isn't overweight. He was receiving diddly squat until recently but due to the fact his grazing has burnt off, he is getting a small feed once a day of Safe and Sound and a few pony nuts.
 
My lad is just coming out of mild lami ( had it in the past but not with me) but he is borderline Cushings too. Always very careful re his feed being a good 'doer' but have switched again to Hi Fi Molasses Free with Thunderbrook Base mix,and a small scoop of mag ox,( literally a handful am and pm ) plus soaked hay. He's in in the day and out about 11 hours at night on a dirt paddock (ok a bit of grass but tichy tiny amount) :).. When i do get him back into work, will probably up what hes getting now if I feel he needs it...
It has been very hot recently and all the horses are lethargic..after talking to a friend who live and worked horses in south of france, she said they finished working their horses by 10.30am at the latest down there...
(Hi Fi Molasses free was the lowest sugar and starch chop I could find which is what my lad needs)
Hope this helps :)
 
Hi, mine is a really good doer, he was so unfit and fat when I took him on! He's gradually been losing his excess and we still have some to go. We ride 4-5 times a week for upto 2 hours, sometimes I substitue a ride for a lunge or some schooling. He's out 24/7, 1/2 a day in a well grazed paddock and 1/2 a day in the schooling area (saves on a lawnmower) and has 1/2 scoop of high fibre nuts for ponys in no/light work each evening with his garlic and physillium supplements.
 
The vet suggested that we have my mare tested for Cushings, because she was hanging on to her winter coat (so was I this spring, though....), but following on from the letter in the last issue of British Horse I decided to supplement her feed with Agnus Castus - the difference has been amazing. She's much more active, has a sparkle in her eye and yes, she lost all her winter coat - but the weather did eventually improve, so it could have been a bit of both.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top