Lots of laminits this year

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Sandstone1

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This year seems to be particularly bad for laminitis.
Lots of posts on Facebook groups and my vet and farrier say they are seeing a lot.
Obviously, need to keep close eye on weight etc but any other tips for trying to avoid this horrible disease.
 
if in doubt, even of a grass flush-get them off it/muzzle/get them moving more-even if it means lunging in addition to riding. we've not had any rain for three weeks so as soon as we get any, grass will be very pokey and if I think I need to they will be in the barn on soaked hay and worked as much as I can. I am lucky, unimproved pasture and some ewes and lambs to help keep the amount down. I also think feeding hay daily is important for gut health so I do that year round anyway.
know your horse/pony-pulses are not always the only sign-crest hardness/eye socket can be key as well.mine are both barefoot and rock crunching right now.
 
Thanks, keeping a close eye on them and getting off grass if in doubt. Had a lot of rain recently so fear grass will shoot up once sun comes out.
 
I bring my big lad in from about lunch time til around 7, but I think for the next few days he'll stay in morning til evening as the rain and warm weather is bound to trigger some grass activity. He has Cushings, it's well controlled with prascend in fact he's doing really well but had a terrible time with it last year, don't want to see him go through that again. Fingers crossed we all get through this changeable weather. I have an app on my phone, but not sure how reliable it is.
 
This is indeed proving to be a nightmare year for laminitis :(.

I'm unexpectedly back up to three neds, and I have close mowed the winter paddock in order to put no 3 back on it. It's surprising how much grass came off what looks like a bare paddock. The ned in the background had a lami scare, it wasn't in the end but farrier and vets all said that they're dealing with lots of cases atm. I'm watching them all like hawks, espcially the two Cushing's mares.

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Yep, I've been caught out :( the lady in our local feed store said the amount of cases this year is higher than she can ever recall.
 
HiPo'sHuman said:
Yep, I've been caught out :( the lady in our local feed store said the amount of cases this year is higher than she can ever recall.
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Me too ☹️ My 14.2 connie who is fit and lean, worked 6 days a week ready for a summer of fun came in from the field crippled.... she had only been turned out over night and in with hay by day... but boom. Lami. Beyond devastated!
 
The first lot of hot, sunny weather we had around here (South West) followed heavy rain, and the vets said that week they saw a record number of cases, including a couple of horses that weren't overweight but were caught out by the sudden rush of sugar after a winter with very little grazing (they've tested negative for other contributory factors e.g. cushings). It is a hideous disease, and scary that some horses seem very susceptible. I have been muzzling when we get rain, much to my horse's disgust!
 
PoniesRock said:
Me too ☹️ My 14.2 connie who is fit and lean, worked 6 days a week ready for a summer of fun came in from the field crippled.... she had only been turned out over night and in with hay by day... but boom. Lami. Beyond devastated!
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Sorry you're going through it too, it's *****e - we had so many fun things planned for summer. Now I'm just praying he recovers well and can come back into work. I'd been away the week before, thankfully he held out until I got home! Hopefully all will be well for both of ours, at least we caught it early and are on top of managing them well
 
SilverLinings said:
The first lot of hot, sunny weather we had around here (South West) followed heavy rain, and the vets said that week they saw a record number of cases, including a couple of horses that weren't overweight but were caught out by the sudden rush of sugar after a winter with very little grazing (they've tested negative for other contributory factors e.g. cushings). It is a hideous disease, and scary that some horses seem very susceptible. I have been muzzling when we get rain, much to my horse's disgust!
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Mine came down after torrential rain :( he's porky but not huge, I never once considered him to be at risk.
 
New horse - already fat and shouldn't have bought her really - footy on stones today. vet said no pulses that would worry her, no heat in feet, no raised heart rate and negative to hoof testers but she does look a bit "stuck" on a sharp left hand turn. Vet said treat as field injury but no way am I doing that. The fat lazy so and so could not be injured as all she does is eat and its not her jaw that's a problem. should have saved myself £85 and just done what I have done anyway. it is frightening though as they were not on lush grass at all.
 
HiPo'sHuman said:
Sorry you're going through it too, it's *****e - we had so many fun things planned for summer. Now I'm just praying he recovers well and can come back into work. I'd been away the week before, thankfully he held out until I got home! Hopefully all will be well for both of ours, at least we caught it early and are on top of managing them well
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It’s awful watching them isn’t it ☹️ Not a lot you can do other than bute and a nice bed ☹️
Fingers crossed both ours come out the other side and return to work without a problem.
 
