Laminitis and flooded stables/land

[LynH]

I have my own land but am not a livery yard. My friend keeps her 11.2 Sec A in my fields with my two horses and I've been concerned about him since he arrived. He was overweight and footsore so we muzzled him and he lost alot of weight from Feb to April but was still very cresty and footsore on hard ground, he was unshod. The farrier looked at him recently and said he was borderline laminitic and to get him off the grass. The vet came out the next day and said don't stable him but get him off the grass onto dirt paddock so he can move, exercise him more and have shoes and gel pads on.
I don't have a dirt paddock so we made a long thin strip with electric tape along one fence line. He stays in a mobile field stable during the day and out in the strip from 9pm - 10am. (he has the shoes and pads on and wears the muzzle in the pen as its not dirt yet)
The problem now is the rain, all my fields are very wet as is his strip. Good in one way as he's churning it up and it's rapidly becoming mud not grass but it's very wet. Also the field stable has flooded so he is standing on a soaking wet bed. I've tried drying it out but impossible as on grass. I don't have any stables yet so nowhere else to put him.
Would you carry on as we have been doing but have him standing on the wet bed/mats or put him in the pen (which has no shelter) 24/7? He isn't my pony so I can only make suggestions as what to do but it's my land so I'm trying to be as accommodating as possible.
Any ideas/advice gratefully received. Thanks :0)

 

[touchstone]

I'd be inclined to leave him out with some hay rather than stood on wet bedding, which will be more damaging to his feet than just mud I would think.

 

[LynH]

There is still alot of grass in the strip as my fields hadn't been grazed for over a year so he won't need hay. His owner is worried about him getting too much grass if he is out 24/7 but I guess with a muzzle on its the lesser of two evils compared with standing on a wet bed.
Thanks, I think out is best too but it's just concerning giving him 24hr access to grass. Hopefully it will turn to mud soon.

 

[LynH]

Another quick question, how much exercise do you give laminitis prone lead rein ponies? His owner is trying to walk exercise him everyday for an hour but he's gets too sharp for 4 year old riders if we lunge him. How do you get a balance between giving enough exercise to keep laminitis at bay but keeping the pony safe enough for kids?

 

[zoelouisem]

Another quick question, how much exercise do you give laminitis prone lead rein ponies? His owner is trying to walk exercise him everyday for an hour but he's gets too sharp for 4 year old riders if we lunge him. How do you get a balance between giving enough exercise to keep laminitis at bay but keeping the pony safe enough for kids?

I would take him hacking off another horse or a push bike without a rider if there not up to it. Will get him at least trotting from a bike or cantering if poss of another horse. Least then when rider progesses can carry it on with them on board.

 

[Rose Folly]

Could you strip graze within the strip you have already given him, if you see what I mean?

Agree with leading him off another horse if you can. Much better exercise than lungeing and give him more interest in life too.

Don't normally recommend supplements, drugs etc., but I've been using Global Herbs' Laminitic-Prone for a year now, after my very hefty cob, whom I'd owned for years without trouble, suddenly got winter laminits. Recently the farrier, like yours, said she was getting footsore (it hadn't showed in riding or hoof-picking) anyway, I upped the dose of L-P - she'd been on a very low dose - and problem disappeared. She is not muzzled. Like you part of our pasture is like paddy fields at the moment and we're short of grass generally, so though our 3 live out 24/7 they are having a little haylage. L-P does seem pretty good. It was invented by vets trying to come up with a anti-laminitis supplement. In high danger times you feed it twice a day (it's a villainous black medecine, but mixed in a tiny feed my girl doesn't notice it). Good luck - and I think you're a very obliging livery owner!

 

[Jericho]

If it was me I would leave him out with muzzle on until the strip gets really trashed.if he is out more the grass will get trashed more. Also I might be wrong but the sugar in the grass should be quite low in this weather so maybe better that he is eating it now rather than when the sun is beating down on it bringing all the sugar out. My only concern if is the muzzle rubs if left on for so long. Can you bring him in for a short period whilst you do the others even if it is onto wet bedding just so he gets a rest from it.

 

[LynH]

Thanks for all your help. We've opted for out 24/7 in the strip as the rubber mats in the field shelter are now squelching in the mud underneath. The fields and his strip pen are slowly draining so we have some decent drier patches at last. I've had them all on the driveway for an hour or so to dry off a bit and we walked the pony for over an hour on our dog walk.
He just started on Laminitis Prone and AlphaBute and is looking really sound and already a little thinner so I feel we are moving in the right direction. I'll speak to his owner about removing the muzzle overnight so he can graze down the strip before the sun comes out and the sugar goes up.
It's really been against us. Our local livery yard has stopped people hacking out as there is strangles in the Surrey area so I hadn't wanted to hack out and ride and lead him. I've asked all around and tracked the nearest possible case of strangles to 2-3miles away and the nearest confirmed case to 7miles away so we risked taking him out today and washed his feet and our boots off with disinfectant just in case. It's impossible to exercise them in the fields and I didn't want to risk strangles but at this point I decided its better to get him out as long as we are very cautious.
I'll be so glad when we get our stables and arena built this summer. I'm thinking of getting a dry hardstanding area put in too for the pony and as a dry area for my two if it gets this wet again. At least I've seen my new place at its worst and can plan our new yard around that but for now like most people we're stuck with the rain and mud.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Irishbabygirl]

My shelter has leaked in thus weather, its seeping in underneath. It's currently deeply bedded with shavings. I couldn't not bring my old boy in at night during this weather so I bought the banks down and put a bag of aubiose on top and that has left the bedding dry touch wood! You may find a squidgy soft deep bed may be quite comfortable for him if he's laminitic? Then it gets him out the rain and muddy strip for a bit and gives him a break from his muzzle?

 

[LynH]

It had a big deep bed in, it was about 4" deep in shavings with banks and all completely soaked. I tried pulling dry over the top but within minutes that was wet too. I've thrown it all up now to help it dry but it's too wet still to push a barrow across the field to dump it all. Oh for some nice cosy stables, the horses don't seem bothered though.
We've put fur nose band covers on his headcollar and have dry spares to swap with. It's a greenguard muzzle so doesn't touch his face, I've been really impressed with it.