Laminitis Risk app

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My cob has laminitis at the moment and I'm wondering if anyone has found this app useful in predicting 'safe' grazing? I've been checking to see when it says risk is high and when low for my area and it seems a bit random.
 
Oh that's good to hear. Can I ask do you count up to say 30% in the green zone as safe? I'm going to have to be so careful when my cob is able to graze again.
 
Yes I'd count that as safe but I'm always very careful about how much grass my pony eats. He had laminitis after having surgery and although he recovered very well I worry about him all the time. The laminitis app was right at the end of the red zone this morning so I kept him in, it's gone down to Amber now.
 
That's interesting - mine is in the red now. In the summer my cob is usually out overnight in a muzzle but I'll be consulting the app before I turn out.
 
I think it can be helpful, but the nearest area to mine is a good five miles away no 250 metres lower towards sea level, our field is at 300 metres above, and this would obviously change the reading. I also find that the readings change a lot which can be a blessing in disguise... thinking everything is fine at 7am for instance, only to find that by 2pm it's all gone pear shaped but you're at work until 6pm!

My plans to keep laminitis at bay are many... More work as I can, although I'm currently sitting at home after knee surgery; I've taken on two youngsters to help keep the grass down/more play time, muzzle as necessary (my horse doesn't mind his muzzle) and stable with soaked hay, weigh tape regularly, don't leave anything to chance if possible, act on your paranoid feelings - just because you're paranoid doesn't mean it won't happen! Keep looking at the app too, that way you'll get to know how and when changes occur.

Edited to say that we have no mobile/Wifi at our field, so remember to check the app before you leave home, I am rubbish at this!
 
I've just downloaded this app as I have a laminitic prone, thanks to this thread & am intrigued to see what the readings are over a period of time. So far, it's in the higher end of the green, but will watch with interest :)
 
Good points S.t.R. I'm 7 miles away from the app location but not a big difference in elevation. Even so the weather can be very different in each location so I will be regarding the app as a guide rather than gospel truth. I'm definitely going to be paranoid re grazing safety but have to admit I have never weightaped regularly so will have to get into the habit. Horses are at home so I will be checking the app frequently probably resulting cob being in and out of the field like a yoyo. Does this sound like another example of technology taking over:eek:
 
Just wondering how other users are getting on with using this app. My reading has been at 100% full time for the last few days. My cob is not grazing yet but at this rate I doubt she'll get out at all!
 
I use this all the time. Find it really invaluable ... We've moved into high red these last two days but thankfully been in the green up until then. Muzzles on today and hay for this evening instead of grass! I have it set to where the yard is located rather than where I am (I Live ten miles away from ponies) , you can change location in settings.
 
Yep, I have been using it since last year. I have a Cushing's mare, and it's certainly helped me refine my awareness of lami risk. It's varied from 5% to 95% in the last week, mainly due to the sharp variation in day and night temps, with sun interspersed with heavy rain. I use it to help judge whether to move the strip grazing or put out hay instead.

I folow Urban Horse, a major supplier of hoof boots, on FB, and they posted that they had been inundated yesterday with calls from customers asking for hoof boots to help lami suffering equines.

Currently the app is reading 62% risk here.

ETA OP I realise I also posted recently on a thread in which you were concerned about your horse being suspect lami.
 
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Tiddlypom said:
Yep, I have been using it since last year. I have a Cushing's mare, and it's certainly helped me refine my awareness of lami risk. It's varied from 5% to 95% in the last week, mainly due to the sharp variation in day and night temps, with sun interspersed with heavy rain. I use it to help judge whether to move the strip grazing or put out hay instead.

I folow Urban Horse, a major supplier of hoof boots, on FB, and they posted that they had been inundated yesterday with calls from customers asking for hoof boots to help lami suffering equines.

Currently the app is reading 62% risk here.

