Laminitis Woes

BoolavogueDC said:
I've not heard hi fi lite is the best for lami horses. I soak my hay for 12hours+ and split into 3feeds for my grass intolerant horse here. If I were you I'd call the vet for help now, it'll cost you less in the long run x
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My horse had lami few years back, my vet told me to feed him hi fi lite instead of hay if he'd eat it, i contacted lami trust who said how much hay he could have and I could substitute with hi fi lite weight for weight. That was a few years ago, touch wood he hasn't had it since, he gets soaked hay normally, but if i'm waiting for the hay to soak I'll give him some hi fi to keep him occupied.

sychnant said:
How much hi-Fi is your horse getting? A hay replacer amount or just feed? PLEASE do not starve your horse by just giving it as a feed. She needs soaked hay!

Please get the vet, Laminitis is serious. If you don't get it sorted she could have permanent damage to her feet.

I don't want to scare you but I speak from experience. One of mine got it so badly due to previously unsuspected Cushings (no signs at all other than very sudden lami) that we never got him right and he was put down last week :(
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Have to agree with above post as regards vet, I've not dealt with cushings so not sure about that
 
EllenJay, I will bear in mind about the insurance.. More bothered about sorting my little girl out atm. With regards to the grazing muzzle, I've already got a plan for restricting her grass too :) This will not be happening again! I am determined of that.
PandorasJar, my 4yo will be eating down the paddocks before the 11yo (lami) is allowed back onto them, but I do have a patch which is practically starvation.. Mud, weeds & a tiny bit of grass which will be pre-grazed & she will have a muzzle too, so I think she'll be okay :)
As for the HFL, I'm no going to risk it. I was going to go & purchase a grazing muzzle ready for when she can leave the stable again, so I'm also going to get some Happy Hoof while I'm there. Just need to sit on 2 bags of HFL til winter now til the 4yo can have it!
Plus, the two girls will have to be separate from now on I think, but I will make sure the top row of electric fencing is low enough for them to contact each other :) They're not the only two horses so I think they'll be okay.

Thanks again for all your advice :)
 
NOISYGIRL, I've decided to swap to Happy Hoof (as she will also be having hay again) to help with the recovery of condition in her feet & the vet has been contacted & is coming to see her :)
 
Without looking at the ingredients I'm willing to bet Happy Hoof contains more molasses than Hifi Lite. What you need is a plain oat straw chaff, unmolassed sugar beet pulp (D&H do it) or something like fast fibre.
 
Oh. Well, I'm going to have a chat with the staff at the shop about the feed before I buy it.. Last time I had a query, the lady pulled out a folder with breakdowns of feed ingredients, so I'll see if she can help me. I want something that's going to allow the lami to subside, but also help her hoof regrowth. Hope I'm not expecting too much? Getting stressed out & fed up with all this again.. Just want to do the best for her :(
 
Happy hoof is a no as it has more sugar then Hifi. Just read the white labels usually taped to bottom of bag yourself or on the bag in some cases. I would go for fast fibre by Allen and Paige and a good mineral supplement like forage plus summer balancer for now as it is also a hay replacer. Good luck.
 
Return the HFL to the shop and say you bought the wrong thing. They should take it back if it is unopened and they are half decent.

PLEASE dont get happy hoof either!! It is largely Alfa-a based which is far too rich for a laminitic - never mind the sugar content. As already suggested, Fast fibre is ideal and just about the only thing I'd reccomend in your position.

I don't think talking to the sales staff at the feed shop is a great idea either - they are often clueless as to what is actually in the feeds or they are paid by the feed companies to market their product, without actually understanding fully the effects of what is in them.

If you want feeding advice goodle 'barefoot diet' or diet for laminitic and you will find lots of decent unbiassed advice. Take your time. Don't panic buy!!
 
My lami was on happy hoof but he had IR do once we hit his insulin levels right with the metformin he was fine......tho he really should be dead as his rotatation was15degrees. He had no more the 14llbs of dry hay spilt up and soaked for 12 hours over a 24 hour period.
 
^^

OP has answered this.

Paigeous said:
We have spoken to our vet & described her symptoms. From this, she thinks we've caught it early enough to avoid long-term damage and is coming to see her first thing in the morning - she couldn't get any earlier. She's explained the process & I'm happy that she's coming
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If you want laminitic feeds try looking and safe and sound (which is designed for lamis and have fed it to mine and he hasn't had an attack for about 10 years!) or hifi light MOLASSES FREE which they now do which I feed my cushings mare and she is happy with.
 
