Laminitics

Stinkbomb

Stinkbomb

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 January 2007
Messages
3,974
Location
Cloud cookoo..
goldenoakmochachino.blogspot.com
I am just doing some learning on Laminitis as its something in the 24 years of having horses i actually know very little about!!!! I have seen the laminitis web page but just wondered what do you actually feed your laminitics on to ensure that they get the best of their recommended vitamins and minerals?
 
My Icelandic has Cushings and is a laminitic. He is turned out in the day on unfertilised grass and stabled at night. He has hi fibre haylage (suitable for laminitics), a handful of hi fibre cubes and chaff. He is on Pergolide for Cushings. I no longer feed a vit & min supplement. With this routine he has been laminitis free for 18 months. Management is the most important part in preventing laminitis. Frosty grass is a complete no-no, so in the winter I have to be ultra careful.
 
I used to have a dentally-challenged laminitic and used to feed her Spiller's Happy Hoof (which is supplemented with vit/mins) as a hay replacer. She was very lami prone so she was allowed maximum turnout of four hours a day, split into two periods, in an unfertilized paddock.

If you are not feeding a supplemented feed, then you can supply vit/mins by feeding a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement mixed in with a handful of something like Hi Fi Lite or Speedibeet. This is quite important if they are on soaked hay, as the vit/mins are removed from the hay in the soaking process as well as the carbohydrates.
 
Mine have been on Alfalfa as the apparently its high in antioxidants. But Ive just changed them onto Safe & Sound. To this I add their supplements (high-spec vit & min supplement and their joint supplements as they're veterans).

Otherwise mine get hay a lot of the time and limited grass obviously.
 
Alfa A (better than any co called foot supplement)
Speedibeet
Spillers hi fibre cubes and
Baileys outshine (less messy and better than oil)
Ad lib hay and limited grass
 
I cannot recommend Happy Hoof enough, it smells lovely and they seem to adore it. As i always soak hay I feed either hi Fi Lite with the recommended daily amount of Dodson and Horrel daily vits and mins (a tub would last one of yours a year), or a handful of Happy Hoof.

You can also feed lami Guard, I've never tried it, but would use it if i felt the need.
 
Just to clarify, if you are relying on Happy Hoof to supply vit/mins you would need to feed the recommended daily amount (which Spillers suggest for a 13.2 native type on no grazing is about 2kg). If you feed significantly less than they suggest for the size of pony then it will not supply sufficient vit/mins and you would have to add a broad spectrum vit/min supplement .
 
Both mine have had an incident of Laminitis in the past and are suspected due to their age and other indicators of possibly having the onset of Cushings Disease.

Mine get daily turn out on very restricted grazing about one tenth of an acre. (Poos picked up each day)

They get bran, Hi-Fi Lite, Low Cal, Formula Feet, Linseed and one 250 microgram of pergolide (on prescription) daily. At night they get two or three slices of two hour soaked hay).

They are also wormed regularly to ensure that any encysted small red worms are destroyed as these caused Laminitis in one of my horses. (These will not show up on a worm count).

They are also ridden at least every second day if not each day for a couple of hours.
Their weight is kept well down so that one can see their ribs.

Digital pulse checked at least once a day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top