Laminitis bad year??

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dressagecrazy

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Just had my Vet here this morning to do routine Jabs & checks, we get along very well & always end up chatting & swapping thoughts on products & things im trying. I have horses who seem to read Vet journals so Vets always here lol.:rolleyes::o

But today he said that it was lovely for him to come out to see me as all he's had is nothing but very obese horses with serious Lammi to deal with. Lammi cases are virtually filling his day.:eek::mad:

TBH im very shocked by this in this day & age with all the info about & good grazing muzzles.

Whats going on??? Why are some owners ( & from what the vet was saying it's quite a large amount of owners) not taking responsibility for there horses??

BTW im not including any other reasons for lammi which i know there are many out of owners control. Im only commenting about Lammi in the form of horse is obese.
 
In my opinion in this country the general person sees fat ponies and horses so often it has become the norm and many people don't actually know when their pony is too fat, thinking that a crest is muscle not fat ect.

I bet if you went round with a perfect weight horse, many people would say it is too thin unfortunately.

Also i dont think people realise the long term problems that can be put on joints, heart, lungs ect when a horse is overweight (even though we think about this in ourselves)
We really need more time and effort put into education of people about overweight horses and ponies and laminitis in particular.

My vet has said to be that there is a lot more cases of lami in recent years because the grass is growing all year round and people dont realise.

Its a very sad situation we have got ourselves in and it needs to be stopped soon
 
My vet said the same to me recently when he came out for routines, I have one who suffered last year and we nearly lost her, she had trauma induced Lammi, anybody who has an overweight horse should have spent the five months with me, it was heartbreaking to see my little girl in such pain and not knowing if she was going to be ok or not, she did make a full recovery and is back in full work and fit, but alas she will be prone to Lammi for the rest of her life. All my horse are monitored and weight taped, not because they are overweight because they are far from it, but because I like to keep a record of there health. As said in this day and age with all the information and up market grazing muzzles around it is frightening to see a rise in cases.
 
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My daughters pony got lami a couple of months ago. Tbh we were shocked as although she is overweight (she was obese when we got her), we have been working really hard to get her weight down. She was on no grass and is a lot better condition than this time last year when we had no problems at all.
eta. my OH is a shepherd and was speaking to a feed merchant soon after this who confirmed that the sugar content in the grass at that time was around 30%. That's extremely high, even more than in sheep feed. Explains why people are being caught out. You think there's no grass, but what there is, is extremely good quality.
 
We lost a beautiful warmblood mare to it last week (And before anyone says it - no, not overweight, not on excessive grass and had never had it before). The vet said that he has seen a horrific rise in lami cases this year. Its been an awful year for it. Maybe due to the weather creating irregular growth patterns in the grass.
 
Im sorry for you loss EllieBeast awful.:(:(

Im am only refering to what my Vet has told me & he refered to all the cases he has atm as Obese. Im not refering to any other forms of Lammi.

My Vet really was downhearted about it all, he just cant understand why people don't or wont see there horses as obese over weight.
 
I'm so glad I read this post. My veteran is a little on the slim side - and I was considering putting him and my WB in the big field with the sheep as there isn't much on their paddock. But maybe I'll think again...
 
I was told by my farrier early on this spring that it would be a bad year for laminitis. I certainly took heed as I just acquired a new horse that was already overweight as he'd been out of work for so long. So he's on a strict strict diet and limited grazing, which means the poor bugger doesn't get out much (he's now 60kg down from when I got him, so improved!).

Meanwhile, my friend down in Wales just picked up to convalesce a 4yo Sec C with bad laminitis. The mare is not hers, but someone that she knows. Its about 13hh and weighs in at (sit down for this ya'll) 600kg!!!! The owners claim it just happened "overnight" which is utter BS. My friend said "even it's eyelids are fat!!"
 
dressagecrazy said:
My Vet really was downhearted about it all, he just cant understand why people don't or wont see there horses as obese over weight.
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This is the problem! A lot of horse owners just dont realise the dangers of their horses being overwieght, or just think that wont happen to them! The sad reality is that a lot of these horses/ponys will end up in serious pain for a long time, or having to be pts just because owners think they are "cuddley" or "they have always been like that and never got it before".

Drives me MAD!!! I wish i still had pictures of a horse that a few of us found in the fields behind our yard looking very sorry for its self, whos pedal bone had been through the sole of his foot! Might snap some people out of their dillusions!
 
My little mare is prone to Lami, so i always keep a close eye. I've got her at a good weight (can feel ribs, no excess fat etc... although for some reason has a slight crest, think this could be because of previous attacks.) Yet I was shocked when a trainee vet nurse told me she would like to see her with more weight on her!!! as you can probably guess i did not take this advise, and this is the first year (touch wood) that she hasnt shown any signs of lami :D As with many people on here my girl means the world to me and its heart breaking to see them in so much pain, so would do all i can to prevent it happening again.
 
dressagecrazy said:
My Vet really was downhearted about it all, he just cant understand why people don't or wont see there horses as obese over weight.
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BobbyMondeo said:
This is the problem! A lot of horse owners just dont realise the dangers of their horses being overwieght, or just think that wont happen to them! The sad reality is that a lot of these horses/ponys will end up in serious pain for a long time, or having to be pts just because owners think they are "cuddley" or "they have always been like that and never got it before".

Drives me MAD!!! I wish i still had pictures of a horse that a few of us found in the fields behind our yard looking very sorry for its self, whos pedal bone had been through the sole of his foot! Might snap some people out of their dillusions!
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BobbyMondeo, Not all horses who get laminitis are overweight - there are many other causes of laminitis than obesity. There have been lots of threads on the subject recently.
 
martha said:
BobbyMondeo, Not all horses who get laminitis are overweight - there are many other causes of laminitis than obesity. There have been lots of threads on the subject recently.
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I never said there wasnt!

The point of this thread was discussing laminitis caused by obesity..i think that was quite uncalled for
 
My mare was diagnosed with lami at the end of March and she is still stable bound. She is a good doer but was not overweight - I really struggle and watch her weight like a hawk. I've had her 7years and she is on sparse grazing. It is a really horrible ordeal and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
 
This post is about Obesity & Lammi, im more than aware of other triggers & im not tying every horse & owner with the same brush when it comes to Lammi.

But hearing from my Vet this morning that he's over run with Lammi cases ALL due to Obesity is just awful. Im hearing more & more cases where people are buy horses as pets basically & are just not prepared to fully look after them.

I myself have a horse who could quite easily end up with Lammi, he's a fully retired IDxTB who is a very good doer sniff of feed or grass & he's overweight.

However atm he has a bit of rib showing he's not fed any hard feed other than a few Equibites & is muzzled when out at grass & i even limit the amount he's grazed on. Im not extreme i just play safe i spend enough with my Vets as it is without any Lammi.:o
 
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