Laminitis... any advise very much appreciated...

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Honeypots

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I've just agreed to take on a little horse with laminitis...its a long story...and yes I am mad!!
At present, I have a rough history ie he's had it on and off for the last 3 yrs..
It appears to be a management issue ie the owner is struggling to keep to the regime he requires ie she is surrounded by acres and acres and he jumps electric fencing for fun. I have a stable, enclosed yard and mud paddock so am hoping to be able to contain him...well, I WILL contain him.

Anyhow, obviously I will be getting all the vet reports/ x rays, meds etc (on one bute a day at mo) and will get my own vet to assess him when he gets here but...

I would really appreciate any tips, recommendations. good websites, remedies...anything that may help me to help this chap.


He was due to be PTS a few days ago but he's getting another chance for various reasons that I don't really want to go into on here. Obviously, I will not allow him to suffer unnecessarily btw...

With box rest and strict diet control he usually recovers...

Many thanks
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I have a ex Laminitis pony (had it about 5 years ago).
All i can really recommend is a great farrier and plenty of patience. I also highly recommend taking him bare foot, but each pony is different. My boy had the best results without any heart bars (tried them and he couldnt walk).
While he had it and was weaned off the bute i put him on the liquid form of Laminitis Prone. I dont really think much of any of the other supplements.

Keep him on a deep bed, i also gave my boy a free rein to have a wander at his own pace around the yard. It kept his mind stimulated.
I really do wish him the speediest of recoverys. If you want to ask anything PM me. I would be happy to help.
 
Also wanted to add that it is manageable - i highly recommend a muzzle for the future. And no rich quality hay (that seems to trigger a mild attack in mine) - so soaked hay would be good.

Also - sorry am having a brain wave this morning = simple system feeds have had the best results with mine and stabilising his weigh.
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As I'm sure you know, the dietary trigger of laminitis is high levels of soluble carbohydrates - that is starches and sugars. Sugars you will find in grass, hay, highly molassed feeds etc. Starches mainly come from cereals - barley, wheat, maize and oats. It is usually easy to cut cereals out of the diet, but almost impossible to eliminate sugars entirely, but they need to be cut down as much as possible.

The sugars in hay vary according to the type of grass used and when it was cut. Either have your hay analysed or soak it well to leech out a lot of the sugars. If you need to feed some kind of bucket feed (ie to get supplements/medication into him) then go for high fibre, low starch, low sugar feeds.

Remember, that frosted grass is high in sugars and is often a cause of laminitis in winter.

The Laminitis Trust site is useful:

http://www.laminitis.org/
 
QR:
Thankyou very much...
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I have some of last years hay so will use that well soaked. Hopefully that is all he will need and perhaps Hi Fi Lite if he needs anything extra.
This is the diet I have all my others on anyway as they are natives and in my eyes are all laminitics in waiting...
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He'll be on box rest until he's sound(if that happens) and then for a month over that to be sure. (Whats two months in stable compared to rest of his life right?)
I think one of the main problems is that he has not been allowed to recover completely before being turned out and or worked.
I have a yard out the front of my stable and field shelter that is fenced off from the paddock. Would it be beneficial (once he is sound) to let him move about on that or should I be religious about the box rest?
He has had his shoes taken off but is having some glue on ones put on for travelling so will see what my farrier says about that but I'd prefer him to be barefoot(hoof) like my others (if it suits).
Ummmm......I'm sure I'll think of a million other questions in the next day or so.
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[ QUOTE ]
I have a yard out the front of my stable and field shelter that is fenced off from the paddock. Would it be beneficial (once he is sound) to let him move about on that or should I be religious about the box rest?

[/ QUOTE ] This is probably best discussed with your vet and in conjunction with looking at the x-rays and seeing how much damage there is to the foot. The danger of them moving about too early is that it can weaken the already damaged laminae and increase the possibility of the pedal bone rotating. However, once that danger period is passed, then the pony will probably benefit mentally and physically for having the freedom to move around more.
 
Hi

Hi Honeypots

I took on a horse with Lamintis and praise you for giving the poor chap a second chance and being willing to work with him.

I know how you feel as I loaned a chronic laminitic for 14 years, and I can really sympathise with you.

Laminitis is sometimes seen as the route with no end but I can assure you that in many cases things get better, much much better and even verge on perfect.

I have had the experience, with sunken and fully rotated pedal bones in all four feet. Once recovered - about a year later - we went on long rides, done one day events, sponsored rides, jumping, beach rides and so on. He was just a normal horse. It just takes a lot of time, consideration and patience in the way you manage the after they have recovered.

I would, in my exeperience do the following:

Ensure a deep shavings bed, of at least 8 inches.
Do not deep litter, take the wet out everyday.
Start to feed seaweed - this will promote new hoof growth.
Start to feed 'Pink Powder' this will help her feel better, look better, heal quicker and keep her gut moving and improve her metabolic system (which is a main contributor to Laminitis).
Feed only Thrashed hay, and as much as you would feed normally - soaked if needed.
Do not starve her
The mix I would reccomend is L-Mix by Allen and Page with Hi Fi light or Speedy beet.

