Laminitis aftercare...

[Orchardbeck]

Hi, I posted a few weeks ago about my two mares who both developed laminitis at the same time. I had them both Xrayed which showed they both had a slight degree of rotation in all four hooves, and the older mare (aged 21) was slightly worse than the younger mare (5). The vets and farrier said they could both be treated by trimming and thankfully would not have to wear plastic shoes.

They wer both kept on a thick bed for around a month, with frog supports for the first week, with the usual drugs and fed soaked hay, Topspec Antilam and Hi Fi Lite. My farrier, who trimmed their feet using the Xrays as a guide says I can start walking them out in hand to see how they go.

I have only just been able to move them back home (they have been at my parents farm whilst I had a baby) and have started to walk them out in hand on very short walks. The older mare still seems a bit 'footy' in front - the farrier warned me about this because he had removed a lot of her toe to rebalance the foot with the pedal bone. Is this normal? Should she be back on Danilon? Her feet do seem very short at the toe now.

The younger mare seems fine on her feet - but really really needs some turn out - she's really full of herself and explosive, understandably, having been inside for so long. This makes me nervous to take her out for very long - but she needs the exercise more than ever.

I have bought grazing muzzles for them both - the older mare let me put hers on right away, but the younger mare needs a bit of time to get used to it (i've been putting a bit of Hifi in it to encourage her and can just get it over her nose). I'm scared she'll do herself an injury when I do turn her out. Any suggestions?

I have since swapped the Hi Fi Lite for the new molasses free version, which they both love, along with the Top Spec Anti Lam. Do I have to accept that I will have to soak their hay forever? And how long should I turn them out for to begin with?

We are eventually creating an all weather turnout area in one of the paddocks, but we found we had to totally re-drain the field so it is taking a little longer than planned, but that will solve me a lot of problems, but in the short term I need to find a solution.

I'm so sorry this post is so long! Any advice would be welcome.

 

[LucyPriory]

you need to know why they got the laminitis - that will in part determine how you can manage them now and in the future - if it was just obesity then grazing muzzles are a good idea. If it is Insulin Resistance or something else then you will need to factor that in.

Good advice available on the Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance Yahoo group

 

[Orchardbeck]

Thank you for your reply. They had both been off work for a year whilst I had my baby, the field they were in was fertilised whilst they were waiting to be moved (without consultation with me) so I would say it was the flush of grass as a result that is the culprit.

However the older mare is a good do-er and has been on occasions carried a little too much weight. I now think that she has perhaps had some subclinical laminitic episodes, making her a chronic, but she is very stoic and didn't make a fuss. Therefore, managing her weight and restricting her grass intake is the road I intend to take with her. She is at a nice weight at the moment, I just need to keep it consistent.

With the younger horse, I'm not sure. I would say her case was acute, and her pain response seemed more severe at the time. She is a ConnemaraXTB and seems to put weight on her crest easily, and has lumps behind her shoulder - her back is like a table top, but her shoulders and chest are very narrow so it shows more. When she first arrived aged 4 she was very thin and immature looking, so I just assumed she was growing and maturing. Could it be simply because of the grass, or does it sound as if she does have some sort of insulin resistance?

I read somewhere about magnesium helping to stabilise horses metabolism if they have a deficiency, and also help disperse fatty lumps in horses -I have bought some on ebay to try as I guess we have nothing to lose.

 

[pottamus]

My lad had access to a stable sized pen outside his field stable even before he recovered fully as he was getting so stressed kept in and dropped worrying amounts of weight until he had his outside pen area and then recovered very quickly. So when it was time for him to be re-intoduced to grazing it was easy for me to widen his area a bit and see how it went. I would go for the over-cautious side if I were you and perhaps go for an hour and work up - but this is dependant on what your vet advices and the type of grass and turnout you are putting them onto.
In terms of aftercare I have had to completely change my horses care for the rest of his life to prevent him getting overweight and laminitis again. He is now stabled every night throughout the entire year and fed soaked year old hay by a weighed amount. I have no water in my field so I have to trolley his hay to my house (5 min walk dragging the trolley) every single day in order to soak his hay and then trolley it back the next night. It is a right royal pain every day, especially in winter, but thsi is the compromise I decided to make in order to hopefully keep him safe from laminitis again.
He is ridden every day possible in all weathers and is fed nothing else other than some chaff to put his supplement into.
His grazing is the same all year round - same patch that is eaten down to the scut so he just picks at what comes through - in the winter I strip graze him each day so he has something to eat. He is not rugged at all and has no treats, carrots etc...all excess calories that he does not need.