Laminitis - Would you buy a pony that had it once 3 years Ago?

[scats]

No, I’m afraid I wouldn’t.

Me neither. I’ll take a chance on some things, but not lami.

 

[Follysmum]

We bought a pony 49 yrs ago that had not long had a re section, with care and time he went on to have a long fulfilled life as a competition pony well into his 20’s with no sign of laminitis again. It can be done and not all cases are reoccurring

 

[Nudibranch]

If I was really keen on the pony I would run PPID and EMS bloods and x rays and be prepared to provide the facilities for managing accordingly. Otherwise, no! I've owned enough metabolic jobs over the years to put me off actively seeking one.

 

[gallopingby]

Depends entirely on the pony and if it otherwise would do the job you want. There are numerous reasons for laminitis to occur and not all are management related. Many years ago l had a super pony who contracted laminitis very unexpectedly when she was 10, fortunately she was insured and after intensive treatment she recovered and lived until she was into her 30s. After her initial treatment she didn’t require anything special although we monitored her weight she was kept on reasonable although not fertilised grazing. If you feel the pony ticks all your boxes definitely worth considering.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

I would, any day. If you manage it proactively with exercise and correct diet to increase metabolic rate so the sugars can be processed effectively it not an issue.

Also with the advances in gut health understanding (not the silly powders but genuine knowledge) it becomes even easier.

 

[Squeak]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm going to keep looking. Hopefully he will go to a lovely home, with a knowledgeable person.

I think those of you who have said that having two horses with opposite needs would be awkward are right and it sounds like those of you who would take on a lami are either set up for it or knowledgeable about it and I'm neither of those.

 

[buddylove]

My daughter's pony has clearly had laminitis before (not disclosed), but I bought him because he is an absolute saint, came with numerous PC references and is an ideal confidence builder.
I have a great farrier who is very interested in laminitis, ponies are kept on grass tracks of old grazing and are fed additional straw chaff to manage weight. Plenty of exercise, including road work, and he is sound as a pound.
It can certainly be done if you have the right facilities and support.

 

[conniegirl]

It wouldn’t put me off if it was a genuine one off.
Ive bought a couple of ponies who have had it before and managed sensibly never had it reoccur on me.
One pony had a couple of cases of lammi before we bought him aged 15. he was bunged out on our field with the rest of my ponies and eventually died aged 37 having never had another bout.
field was not lush grass but it wasnt a starvation paddock either.

 

[NLPM]

Best of luck with your continuing search, OP. It must be difficult to walk away from an otherwise cracking pony, but I think you're right to do so given your set up. I hope you find another lovely pony soon.

 

[southerncomfort]

I've always had natives and to be honest, I always treat them as if they are potentially laminitic regardless of whether they've ever had an attack or not.

So I wouldn't be put off a horse that had laminitis in the past as I have the knowledge and experience to manage the risk.

Thst said, I do think feet xrays would be sensible so you know exactly what the risk is. If their were any degree of rotation I'd walk away.

 

[Petalpoos]

I think you are making the right decision. I don't think that keeping a native pony's weight down whilst keeping it as you describe would be possible. Good luck with finding an equally cracking one!

 

[Leo Walker]

If you keep them on poor/restricted grazing and make sure they don't get fat then they will be fine.

Except mine was slim, in work and on poor grazing and managed as if he had EMS. He still ended up dead from laminitis. People always seem to play it down and say it can be managed, you just need to do x, y and z, but sometimes no amount of management works. Obviously it does work for some, but why take that risk?

I think you have done the right thing walking away OP

 

[holeymoley]

No because it’s a truly heartbreaking ordeal to go through if they come down with it.

My case was different as I’ve owned my lad for 15years, through a lot of blood sweat pain and floods of tears we got him through it but it’s a constant management from soaking hay, getting the correct hay/feed, correct hoof balance, judging turnout by the weather, and to the extras during the winter of wrapping legs etc

 

[shortstuff99]

Except mine was slim, in work and on poor grazing and managed as if he had EMS. He still ended up dead from laminitis. People always seem to play it down and say it can be managed, you just need to do x, y and z, but sometimes no amount of management works. Obviously it does work for some, but why take that risk?

