Laminitis - so easy to miss so please be extra careful...

J

Jericho

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Just a warning to everyone really. I thought I was doing really well with my 2 horses (19yr old Welsh A and 12yr old connie cross) in controlling their grazing. They both have restricted grazing (on about acre of very short weedy/mossy grass with a lot under trees). I bring them in during the day on to a dust paddock and feed a handful of TopSpec TopChop Lite and Fast Fibre (so no cereals/ little startch, sugars) and straw or well soaked hay. I check their pulses regularly and are constantly monitoring their stance / how much they lie down (they live at home)

The farrier came today, rasped little ones feet and low and behold blood in the laminae - only a very small amount but enough to scare the bejesus out of me. The little one isnt even over weight so thought he would be less risk than my bigger rather well looking mare. He is also unshod so would have noticed it even more but he is the one that does the good old Welsh trot down the field to see me every day at feed time. Not once did he look uncomfortable.

I felt terrible but the farrier said he probably got it after a flush of grass after a cold night, was footy for a day or so and I never would have known. Farrier said it is a terrible year for it after a really cold winter and then lots of this sun but cold nights.

Just goes to show how easy they can get it and it not be noticed. So please be extra vigilant!
 
At 19, the Welshie could well have Cushing's - no classic signs or symptoms necessary. If he has got to 19 with no laminitis, he's been well and properly cared for. Laminitis due to Cushing's is pretty mh unaviodable, no matter how stringent the attention to management and diet, and it's absolutely no fault on the part of the owner.

Might it be a bit of bruising? Anyway, just bear in mind the Cushing's and maybe look up the implications.
 
I know............................. my big lad came down with it a week ago, luckily no rotation but he is still on box rest and meds for a few more weeks then it will be very controlled turn out.
 
Yes, I did wonder if it was cushings related as he is being very slow to lose his coat. That is the only other sign that I can see although I know that as you said no other classical signs are needed.
 
Does it always show when they have feet trimmed? mine have just been trimmed and no sign of blood, but does that mean they have not got it?
They are a little footy on this very hard ground.
 
Bit worried about my 20 yr old boy. He is slow to lose his coat this year. Lots of cat hairs and his tum is really hanging on to his coat. He looks quite reasonable weight wise but has this curtain of hair hanging underneath. Am thinking 'Cushings'. Am keeping him in stable from 7 ish am - 5 ish pm with soaked hay. Turned out on small paddock with not much grass. Fed safe & sound for supplements, Apple Cider Vinegar and Pro Cell +. Ridden most days, such a worry!

Jane
 
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Echo OP's warning. And PLEASE peeps don't assume that its just ponies that get laminitis coz its not. My dear old boy - 15.1 cob, developed it. We suspected something was happening a few years before it developed, as it always seemed he'd be either losing his coat or retaining it out of season, then suddenly one October morning I went out and he was lying down. Diagnosis, lammi.

So its not just the spring when you can get it either; I heard about a pony developing it during the cold snap as it was turned out with snow (which reduces circulation to the hooves/laminae); also you can have percussion laminitis from trotting on roads and/or galloping on hard ground.
 
itsmylife said:
Does it always show when they have feet trimmed? mine have just been trimmed and no sign of blood, but does that mean they have not got it?
They are a little footy on this very hard ground.
Click to expand...

Horses with healthy hooves should not be footy on hard ground - there will be a reason. Think along the lines of LGL/lami, sheared heels, thrush, abscess, corn, thin sole, over trimming and/or unbalanced foot.
 
They can get it from all sorts, not just to do with grass.

My boy came down with it last year while he was on box rest with an infection. We also had a pony come down with it in the winter. I believe the snow/frost does something to the sugars in the grass, that's why its a risk or so I've been told.

My two are out on a well grazed small paddock and will be for the next few months until the summer field has been grazed down properly. Its such a worry :(. Sometimes it seems you do everything you can and it still happens yet there's people who just chuck their obese horses out and nothing happens to them.
 
LucyPriory said:
Horses with healthy hooves should not be footy on hard ground - there will be a reason. Think along the lines of LGL/lami, sheared heels, thrush, abscess, corn, thin sole, over trimming and/or unbalanced foot.
Click to expand...

So what about barefoot horses? if no horse should be footy on hard ground does it mean no horse really needs shoes? Even I am finding it hard to walk on hard rutted ground at the moment so surely horses must feel it too.
 
My barefoot 6 year old quarterhorse canters at full speed in from the field, and accross our stone yard, only slowing to a fast trot when she goes onto the tarmac part of the yard. She does regular roadwork including fast trot and even the odd canter. She has never been shod (well only the once when she was broken in???!).
It would probably be correct to assume that a horse which is currently footy on hard ground has some underlying problem whether it is early laminitis (itsmylife-the red bruising will only show up some time after the event), poorly balanced feet, thrush, cracked /sore heels, thin soles, shoeing problem etc.
 
itsmylife said:
Anyone know the answer please
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No, it doesn't always show, our boy came down a couple of days after being trimmed, there was no sign at all when he was done. I wonder, do you all check pulses daily? I check ours on a daily basis so I know how they should be and if they are 'up' I keep a close eye and take action if I deem it necessary. If they were 'bounding' I would immediately move them off the grass for a few days. I use this and other signs, such as how the crest is, to monitor if I need to take action. We have 3 that have suffered in the past and it is not nice, we haven't had a recurrence for several years because we are so careful to monitor them daily. I think if you take the time to really get to know how your horse 'feels' it is worth it when things like this arise and you can spot it early.
 
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Our girl had recurring lami no other symptoms - ALWAYS managed as a strict laminitic, soaked hay, muzzled for limited turn out, exercised well, healthy hooves feed etc.
We knew the signs and how she should be 'normally' in way of pulses, temp etc - each phase came on literally overnight from nothing and the vets were dumbfounded.

All of a sudden 18 months ago, she suffered 2 seizures of unknown origin and came down with what the vets thought was stress lami and pedal bone rotation as a result - none of which was our fault.
Since then we have ridden a handful of times as she has come sound, gone lame, come sound, gone lame - lami lami lami!
Heart bars have been on for a while and she was diagnosed with Cushings 4 months ago (she is 17) - we had to push and push for our vet to test.
Fingers crossed, touch wood, etc etc, she is doing fabulously now and is being turned out in a little grass-bare 'sandy' paddock each day for an hour.

PLEASE be aware - recurrent lami through no obvious reasons can signify Cushings even if there is no other symptoms!
Make sure you know your pony inside out and how things should be. Tempting as it is to 'leave them out as its nice weather' don't overgraze, and keep on top of their weight.
K x
 
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