Laminitis - how can this have happened??

muff747

muff747

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My mini mare is not fat - really, I mean she is not fat, not a fat pad in sight and no crest at all.
She has just gone back into a field after four weeks on box rest due to an injury but she had been in small paddocks for increasing times with no problems and has not been out in the field without her muzzle except for 24 hours last week when a new pony was introduced, then the muzzle went straight back on.
She has increased in weight a bit round her belly but she is nowhere near fat but, she is very footy and very warm feet yesterday.
She's on box rest with soaked hay and a magnesium based supplement now but I am puzzled as to how she has got so bad when I've been so careful.
Any suggestions?
 
I allways keep my minis slightly under weight, once a week I will let them in my horses paddock { as a treat} to have a little bit more grass, but only for a few hours, last week I let them graze all night in the paddock { there isn't a lot of grass in there, but more than their paddock} in the morning one of the minis was walking slowly, and he had pulses, luckly nothing become off it, so I would say it was the 24 hours last week, that yours was left with out a muzzle.
 
Has she been tested for Cushings or Insulin resistance? What concentrates are you feeding - any cereals in there? They break down into starch (sugars) and you probably need to reduce any sugars in her diet as much as possible - for a mini it wouldn't take much.
And bear in mind that the grass is lethal after the dry weather - it has been continuing to photosynthesise sugars but not growing so after the rain it has begun to grow, packed full of those sugars. Even with a muzzle she is going to be getting more than she can cope with. Can you yard her or find a starvation paddock so she can move but get no grass?
 
She had been totally fine since her 24 hrs without and also on the same small feed as a carrier for supplements since April.
Not been tested for PPID, she is only 9 yo but I would suspect IR except she has no fat pads or crest at all. She's an 11.3hh Caspian so a mini horse
She has half a small scoop of soaked Rowen Barbery Soft n Soak with about tablesp of Meta balance and salt with a small handful of Top Spec Top Chop Lite and half a cup of micro linseed.
She has soaked last August cut hay.
I've also been giving her some Magic Calming liquid because she's a nightmare to keep in; she tries to climb over the door!!
I had even bought a stable mirror and she has a treat ball with a handful of Spillers High Fibre nuts in it but she just wants attention all the time.
I've had to leave her tonight with the top door shut and I feel a really cruel mum now:(
 
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muff747 said:
It only just covers the bottom of a small trug tub. What other cause would you think, I'm open to all suggestions:confused:?
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IMO that is a lot of food for a mini, my 15hh mare gets a handful of molasses free chaff, a supplement, salt and one mug micronised linseed and she works 13 days out of 14 and hacks for up to three hours per day, she is also muzzled at grass.

other causes, stress, bad hoof care/conformation, diet, IR, cushings (we have had more and more youngsters diagnosed at work-youngest being 4yrs), sudden change in diet
 
Here's a pic and she is only slightly rounder than this now.


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Hi, she doesnt look a typical " lammi type" but micronised linseed is very fattening and some sorts of grass ie rye can cause problems.er is ok. I would limit grass / muzzle as it is particular rich at moment with sun & raIN - hope she is ok.
 
I think she looks overweight in this picture. I wouldn't have said that a couple of years ago, but I have had my eyes open since then and horses that I would never have looked twice t and thought of as fat, I now see as fat.
 
I don't think she is actually overweight but to me she looks borderline. She is carrying a fair bit of weight around her shoulders, quarters and belly but not on her top line - difficult to tell how much is muscle.
I would be looking at insulin resistance and sugar levels. Get some cheap glucose dip strips from your local pharmacy, collect a urine sample and see whether it indicates high levels of glucose according to the instructions on the pack. If it does, there is your problem.
Feed her as though she is laminitic (I can let you have a diet sheet a good nutritionist sent me if you message me you email address) if the dip test is positive, which means NO molasses even in mixes or beet pulp, and no cereals, among other things. You will know for the future as well, to avoid the triggers.
 
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Once they have had laminitis, they will need to be kept on a strict diet and always watched carefully I am afraid.

Firstly I would be testing for cushings and IR. Atleast then you will know exactly what your dealing with an how to manage.

Laminitis works in mysterious ways im afraid, do a search on here and you will find lots of information about different kinds and how best to manage it.

I cant see your photo so i cant see how he looks weight wise, but i think they should always be kept on the skinnier side for piece of mind. Have a look through Wagtails posts as her mare i would say was spot on weight wise for a lami.

As for feed, does he really need a feed at all? Its just extra calories they dont need and will be adding on weight. Can you do a track system in your paddock so he has to walk around to get the grass? As hes a small lad, does he do any exercise at all? I find exercise to make a massive difference to lami types.
 
Hi all, thanks for all your input.
My first few posts gives her present diet, I only give her minimum amount to hide the powdered supplements. It's mainly Metabalance, recommended on here as it has high level of magnesium and the rest is as low S/S as I can find, I'd welcome any tips on lowering it further as I've been using this mix for the last year for my TB that was dx PPID and have had to watch his diet for the last four years.
She doesn't get any exercise atm as she has been on box rest for 4 weeks up to two weeks ago due to injury and I have been carefully building up her time out up to then but she has had her muzzle on every time in the field except when the new pony was introduced for the first 24 hours last week. She had been fine up until Monday I put it down to the stressed grass shooting up with all this rain, but I thought I had been being very careful by keeping her muzzle on 24/7!
Her footyness has almost gone and her fronts were only slightly warm last night but I did get her off the grass as soon as I noticed her being pottery.
She is a madam to keep in though - she tries to climb over the door! Someone panicked when she got her foot caught on the top of the door and put her out in a small paddock on Tuesday. We have nowhere to put her where she is happy and where she isn't an inconvenience to others so I feel between a rock and a hard place atm:(:(
 
Hi, I think you're definitely doing sensible things and hopefully have caught it in time. Having had 3 ponies with cushings now I would recommend trying to arrange grass free turnout. We are lucky enough to have our own land and managed to sort a sand based turnout area. We fed soaked hay and a lami suitable balancer. We did also allow high fibre cubes in a treat ball. Our main factor in keeping our mare sound and happy was work. Obviously with your injury this wasn't possible but as soon as she can I would really try and get her working. Ponies need the stimulation physically and mentally, once worked it may mean she settles more in the stable. Could she share a stable with another mini so she had company? We do carriage driving so I don't need a tiny jockey and this means our smaller ponies have always had a purpose, and done right the ponies love it!
 
muff747 said:
She has just gone back into a field after four weeks on box rest due to an injury but she had been in small paddocks for increasing times with no problems and has not been out in the field without her muzzle except for 24 hours last week when a new pony was introduced, then the muzzle went straight back on.
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I have a strong feeling going into the field might have been the tipping point. My pony cannot take any more grass than pickings in the yard, I have learned the hard way for her. She recently had to have some time on a bare paddock (due to no hay over here) and this precipitated an acute bout in her.

Have a look at the ECIR diet section and consider adding vitamin E while she is on soaked hay as well as salt.
 
I'd knock off the linseed for a start.

If you have to feed, just a handful of a chaff like hi-fi molasses free and a basic vit and mins, I know the top spec balancer didn't agree with my pony.

I would also get cushings tests done, my pony was always kept slim, but as he developed cushings he became very vulnerable to laminitis attacks despite a low sugar diet, restricted turnout and being slim (almost too skinny).
 
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