Laminitis and summer please help

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rvpeary

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Ok so all out horses going on 24/7 summer turnout today. My mare had lami end of may last year and has been sound since sept and in normal shoes since dec. she is on soaked haylage and has been turned out during the day in winter in a muzzle.

My question is what the heck do i do now?! Im terrified of her getting it again! Iv heard night time turnout is best but dont just wanna stick her out for a full night straight away.

Could i maybe do an afternoon for a bit and then do a night?

Just wondering what everyone else has done?!

Please help!!
 
My mare had an acute attack nearly 2 years ago so I know how you are feeling, it's hard to let them out again isn't it :o
I started off with an hour a day, then 2, then 4 then 7/8 hours a day over the winter. Went back down to 4 hours a day most of last year as it was like spring all year but so far this year I haven't even had a pulse! And she's out for 8 hours a day usually :) just keep a close eye and take it slow. If you notice footiness, heat, pulses etc cut down the time she's out. That's how I've done it and it's worked well :)
 
Thanku. Up until spring she has been out 8 hrs a day and has been fine. I will just watch her like a hawk! She went out for 2 1/2 hrs today muzzled and came in pulse free so i guess thats a good sign!!
 
I'm another who watches my mare like a hawk as she had laminitis 3 years ago - 8 long months of box rest, horrible disease. For the last 3 years I've kept my girl in the same routine and she's been fine, like you I daren't change it. She's exercised every morning, turned out for 5 hours muzzled then stabled at night on soaked hay.
 
Have a look at Katy Watts, safer grass site. Can you make a grass free area at all, thats an ideal then heavily soaked and rinsed unlimited hay but that's not that easy to do and expensive. Increased exercise definightly helps. Could you lunge your horse for 15 mins each morning and evening, that extra exercise just to counteract the sugars a little. Muzzling when out if it doesn't stress them. When you horse is in, if they can have unlimited access to soaked and rinsed hay then, maybe they will fill up on hay a little more, as apposed to a haynet running out before they are turned out, and going out hungry to gorge. Could you change your field to include a bit of a track system, it tends to keep them moving a bit more if you have some narrower sections, and then tend to do circuits of the track (you may need hay out once the grass has gone down). If they are in a field alone, is there a few people you could join up with so a few horses chasing around. Do they have access to hedgerows in the field, if so, if there isnt already just and get bits planted into them that help to naturally detoxify. I'm sure the only reason one of the ponies where mine is doesn't go down with lami is that its a hill side and they are always moving around, and harder work up the hills, and there are things like thistles, nettles, hawthorn, rosehips, clivers etc in the field. It's hard not knowing your setup, what other changes to suggest or what you are able to do in your setup, maybe your farrier will have some more ideas, as they'll know what limitations and what you can do in your yard/field. It is yuk at the moment where we have frosty nights/mornings then sunny days. grass uses the sugar to grow at night but if its below a certain temperature it just stores the sugar rather than grows with it, so then the next day the sugar levels are higher.

It's not nice, can imagine what a stressful worry it is.

Best wishes
Hannah
 
Lets see your field hun and we can help you with fat camp set up. I've been in full mode since march here and as things are slow to grow this year you have a chance to get ahead and bare paddock or strip graze alongside other advice given here.

Happy to share mine if it helps will take photos tomorrow.:)
 
Thanks all. She has a dry lot which she is fed unlimited soaked haylage. The only thing is its no where near the summer field and she is totally isolated. She is good in a muzzle so that makes it easier. Unfortunately i am unable to create a track or strip graze due to being on a livery yard. She is ridden for 30-40 mins in the school 4 times a week and hacked out for 1-3 hrs 2 days a week so cant really increase excersise.
She did go out for a whole 2 hrs today with a muzzle on and came in heat and pulse free! Whoo!! Think im just going to have to trial and error.
 
rvpeary said:
Ok so all out horses going on 24/7 summer turnout today. My mare had lami end of may last year and has been sound since sept and in normal shoes since dec. she is on soaked haylage and has been turned out during the day in winter in a muzzle.

My question is what the heck do i do now?! Im terrified of her getting it again! Iv heard night time turnout is best but dont just wanna stick her out for a full night straight away.

Could i maybe do an afternoon for a bit and then do a night?

Just wondering what everyone else has done?!

Please help!!
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Sorry cannot comment. I lost my horse of a lifetime to lami before xmas:(:(
 
Global Herbs Laminitis Prone - it really is brilliant stuff! Our TB Cushings mare was coming in from the field with a pulse after a couple of hours grazing. About two years ago we started giving her Laminitis Prone and within days there was no pulse. We gradually lengthened her grazing period and some days she was out for 24 hours. Just this week we've bought our first bottle of the year of Laminitis Prone - well worth the money!
 
Wouldn't hay be better than haylage for her?

That's a question to anybody reading as I have read threads/posts here about avoiding haylage for laminitis.
 
Yes, I would agree that hay would be better than haylage. My pony was recently diagnosed with COPD (maybe beginning of March) and the vet advised that being as she was still living in full time steamed hay or haylage was a better option than soaked hay (for her lungs).
I went for the blue bag 'lami-safe' haylage as I'm not allowed to steam hay and within a few weeks she'd developed over 1cm of stretch in her white line, so you can imagine how much damage that had done to her laminae. Fortunately she was still sound so she is now on 12hr soaked hay and half time turnout.
 
She is already on gh lami prone and magnesium. She was on hay up until last month when all suppliers ran out of hay! She has been fine on haylage so far :)
 
Just thought i would update. I have graduay built her up and she has spent three nights out on the trot (muzzled and in during the day) and has stayed sound! Whoo! No bounding pulse or heat or anything :D think im going to try her out for an additional day next weekend, see how she goes :)
 
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