Laminitis advice & tips for persuading pony to take bute (also in NL..)

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Magic_Merlin

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Hi

Would be grateful for some advice please. Sadly vet diagnosed our 18 year old (young) pony as having laminitis yesterday after he came in from the field lame (he's never had it before) - gutted is an understatement as has so many carriage driving plans this summer and hate the thought of him being in any kind of pain.

Vet has put frog supports on and will have his shoes removed Wed (vet doesn't want to do it any sooner as thinks will be too uncomfortable) - seems a little easier with these on and seems more like his perky self. Vet has advised that he has just enough hay to keep him occupied and a handleful of speedibeet to hide bute in and keep his gut moving. Yesterday managed to convince him to eat the speedibeet but today he is having none of it (he can be quite fussy) - what can i hide it in that would be suitable for a pony with laminitis? I have left the feed in with him and not topped up his hay in the hope that as there is no other option he'll be persuaded but don't hold out much hope.

Also he has been in since first thing yesterday and has not drunk a drop of water - any tips to get him to drink?

Box rest is going to be a nightmare for him as he's quite an excitable pony who loves his work and can get agitated/fret a little when in alone. His field mate is staying in with him at night but out during day.

Have everything crossed that with help of good vet/farrier it has been caught early enough and he makes a full recovery.

Any advice from anyone who has dealt with similar will be greatly recieved.

Sorry its long.
 
Can you ask the vet to swap the bute for Danilon? It's meant to be much more palatable.

Does he normally like Speedibeet? It could be the food that's the problem rather than the bute, my welsh cob doesn't like very wet feed so Speedibeet would only be acceptable to him if it was mixed with something dry. Maybe try a small handful of high fibre cubes left to dampen so that they swell a bit & the bute sticks to them.

If that doesn't work then I've found a good slosh of apple juice can work wonders, I know it's not ideal but needs must!

I hope he's better soon x
 
Re the box rest, can you get some Sedalin or acp for him? Not only should it keep him calmer but it's believed to help with treating laminitis (dilates blood vessels & improves blood supply?). Also it might help to give him some of his hay just before his friend goes out & tie it near the door so he can look out while he eats. If you're on a yard does anyone have a horse that you could bring in during the day to keep him company? You could always offer to muck it out so it's not extra work for the owner.
 
if you are using bute swap it for danillon and if already on danillon get a big syringe from your vet and mix the danilon with water and syringe it into the mouth as you would with a wormer. I have had to do this many a time :(
 
Thank you for your replies. He's not normally fed speedibeet (was on Hifi and cool mix which vet has said to cut out completely) - he ate it yesterday but won't touch it now. I have just managed to get him to take some by coreing (sp) out an apple which isn't ideal as he shouldn't be having anything like this but was getting desperate. I'll ring the vet in the morning and ask if i can pick up some danilon.

Someone is new lounge suggested Sedalin. Is this something I can pick up from the feed store or is it through vets? We keep pony at home with our other horse. His field is next to our garden (only a post and rail between) and we can see his stable door from our living room window so can keep an eye on him and there is plenty going on for him to see. We have turned other horse out in paddock next to stables so they can see each other. Unfortunately our pony is just a bit of a stress-head and isn't keen on being in. Has a thick bed up to the door and his haynet is tied so that he can eat and look over the stable door. Am hoping that he will settle soon and get used to being in.
 
My 27 year old Arab developed symptoms strangely in her back legs yesterday and after examination etc vet concluded laminitis is the probable cause.She has never had a problem before.Oddly there was no problems in her front feet at all.Vet gave iv pain relief,but as it has been caught early there is no indication yet she needs bute.I am thankful for this as i cannot get her to take it anyway.Speak to the vet and see what alternatives there are.
 
Definitely worth keeping her on a deep shavings bed and making sure the frog supports stay in place. These 2 things are the key things in minimising the risk of the pedal bone sinking down, especially when there's the "gap" created by shoes, so I'd make that my number one priority.

When one of my mares had laminitis last August, she ate very little for a couple of weeks, and to be honest, it did her the world of good beause she was carrying too much weight. It was really odd to see her not wanting to eat, because she's always been one to just inhale her hay - she eats so fast!

I found that she wasn't tempted by hay if it was soaked for any more than an hour at most. She preferred it if it had just been dunked in water. I learned to only dunk/soak a very small amount at a time. 9 days after she first went down with laminitis, she was only eating 3kg hay over a 24 hour period (she's a 480kg pony, and should be eating around 7-7.5 kg hay in that period), but she gradually built her appetite from there.

She did like Allen & Page's Fast Fibre which I would just give her partly to keep her hydration up, and partly just to have some fibre in her. It's low sugar so a good one for laminitics, and only needs soaking for a minute prior to feeding so very quick and easy to do.

I too would use a syringe for the bute. I usually mix it with a couple of teaspoons of ribena for palatability, but obviously there's sugar in that. But then you're not worrying whether she's going to eat it or not.

My girl was in enough discomfort that she really couldn't care what was going on around her, horses coming and going etc. Pitiful to see. So at least the positive spin on your girl is that if she's active enough to be stressing, then maybe she's not in too much pain?

Hope she's soon much improved.

Sarah
 
Oh, and the main thing I meant to say is has your vet blood tested her for Cushing's? If this is her first laminitis attack, it could well be associated with her age and be the onset of Cushing's. If so, it's worth knowing about because you could put her on pergolide (Prascend) and use that to help reduce any future laminitic attacks.