I think you have done the right thing walking away OP

I guess in those unfortunate circumstances (I'm very sorry to hear of your horse LW) there are other issues at play. If the history of the horse is that it was fat/too much grass etc then they are manageable issues. It is all dependent really, guess this is a moot point as you are not going for the horse in question. As I said I managed my old boy very successfully for 20 odd years.

 

[conniegirl]

I guess in those unfortunate circumstances (I'm very sorry to hear of your horse LW) there are other issues at play. If the history of the horse is that it was fat/too much grass etc then they are manageable issues. It is all dependent really, guess this is a moot point as you are not going for the horse in question. As I said I managed my old boy very successfully for 20 odd years.

I agree, i think there was something else going on with that horse.
Mine was a section B, had been allowed to get way too fat, had 1 bout of lammi and was sold to us as soon as he came sound. I won't say i managed it, there was very little management involved, he got chucked out with the other ponies and was never fed hard feed. never had a problem again. a Tumor behind his eye got him 22 years later.
Also had several little section A's on loan (normaly as companions), most come with a history of Lami, they get turned out with my hunter on the 3.5acres, never seem to have a problem with them again.

A lot of people put horses on grass that is too rich or high sugar, our grass is plentiful but probably hasnt had fertiliser in the last 8 years and when we do fertilise (once every 10 years or so) it gets a scattering of calcified seaweed, then a hay crop taken off it before ponies get put back on it.

 

[Lintel]

Short answer-

Yes.

I have the facilities appropriate, the Hipo had lami once due to poor management from me and lack of knowledge, away back when he was 4.
Has never had lami since, there are periods I think he is "footy" but I suspect that is more my paranoia and his wimpyness than anything else

 

[throughtheforest]

I had a horse that had severe re-occurring laminitis due to being insulin resistant and having gut complications and he was the sort that needed to be kept off grass 24/7. He was pts aged 8, but now I know exactly how to manage it without destroying either mine or the horse's sanity and if I had the facilities to manage it in such a way I would consider a horse who had had it in the past yes, without the knowledge and experience I would not take one on no.

 

[ycbm]

The thing is, only a tiny minority of horses that get laminutic symptoms ever get a vet called, they just get taken off grass for a while by their knowledgeable owners and are never recorded anywhere. And of those which get a vet called, only a small minority ever need more than taking off the grass, though most will get bute as a safety measure because a vet is involved. And of those only a tiny, tiny minority will have serious issues like a rotation that doesn't correct with a change of diet.

BUT, you dont know when you start whether you have one of the difficult ones. Though three years trouble free, if it can be verified, is as much a safe bet as any other pony.

All the hopeless cases I have ever heard of, on the forum or in real life, have either been very fat in their recent history, or have EMS or Cushings.

.

 

[Leo Walker]

I guess in those unfortunate circumstances (I'm very sorry to hear of your horse LW) there are other issues at play. If the history of the horse is that it was fat/too much grass etc then they are manageable issues.

There was no other issues found, no insulin resistance, no EMS, no cushings etc, etc. But I do agree that he wasnt the norm. But neither is it the norm to have one bout of lammi and get chucked out into a field and never have it again. Its a metabolic disease, it doesnt just go away, it needs constant management. The number of horses who end up PTS from it is enormous. Much higher than I ever imagined.

 

[ycbm]

There was no other issues found, no insulin resistance, no EMS, no cushings etc, etc.

But he had been allowed by a livery yard that you should have been able to trust to get very overweight not that long beforehand. You posted about it at length and were justifiably very angry about it. It's possible that it triggered him for the later episode?

 

[Tagoat]

Nope. wouldn't consider it at all.

 

[sherry90]

I would if I knew the cause. My own horse has had laminitis this year due to being overweight. I will never manage him in the same way to allow that to happen again.

