Laminitis

michellev123

michellev123

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Oscar has laminitis :(

Cant believe it im gutted :-( Have been so carefull was on poor grazing and in my opinion not over weight ( http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=374604 )

I now need to know all the infomation about it please!!

The vet thinks it was the Dengie alfalfa pellets that he was sensitive to so does this mean the grass didnt contribute? Or it did but the alfalfa didnt help? :S


He has been on box rest for 2 weeks now with another 1-3 to go, he was only bad for 2 days and has since been much happier, more comfortable, sound, standing on all four feet etc. So we luckly caught it very early.


The vet is coming again this week so will be asking him 101 question but just need to absorb all yr knowlage first please!!!! :D

Any and all advice about the condition and its managemnt prevention welcome!!

Thanks
 
Gosh he was certainly not overweight! I am surprised that he has come down with laminitis as a 2yo:confused:

TBH I would very much doubt it was the alfa pellets, alfalfa is very low in sugar and starch and if he is also on poor grazing, it could be that it is not nutritional lami, has he been stressed at all?

I feel for both of you, but I would also speak with the vet about other possioble causes as he just does not fit the normal profile for laminitis.
 
I have to say my 2YO's are heavier than yours! scary stuff! I do know from a mate's uni thesis that lami occurance is more common in grass that was dry, then had sudden rain then heat again- high level of frucans in the grass. Has he been on any meds of other issues? Lami can come from sugar not being absorbed- no need to be fat. Was there any rotation?
 
No not stressed up unitl he went lame he looked and acted the happiest healthlist he had ever before. He did develop a nasty cough and slight cold about 10 days prior but dont think this could have been a cause?!

I am so gutted I never in a million years thought my poor boy would get it My old girl suffered from it before she died three years ago (RIP) and I did everything I could not to let him get fat, too much grass etc

I was so suprised when the vet said lami too as he was really lame on one front foot but not really the other. Although his pulses were up in both legs and I read the other day that is a sign of lami as its very rare for the both legs to have pulses if not lami?!

I am just glad he is better but I am now dreading every summer :-( Never thought I would have this stress with him :(
 
shadowboy said:
I have to say my 2YO's are heavier than yours! scary stuff! I do know from a mate's uni thesis that lami occurance is more common in grass that was dry, then had sudden rain then heat again- high level of frucans in the grass. Has he been on any meds of other issues? Lami can come from sugar not being absorbed- no need to be fat. Was there any rotation?
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No other meds and no rotation thank god!
 
So sorry to hear that, I am very shocked he has it.
I have a mare with bad rotation so understand your upset.
I am amazed it was the dengie alfalfa pellets, doesn't exactly sound like a cereal mix to me.
I think all you can do is only ever feed from now on laminitis approved feeds.
Further to that perhaps try adding magnesium, it is so cheap, and it has been nothing short of brilliant for my mare. I first read about it on the laminitis website
http://www.laminitis.org/
I used to feed her laminaze 5* which made no difference to her feet in 2&1/2yrs.
However, after under 6months on magnesium her feet have improved no end. It is so cheap and worth a try, I buy off ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/700g-Magnesiu...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item518ac379a1

I really wish you all the best with your horse. The key I have found is close and careful management of his grazing and feeding a high fibre diet with the correct dietary supplements to keep the gut balanced at all times, good luck x
 
Thanks
He was feed (before this nightmare) Allen and Page Fast fibre the dengie alfalfa pellets, linseed brewers yeast magnesium and seaweed. So have beaten you on the magnesium!!! :D
I think I am going to stick to the FF and add on's minus the Alfalfa? FF isn't lami approved but is only 2% suger (which is lower than some lami approved stuff) Would this be ok (will check with vet!!) The vet made me laugh said cut alfalfa as some horses are sensitive then in next sentance said try happy hoof.... when I looked it contains alfalfa!!! :(

Nightmare
He looks well on FF so im hoping he can stay on that. :)
 
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I use Fast Fibre on my mare who has had laminitis in the past, I really rate it.

Strangely a lot of barefoot horses seem to go footy when they have alfalfa, so perhaps it might have contributed to your boys laminitis.

Good luck with him, at least he sounds like he is on the mend. :)
 
Odd one this!!!!
Wouldn't say it was the feed that gave him lammi mind
my lad got lammi for first time last year, this is what I do with him now:
out by night and in by day ( sugar level higher by day)
out with a muzzle on as short grass is higher in sugar than long/ gone to seed grass.
Hay net off hay soaked for 12 hrs in a bin and rinsed well before feeding ( takes sugars out) you will be amazed at what you get out and than he's getting the fibre his gut needs but as least sugar as poss.
He gets topspec anti lam in top spec topchop lite. Low sugar and gets all his vits/ mins from that feed split in 2.
Yes mag is ment to be good for lammi now
dont forget he may be on a sarvation patch but he will munch off any grass as it comes up so u don't see it and that grass is actually the worst for them.
 