If your boy is shod, I would also put hoof disinfectant in the nail holes everyday. If barefoot, then you could also put this around the white line area - just for cleanliness.

I would like to know more about your boy and the reason for her laminitis. I should then be able to give you some more advise.

For info, the gelding I had was a Welsh Section D who got laminitis from a number of reasons:

Poison
Grass induced
Concussion
Illness
Pain in another area
Cushings

Hope this helps, please contact me if I can be of further help
 
Hi Honeypots,

I own a chronic laminitic myself and he is an old 30 y.o. pony with Cushings disease. He was diagnosed about seven years ago and is on medication for Cushings (Pergolide and Vitex), requires special shoeing (natural balance) and management (restricted turn out). With all off that he does well and he hadn't had a laminitis attack in 3 years. So there is hope out there, but think careful what you are letting yourself in fore, because there maybe considerable cost and effort involved.

It will probably cost you more to keep a lamitic horse then a "normal" one and you might be restricted one what you can do with him.

Also I would try and find out why he is laminitic, if its just weight related that might be easier to manage then laminitis related to Cushings or equine metabolic syndrome.

Find a good farrier and make him your friend! Not all laminitics need heart bar shoes but they will need careful corrective shoing to ensure the pedal bone is were it is meant to be and some laminitics have damaged white lines and are prone to foot abscesses.

If after all this you are not put off and your heart is in it, go for it, girl!
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I think somebaody already mentioned it, but Robert Eustaces website "laminitis trust" has useful information on it.
 
QR..

Thanks everyone..some great advice

I'm taking this little horse on just to give him a chance really. Not for any specific job although if he comes right that would be a bonus.

I'm pretty certain that its diet/weight related laminitis but will have to assess this properly when he gets here and find out exactly what it is that is the trigger as I've not actually even met hm yet...eeekkk
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Be carefull with Hi-fi lite and speedy beet as there is still molasses in hi-fi lite and speedy beet is made from sugar beet so there will still be sugar content in there.
Lucie stalks are straight lucerne with absolutely nothing in it and the metaslim has all the nutrients in for recovering laminitics and those with metabolic problems.
 
Ive used both dengie hifi lite and speedy beet, both are approved by the laminitis trust. Look for the hoof symbol on the bags of feed.
Soaked hay, deep bed and strict management!
My boy has chronic laminitis and got it again this year despite being in a starvy, fit and lean with ribs showing!

I admire you for giving him a second chance and best wishes that you succeed and give him a good quality of life!
 
QR:
Thankyou...
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Samuelhorse....I think stoopid may be some people's opinion's!
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When I enquired about taking on a lami pony a few months back everyone told me to run for the hills...quite rightly too I'm sure
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Tiggy1... my understanding is that speedibeet and Hi Fi Lite are both suitable for laminitics..
I've also read that alfalfa isn't always suitable for laminitics so it all gets very confusing.

I guess its finding out what's right for each individual.
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Good luck, be prepared for severe heart ache and to empty your bank account. I find that it takes more energy and finances to manage a laminetic horse than it does to manage a normal horse but then my experience is primarily cushings induced laminitis, not weight gain laminitis.

I do admire you, good luck. But just as a warning, my cushings mare was PTS today (much heartache) and my gelding with EMS has incredibly expensive shoeing regime to keep him more or less sound and his supplements and management are expensive and his managment exhausting. Its also hard to find a livery yard with the facilities to cater or laminetics.

But I do wish you all the best.
 
CassandraRose..

I'm very sorry to hear about you losing your mare..have a virtual hug.x

..and thankyou for your good luck wishes...

I'm taking this little horse on with my eyes wide open and am very lucky in that I have my own paddock at my house, don't work so will be at his beck and call and the friends who persuaded me to help him have set up a little fund to help with costs should I need them so thats a good start..
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Honeypots,
I really admire you and if you need any support feel free to PM me, although Im no expert I seem to have been "living" with the fear and prevention of laminitis with my two for the past years. I am terrible, first thing I do when I see my horses after I stroke them is feel for digital pulses. Every day.... honestly. I have even started to do it automatically to non-cushings/laminetic horses ..how embarrasing.

I have found the Laminitis Clinic to be helpful, and also the metabolic horse group on yahoo to be invaluable, as has help from this forum. I think that you have to accept that you could be on the road to tears and heart ache but its worth a shot and you do hear success stories. Even though Im jaded and upset at the moment I would still take on another laminetic if the alternative was it would be put to sleep, if i thought I could help the horse.

Just an FYI, I have found that my gelding cant really tolerate alfalfa products (in any quantity more than a handful they make him footy) although my cushings mare could chomp through buckets and buckets of the stuff with no ill effect. It must really depend on the individual.

As you have a laminetic you will almost certainly get foot problems, I wish I could say that this or that hoof supplement was the answer but I have tried them all and come to the conclusion theres no magic answer or hoof supplement that can help the damage done to hooves by laminitis, although admittedly I dont know what they would be like if they didnt have Farriers Formula etc.

My weapons against laminitis are grazing muzzels, soaked hay, magnesium oxide supplementation and constant vigilance. Do please let us know how he gets on?
 
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