Prascend have quite a helpful website: http://www.prascend.co.uk/

Sarah
 
I think you can only get Sedalin via the vets. Definitely ask if you can swap from Bute to Danilon - we have the fussiest pony ever, managed to once syringe bute down him and he didn't eat for a week, no matter how nicely disguised his dinners were! We put him on Danilon and he happily munched his happy hoof, don't think he even noticed it was there x
 
Our old girl has come down with it too and won't touch anything with medication in it. She has her pergolide in a few bits of lo cal balancer - same size pieces as the tablet and crunchy like the tablet so she does not know it is there. The bute/danilon we have to syringe down her twice daily. She is now good with this and tolerates it well.

Just a caution about ACP (sedaline) it is great as a calmer and as a blood vessel dilator but it slows gut action and our girl got constipated with it - being in 24/7 and being stressed did not help either. Her poos returned when we stopped it:) It is a catch 22 really - stressy pony or no poos:o
 
Really appreciate all the advice, thank you. Such a horrible thing and can't believe how quick it came on - up until sat he was really active and enjoying his work. He definitely seems more like his cheeky self this morn and is moving more easily around stable (expect due to Bute and supports). Now won't touch apple or speedibeat so picking up a syringe today to try that with a little apple juice. Tucking into hay happily - will start to soak it. He did drink a little overnight which is good. Will pick up some a&a fast fibre.

Vet and farrier due weds so hopefully can remove his shoes. I'll ask vet to test for cushings as first attack - would there be any other symptons?
 
Magic_Merlin said:
Hi

Would be grateful for some advice please. Sadly vet diagnosed our 18 year old (young) pony as having laminitis yesterday after he came in from the field lame (he's never had it before) - gutted is an understatement as has so many carriage driving plans this summer and hate the thought of him being in any kind of pain.

Vet has put frog supports on and will have his shoes removed Wed (vet doesn't want to do it any sooner as thinks will be too uncomfortable) - seems a little easier with these on and seems more like his perky self. Vet has advised that he has just enough hay to keep him occupied and a handleful of speedibeet to hide bute in and keep his gut moving. Yesterday managed to convince him to eat the speedibeet but today he is having none of it (he can be quite fussy) - what can i hide it in that would be suitable for a pony with laminitis? I have left the feed in with him and not topped up his hay in the hope that as there is no other option he'll be persuaded but don't hold out much hope.

Also he has been in since first thing yesterday and has not drunk a drop of water - any tips to get him to drink?

Box rest is going to be a nightmare for him as he's quite an excitable pony who loves his work and can get agitated/fret a little when in alone. His field mate is staying in with him at night but out during day.

Have everything crossed that with help of good vet/farrier it has been caught early enough and he makes a full recovery.

Any advice from anyone who has dealt with similar will be greatly recieved.

Sorry its long.
Click to expand...


My mare as you can read in the blog here

http://equinecare-and-control.weebly.com/l.html Has been recovering since july last year with laminitis.

You can try:
  1. either Yogurt to give the bute/ Danilon
  2. also diluting the Danilon in warm water and squirting it into mouth.
  3. Diluting the Danilon is speedy beet juice
  4. Give him a sandwich with Diabetic jam
  5. is he likes chocolate you could try diabetic biscuits crushed and mix danilon in
    sugar free apple juice
and mix Danilon in it
 
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To help you minimise the risk of any future laminitis attacks, you need to try and find out what caused this one so you know the best management to adopt from now on.

With your mare being 18 years old, that makes her more likely to have Cushing's than a younger horse (I think it is rare to find a horse/pony under the age of 12 who has Cushing's, but it does happen).

Take a look at the Prascend website, because they give a good account of signs, but some people notice the horse developing a longer/thicker coat and delaying shedding it. But it's possible for a horse to have Cushing's without having a long coat.

An old mare I used to have started to produce milk although she wasn't in foal. That can be another sign of Cushing's.

Also change in body shape due to fat redistribution and muscle wastage, so horses can start to look swaybacked and potbellied.

There are a few different tests for Cushing's (otherwise known as PPID). The one to ask for is ACTH, and involves your vet taking a blood sample which is sent to Liphook for analysis. Another test involves the use of a steroid, I believe, so is not popular with owners because of the risk of inducing laminitis (I know absolutely nothing about that test other than that). This is a link to Liphook's information sheet on PPID tests: http://www.liphookequinehosp.co.uk/documents/PituitaryParsIntermediaDysfunction.pdf

I know there was an offer on a little while back with a voucher for some kind of discount on PPID testing...... not sure if that's still on, but might be worth checking with your vet in case they know? I think it was money off the actual lab fees, so you'd still have to pay the normal vet callout and "take blood" fee......

Oh yes, here you go. The voucher is still available throughout May and June:
http://www.talkaboutlaminitis.co.uk/

Sarah

Sarah
 
Put Fenugreek in with the feed!!! Horses seem to love it. I also swop occassionally with dried mint and aniseed, which again they seem to enjoy. I go to the market and buy huge quantites. Not expensive, but effective.

If you look on many 'chaff' feeds they often have such spices/herb added to make them more palatable.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions for disguising bute - would never have thought of half the ideas! Large syringe with water and a tiny bit of apple juice has worked since yesterday which is great. Picked up a small holed haynet so he is having only soaked hay now - no hard feed at all.

He keeps taking his bandage and pad off one foot - comes off whole so have no idea how he is doing it. He is quite tender on this foot although seems to be moving around stable ok.

Vet and farrier out tomorrow so everything crossed its not got any worse.
 
Hope it all goes well for your vet visit tomorrow. Bute dissolves better than Danilon I've found, if you have the choice and are syringing it in anyway :).
 
His reduced water intake is likely to be down to the soaked hay..:)

Good luck with the lami....:)
 
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