michellev123 said:
Thanks
He was feed (before this nightmare) Allen and Page Fast fibre the dengie alfalfa pellets, linseed brewers yeast magnesium and seaweed. So have beaten you on the magnesium!!! :D
I think I am going to stick to the FF and add on's minus the Alfalfa? FF isn't lami approved but is only 2% suger (which is lower than some lami approved stuff) Would this be ok (will check with vet!!) The vet made me laugh said cut alfalfa as some horses are sensitive then in next sentance said try happy hoof.... when I looked it contains alfalfa!!! :(

Nightmare
He looks well on FF so im hoping he can stay on that. :)
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Fab, glad you have heard of it :)
That is so shocking that a horse feed should cause that, I personally think such feeds that have this effect should be revised, as another poster mentioned various horses becoming footy on it, scary stuff!
Good luck with your boy
Apple cider vinegar might be another good one, contains so many good things, I feed it to my mare too
 
The thing that then worries me is keeping the weight on cause he will drop easily, spose its just loadsa hay? He is on box rest atm and to keep his condition he is on a nearly a bale a day!! Least he is happier now, you dont realise how lucky you are unitl they are lame and in pain. I wont let it happen to him again.
 
Make sure you fulfill his vit/min requirements. Very important.
You want a feed about 7-8 DE really so cheek bags. With a balancer such as topspec anti or baileys low cal you feed such a small amount for the goodness so may be worth adding that into feed
 
As I said earlier, alfalfa is low in sugar and starch, these are the main causes of nutritional laminitis and it is very very very unlikely that this is what caused the laminitis. My horses are unshod and have never ever gone footy with alfalfa. The other thing to remember is that vets are not nutritionists and sometimes they give out nutritional information that makes me want to cringe tbh!

The thing that concerns me most about your lad is that he is a growing 2yo so he needs good quality protein to grow properly (protein btw is not a laminitis trigger before anyone queries that!), there is not enough protein in Fast Fibre, plus he also needs good levels of calcium, alfalfa provides both of these and is an excellent food source for youngsters. However, if you really do not want to feed alfalfa, I would swap the Fast Fibre for Speedibeet, very low in sugar but high in calcium (and laminitis trust approved for what thats worth), for protein you could add a Soya Oil Supplement like Triple Top Up or Baileys Outshine, the Triple Top Up is particularly low in starch at around 6%.
 
Rite ok now I am very confused!!!......again :P
The Triple Top Up has been discontiuned as far as I an tell..... ?

So I am best to feed him speedi beat instead of FF? With something such as topspec anti-lam and something with soya oil or soya oil sup instead of anti lam?

Sorry I just wanna get it rite first time and not keep changing!?
:)
 
Triple Top Up has definitely not been discontinued - I feed it to one of mine :) it also contains really good levels of Vit E and selenium, which is vital if you feed oil, pure soya oil will provide protein, but you would then have to feed Vit E and selenium separately so probably cheaper to feed an all in one. There are also some palatability problems when you feed straight oil.

Fast Fibre is low in both calcium and protein, the speedibeet will provide much better calcium levels and also has a good DE which will help his condition but will not trigger laminitis as the starch and sugar levels are so low.
 
Hi there, my mare was diagnosed with laminitis at the end of March. I only used to feed her a handful of dengie good doer and ad-lib hay, but the yards hay was quite rich and the grass was coming through.

She has now been stabled for 9weeks, her hay gets weighed now and soaked for 12hours. She now gets magnesium with 1scoop of Happy Hoof morning & night - she's never had a scoop of feed in her life. She's on bute & sedalin, she's lost some weight and seems to be recovering although we did have a minor setback.

Some days I get so down x
 
Lotty said:
Hi there, my mare was diagnosed with laminitis at the end of March. I only used to feed her a handful of dengie good doer and ad-lib hay, but the yards hay was quite rich and the grass was coming through.

She has now been stabled for 9weeks, her hay gets weighed now and soaked for 12hours. She now gets magnesium with 1scoop of Happy Hoof morning & night - she's never had a scoop of feed in her life. She's on bute & sedalin, she's lost some weight and seems to be recovering although we did have a minor setback.

Some days I get so down x
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Is so hard isn't it; glad she is on the road to recovery now. Chin up :)
 
Is your vet absolutely sure its laminitus? Just seems odd for him to get it being young, growing and not over weight. What tests did he do?
 
Sorry to hear about your lad, i've just found out my mare (bit older then yours 18 yo!) has a rotated pedal bone (in one foot only). I've done an unbelievable amount of research about laminitis, causes, treatement and feeding (even though it is likely mine - like yours is not related to being vastly overweight/diet).

I'd be amazed if its caused by the alfalfa - if you look at the ingredients for the 'Top spec, Top Chop lite' its basically alfalfa!

I've swapped my mare from Balieys low cal No14 to the Top spec anti lam balancer a bucket of top chop lite twice a day, and a small net soaked for 12 hours twice a day. Best of luck, hope he feels better soon!
 
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