ETA OP I realise I also posted recently on a thread in which you were concerned about your horse being suspect lami.
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Yes I did, hence reviving the thread. I've downloaded the app and it's been high here the past 2 days but weather has been crazy- definitely will be helpful I feel just wondered how others got along with it!
Farrier was out to my boy he doesn't think it's lami as he has bruised soles from having tiny bits of gravel stuck. He's back out next week to pop shoes on him so I'm continuing to treat as Laminitis and try and get a bit of weight of him in the process... Really have has my rose tinted glasses on, he's fat and I hadn't even noticed till the farrier pointed it out. *back to diet camp*
 
Good luck, it's often an outsider such as a farrier who picks up differences in body condition etc.. When you see them every day, the changes can sneak in unnoticed. You are very wise to continue to treat him as a lami risk suspect, for now at least.

Can you borrow some sheep to eat your grazing down?
 
In our house the App started off being called the grassometer - and then in the last few weeks became the stressometer as it happily sailed from green to red when I was stuck at work and couldn't do anything about the fat one eating sugary grass.

I do find it helpful. The electric fence only gets moved when its in green and I feel they can have an inch or so more grass. While its in red they get to eat the stuff they've already chewed down and churned up. Soaked hay for the fat one if she's still hungry. I just wish the weigh tape would give me better news each week!
 
Thanks glad to hear people finding it useful! I could borrow some sheep but I have a mud paddock at the minute which I'll use and gradually open up a small area of good grass. That sounds like a great idea SEL I'll maybe copy this :)
 
NOISYGIRL said:
I wouldn't trust it, mine is muzzled 365 days a year when turned out during the day. Not worth the risk
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It depends what you're using it for really. If you've got a horse who has had laminitis in the past and is still struggling with their weight (assuming they were overweight when they had it), then I completely understand why you would muzzle 365 days a year.

I use it more for knowing when to restrict and for general weight management for 2 horses with PSSM. One is particularly sugar sensitive so if I can she gets restricted grazing & soaked hay on the days when it is showing amber/ red - I've actually found it pretty educational.
 
Quite and for something that was really sensitive muzzling would be insufficient some of those 365 days anyway! Which makes it a useful adjunct, I don't think anyone has ever said it is more than that, to many people's management systems.
 
I'm not sure I'd want mine 'sailing that close to the wind' and certainly wouldn't trust an app to tell me that my grazing is safe. I think it's useful if you believe that grass is the main cause of the laminitis. Personally I've found that exercise is a lot more relevant than the amount of grass they consume, which is why I have a track with ponies living out and I've never worried about what the app says. Spotting the early signs is also invaluable.
 
I don't think anyone has suggested they are sailing close to the wind using it?? It is surely just another tool in the box.

I too have found exercise more relevant with regards to weight management, but not so much for triggering of lami. For instance I have used it at times when my horse has had steroid treatment (although that is probably less of a problem when previously thought) or when I suspect his feet are compromised for other reasons (he does react to certain wormers and vaccination) or when I have not been in the situation when I can have him on a track. He has never had an attack but as an aged native pony it doesn't hurt to be a little careful.
 
If I'm reading correctly, people are allowing their horses to graze or not based on the app. What if the app is wrong? I would assume the grass is never safe and alter their management accordingly.
 
As Ester says, it's just another tool in the box, but a very useful one. It has made me even more cautious than I was before about how much grazing my neds have access to. They live out 24/7, and the older mare has Cushing's, so I am ever vigilant.

It would be particularly useful for those folk who will soon be putting their neds out on lush rested 'summer grazing', (thank goodness I don't have to do such a thing), to pick a time of least risk.
 
Pretty sure most people are looking st the app, and their field, and their horse and it's foibles and then making a decision!
 
I use good old fashioned common sense...exercise my horse, watch what I feed him, look see if the grass is growing (looking at own lawn is a good measure) and watch the local weather plus my little temp gauge outside his stable...if the grass is stupidly long, he's muzzled...
 
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