I’ve also ridden for someone who had a pony susceptible to laminitis if it wasn’t worked enough and kept fit. The ideal was clipping and riding throughout winter and then only turned out overnight in summer.

I suspect a lot of horses have low grade laminitis that isn’t picked up and quite a lot of horses generally need some sort of ‘management’. Those susceptible to laminitis just require a different kind of management.

I’d be more wary of a metabolic issue but again, quite often this can be managed.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Given what you've said about managing horses with very different needs, I think you've made the right call. If you have natives, you tend to be well set up for dealing with lami-prone horses and consequently it feels normal. If you have a skinny tb and a lami-prone native, that's really difficult to manage both without one getting ill!

 

[blitznbobs]

Except mine was slim, in work and on poor grazing and managed as if he had EMS. He still ended up dead from laminitis. People always seem to play it down and say it can be managed, you just need to do x, y and z, but sometimes no amount of management works. Obviously it does work for some, but why take that risk?

I think you have done the right thing walking away OP

I agree ... I’ve had 3 die from Laminitis over the years and all were actively managed slim fit and 2 it hit in the middle of winter ... it’s not just a management thing it’s a symptom of most significant disease

 

[ycbm]

.. it’s not just a management thing it’s a symptom of most significant disease

Of course it usnt always a management thing. I sent back a mini who was metabolic at two years old. But it's more often just a management thing, isn't it? If you include all the minor cases that never even see a vet, which is the vast majority.


.

 

[blitznbobs]

Of course it usnt always a management thing. I sent back a mini who was metabolic at two years old. But it's more often just a management thing, isn't it? If you include all the minor cases that never even see a vet, which is the vast majority.


.

Not necessarily... i Compare it to human diabetes ... some will be ok and some won’t but the problem is you can’t tell which is which... enough problems just appear and I can’t bare to watch a horse with laminitis... I’ve only ever seen one horse truly recover... I’ve seen lots that the owners say are recovered but to me they still look lame... ive Even been to see horses for sale that are having an active attack but even when pointed out to the owners they don’t seem to know or care... so if it’s had one they acknowledge how many more has it had? laminitis doesn’t just happen it is caused by something... it is a symptom not a disease in its own right...

 

[Equine_Dream]

After watching a close friend loose her beautiful mare to laminitis 2 months ago, I can honestly say I wouldn't entertain buying a pony who had suffered from it.
My friend put her heart and soul into getting her mare sound. She tried time after time, spent thousands on vets fees and farriers, did all the right things management wise, fed all the right feeds and supplements etc, but in the end it wasn't enough. It caught up with her one final time, and this time she couldn't beat it 😔

 

[ycbm]

Not necessarily... i Compare it to human diabetes ... ...

But human type ii diabetes is also most often caused by management and there's solid evidence that it can be halted by management. My experience is that horses are the same.

I agree that in a horse which is laminitic or has recently been laminitic there's a serious risk you've got an incurable issue going on, and I would run a mile. But if a pony has genuinely been trouble free for three years I wouldn't consider it any more of a risk than any other pony, myself.

.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Many years ago a friend of mine bought a 3 yr old registered dartmoor pony direct from a well known breeder. We were naive, didn't like the look of her feet but thought they were just in need of a trim. Didn't realise such a young animal could have had laminitis. The farrier enlightened us. That little mare was great for about a year. never got too fat, went out showing, was backed and going well. Then her owner fertilised the field, big mistake. Pony went down with a very bad bout of laminitis, couldn't stand and despite all they and the vet could do had to be put down after several days of trying to get her through it. A very hard lesson learned.

 

[Ranyhyn]

No it wouldnt put me off. Mine has had laminitis but I know about it, I'm proactive in my management anyway and I think its all too common unfortunately in kiddies ponies.

ETA - my farrier saw my pony this morning and was totally chilled about it - said the main thing is to be aware and have the knowledge to manage the risk.