Laminitic escapist

[Jenz]

My little boy (20yo Haflinger) got laminitis for the first time last Spring. He was out on loan and was turned out on endless acres of lush grass and little/no exercise, so there was no mystery why!

I had him back straight away and luckily he was not too bad. No rotation, I stabled on knee deep bedding and bute for about 3 weeks and was then sound. The yard I moved him to was a nightmare. They grumbled about me sectioning off a electric fenced area and even took off his muzzle when I wasn't there in the day time!

I've just moved him to another yard (poor thing, good job he settles really well) because I couldn't risk what the YOs would do this Spring. I now have a lovely YO with two other laminitic prone horses. The only problem is last week he escaped 4 times! All for different reasons (I haven't just left him to do it again!). The rest of the fields are quite long, good quality grass so I panic everytime.

In these situations what should I be looking for? Hot feet, pulse, lameness, anything else? If he seems ok for all these, am I ok to ride? My instinct is to take him for a really long ride and 'work it off' but would trotting on the roads do damage if he's just gorged himself? One of the days he was lying down (on the other side of the fence) in the sun, he must have stuffed himself full and was actually burping! But his feet seemed fine and wasn't collicy, just stuffed!

The field he is (meant to be) in, has just nibbl-ably short grass and he is fed Happy Hoof with a scoop of Laminaze. If he gets out again would an extra scoop of Laminaze help or is it more of a long term gut managment? Has anyone used the single dose sachets by other companies? Are they for this kind of situation or everyday use? He can live on thin air, but I have managed to keep him looking slim this year.

He gets extremely p****d off by his muzzle because he can't work it out, he angrily digs the ground and forces his nose against the ground, then it rubs his nose sore and once or twice seemed very overheated. I daren't use a greenguard cos he'll stand on it and rip it off. I also can't stable him because he bangs his door all day long, which can't be good for laminitic feet. I know he must just long to be on the other side of the fence and conjures up plans all day to get out.

Any advice for this super cheeky man would be most appreciated! Mainly on what to look for and what to do if he does get out. Whilst I battle his intelligence to escape!

 

[teddyt]

Buy a really powerful electric fencer and let him zap himself, that should work! Seriously, it will teach him to have more respect for the fencing. He needs to be scared of it.
If he does get out i wouldnt ride and definately wouldnt trot on the roads. Good thinking about burning off the extra energy but the sequence of events in laminitis doesnt quite work like that. The excess sugar may have already set off the inflammatory cascade and riding may make things worse due to concussion. An extra scoop of laminaze may help, it contains clay so can mop up some of the toxins. Or ask your vet for some finadyne paste to keep in reserve. Its got an anti-toxin in it and anti-inflammatory.

 

[Dogstar]

Not really got any answers, sorry, but just wanted to sympathise as I too have a laminitic escapologist who -so far- has learnt to; pull up electric fence posts, use sliding rails and then raise the clips put on to prevent said rails from sliding, then when all failed, chewed and smashed her way through the (new, solid) wooden fence to feedom.

Plan B is, as per the previous post, to rig up mains rather than battery electric fencing. This should be installed before we go on holiday or I will be worrying the whole time

 

[Jenz]

There is no end to the extreme he will go to for freedom! He is a lot better than he used to be though. The escape on Monday wasn't his fault, the YO had put both the electric fence clips on the wire so it didn't work, the next day it must've been a bit drained so he, as Wulfie says, pulled the posts out and got out, the next day (with new batteries) he hearded the sheep towards the fence at speed and they ploughed through the whole lot and he sweetly stepped over and with a look on his face as if to say 'it wasn't me!'. Then the last time he was watching me turning off the battery then being able to touch it (I changed it to have three strungs of wire) and the little s*d now knows how to switch it off!! So it has been moved out of his reach, and so far so good. Until he thinks of something else.

Teddyt, are you saying even if he seems fine (cool feet etc.) I should avoid road work? And is a day or two enough to do some off-road work? (all those fields he longs to be on are hilly and good for working off the calories!) I'm not questioning you at all, please don't read that incorrectly, just don't want to make him worse.

 

[rlhnlk]

This is just my thoughts therefore not gospel or backed up by research so its your own choice whether or not to listen.

Firstly I've heard short grass can be worse than long grass for laminitics as the sugar concentration is higher, on short grass they won't stop eating and may eat more sugar so causing more problems, so as a one (or four even) off if he escapes he may still be more or less ok.

Secondly I've always understood laminitis to be imflamation in the feet whic then causes the laminae to break down etc. My train of thought is imflamation = swelling = will come down with movement so I would at least walk him out even if kept slow and on softer ground. The movement may increase blood flow to the feet which could reduce imflamation.

Thirdly I asked my vet about concussion laminitis from them just mooching about i.e not related to farrier or shoeing etc. He said it was something they don't expect to see unless the horse is something like a shire jumping although it can still happen. I would keep trotting on roads to a minimum if possible though as it can cause a range of othe problems, most of which my welsh has.

With regard to symptoms you are right it's hot feet, strong digital pulse, shuffliness or stiffness and one my welsh did was she wouldn't pick one foot up as it meant transferring more weight onto her other legs.

Ring the feed company and ask about whether an extra scoop of the laminaze will help. They are very helpful and really nice.

Good luck keeping him in his field!

 

[teddyt]

The developmental stage of laminitis has no clinical signs. I think this first stage lasts around 48 hours. Once there are clinical signs (pulse/short stride, etc) the horse HAS laminitis. Therefore you could accidentally accelerate or increase the severity of laminitis if you were to ride for a couple of days after he got out, as laminitis would be on its way but has no signs. rlhnlk - yes inflammation is reduced by gentle exercise but a horse with acute laminitis must not be walked under any circumstances. It requires boxrest on a deep bed to give foot support and minimise the strain on the feet. Exercise puts too much strain on the laminae and can contribute to them tearing.

Any form of roadwork (or in a hard field) is extra concussion. So i would personally avoid it for a couple of days after he got out, just in case. Its belts and braces really. Although riding on the road shouldnt normally cause a problem, if it is combined with carbohydrate overload it may be.

 

[Jenz]

Great advice thank you. Our hilly fields are soft and bouncy at the moment, so lots of walking (ridden/in hand) to keep us both trim I think! And a day or two off if the little love escapes again, but hoping he doesn't.

 

[angiebaby]

I feel for you

I have an escapologist shettie !

Can you take his muzzle off now? If he is on short grass he should be ok without it, and as you say exercise it off.
Good walking up and down hills. My shetland hasn't had a muzzle on for two years now, and so far no problems. It might make him settle down.

My ex cob who had laminitis 3 years ago never wore a muzzle, I just strip grazed; everytime I went up to the field they got so excited about having a little fresh grass, all thoughts of escaping were forgotton! Plus they got fed big buckets of Hi Fi too