^ I was also going to suggest Safe & Sound (Dodson & Horrell) too. Think it's one of the safest ones out there when it comes to chaff type feeds for laminitics and it's very easy to get hold of. I believe it contains Biotin too which is good for healthy hooves. Alternatively there's Fast Fibre which is more of a "mush" which you need to soak, but is highly recommended for laminitics.
Don't worry about being fooled by the laminitis trust logo, it has fooled a lot of people (me included) into believing feeds are suitable for laminitics when they aren't. Happy hoof is definitely a no-no really though, have previously found huge lumps of molasses in it before!

Can't remember if anyones said this before so sorry if I'm repeating, but be careful to avoid treats like apples/carrots if she usually has them - carrots especially are suprisingly high in sugar. Hows she doing today? x
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
I to dont understand why you wont give her hay. That is what she needs to eat - soaked of course.

Curvy horse needs to be no curvy horse oncethey have had lami. Vet can give you honest appraisal on this. Weightape daily/weekly. Gradual weight loss can be achieved by feeding 2-2.5% of current bodyweight per day. This iseasier when they are on box rest. Do not starve the horse lower than 1.5% a day under ny circumstances.

good luck - but please do involve the vet.
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I think you will find 2.5% is standard for a normal horse, it won't trim the body fat especially as there is no exercise.
A weightape weekly wil tell you if you are losing weight, it is only a guide to the total weight of the pony.
I agree with soaked hay plus minerals [Equimins Laminator] and Fast Fibre of Safe and Sound. Little and often, no long starvation periods.
 
Hi guys,

Just to clarify, YES I have spoken to the vet & she is coming first thing in the morning - she couldn't get any earlier & also she does not think that we have a bad case here.

I have not yet decided what feed to get her. I'm going to do some more research & speak to the vet in the morning & decide from there. She has had HiFi Lite again tonight, but a lot less than she had before because she's also had soaked hay. I've set up a bin to soak it in (there's some in there now for the morning) so that it can be soaked for as long as possible before being fed to her. Have also fed it in a haylage net, so she doesn't just gorge on it & then run out.

I've also bought her a vitamin & mineral lick to help out until I decide what feed to get (which she normally has anyway) & yes, it is just a vit & min lick, not a molasses one.

Didn't manage to get a grazing muzzle but will get one on Friday as she won't be leaving the stable for a while yet anyway.

She doesn't get apples & carrots a lot anyway, but I will remember that.

Also, my 4yo has gone back out in the field today to start eating the grass down (carefully!). She wasn't too impressed at being alone but wasn't as bad as she could have been. And in the same vein, I've given up an extra field I had started renting when the grass was poor, so now I have lots of spare fencing to split up my usual paddocks to make it easier to manage my 11yo when she does go back out.

And finally...
She is loads better already! :) She's not rocking (which she wasn't doing much anyway), she's not shifting her weight anymore & she looks a lot happier & brighter in herself so am very much looking forward to seeing her after the vet has visited :) Things are in motion now & am feeling much more positive. Definitely going to have a look at the Safe & Sound, as well as the Fast Fibre & will make a start on sectioning off the fields too!

Thankyou so much to everyone who offered helpful advice, I'm eternally grateful :) xxx
 
All sounds vry positive OP! Sounds like you caught it quite early too!

Just had another thought! Stinging nettles are very good for laminitics... might be worth you picking (with rubber gloves on!) and drying some to feed her :)
 
OP, sorry to hear about your horse.

Firstly, hopefully your vet will be up to speed with the current research into laminitis. Unfortunately, much of the advice given by some vets is worse than useless and often no help or detrimental.
In essence, laminitis can be sorted quickly if caught early enough. Even bad cases where rotation and even penetration of the pedal bones can be reversed, though obviously, this takes longer.
The feet are mearly a symptom of the disease and an indicator of how bad the horse's metabolism has been affected.
The main problem is always down to diet, even if some other trigger is blamed for the attack. The horses immune system suffers badly from incorrect diet leaving the door open for the disease.
The diet should contain no cereals or added sugars like molasses, the most common addative, used by feed companies to create palatability.
Soaked hay or haylage should always be available to the horse, never restrict or limit this.
A good balancer should also be fed.
Grazing is a big no no, even starvation paddocks are lethal.

Hope things go ok.
 
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