HiPo'sHuman said:
Mine came down after torrential rain :( he's porky but not huge, I never once considered him to be at risk.
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It's a horrid thing for you both to go through, I really hope he makes a full (and quick) recovery, and you never have to experience it again (and the same for anyone else with a laminitic horse at the moment).
 
Interesting that it's so rife this year. This freakish weather can't have helped. I'm in Birmingham, we had that ridiculous rainfall over the weekend so I'm sure that will have contributed to cases round here.
My boy's crest is quite hard tonight - not rock solid, like I've felt some before, but definitely going that way. Have kept him in tonight, and will continue to keep him off grass until the crest has softened. Have got a grazing muzzle on order ready for when he can go out again. I actually ordered one last week, and the company emailed yesterday to say that they haven't got any in stock (!) I was not best pleased, but ordered a different brand from Ebay today instead. Then when I get to the yard, I find that it's already too late and his neck is already cresty. I could have gone and picked a muzzle up over the weekend if I'd known they didn't have one in stock; very annoying.
And this is on top of the back problems :( really the last thing I need right now!
 
Sort of on topic... Has anyone used Keratex Zeolite to try and ward off lami? Any evidence that it does anything??
 
Mine has just got it too - owned him for 10 years and thought I'd been so careful, strip grazing. Muzzle on order.
 
antigone said:
New horse - already fat and shouldn't have bought her really - footy on stones today. vet said no pulses that would worry her, no heat in feet, no raised heart rate and negative to hoof testers but she does look a bit "stuck" on a sharp left hand turn. Vet said treat as field injury but no way am I doing that. The fat lazy so and so could not be injured as all she does is eat and its not her jaw that's a problem. should have saved myself £85 and just done what I have done anyway. it is frightening though as they were not on lush grass at all.
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Mine never reacted to hoof testers. Also, never had the typical raging pulses in her front legs.

Such a nasty disease ☹️
 
ponyparty said:
Sort of on topic... Has anyone used Keratex Zeolite to try and ward off lami? Any evidence that it does anything??
Click to expand...

Just had a quick look but there doesn't appear to be any scientific evidence supporting this. Spring grass isn't full of toxins but it is full of sugar. I think if it had any affect on the incidence of laminitis the manufacturers would have no problem in stating that - but they don't - they just say that it can be used in laminitis. So can bananas but I wouldn't recommend it.
 
Both my cushings and non Cushing pony have bounding pulses tonight :( neither are lame but I’m not risking it. They are usually on a track and the trouble is the longer I keep them in, the more grass is growing on their track. It looks like I’ll have to sfart again with strip grazing.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
if in doubt, even of a grass flush-get them off it/muzzle/get them moving more-even if it means lunging in addition to riding. we've not had any rain for three weeks so as soon as we get any, grass will be very pokey and if I think I need to they will be in the barn on soaked hay and worked as much as I can. I am lucky, unimproved pasture and some ewes and lambs to help keep the amount down. I also think feeding hay daily is important for gut health so I do that year round anyway.
know your horse/pony-pulses are not always the only sign-crest hardness/eye socket can be key as well.mine are both barefoot and rock crunching right now.
Click to expand...

We some years get the local sheep flock in but they tend to stay a bit long and decimate it a bit. Was wondering if we should get a couple of pet sheep to do an all year round job? Don't know much about keeping sheep though and our field gets very wet...
 
stencilface said:
We some years get the local sheep flock in but they tend to stay a bit long and decimate it a bit. Was wondering if we should get a couple of pet sheep to do an all year round job? Don't know much about keeping sheep though and our field gets very wet...
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They aren't my sheep-I'd not have sheep as a gift as they are too ihigh maintenance in addition to everything else I have. These sheep can come and go into my paddock too which means it's not overgrazed and stressed but they get rid of docks, ragwort florets and I get the benefits of cross grazing without the bad bits. They aren't in there in the winter.
 
we have the ponies strip grazing sorted but one EMS pony does get hot feet despite this.My boy had a stronger pulse yesterday also with his grazing sorted but warm weather good rain and BOOM!!.
 
PoniesRock said:
Mine never reacted to hoof testers. Also, never had the typical raging pulses in her front legs.

Such a nasty disease ☹️
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I hope that she makes a full recovery soon, and the same to all others who are coping with this horrid condition.

What made the vet diagnose laminitis in the end? I'm relying on monitoring digital pulses and reaction to hoof testers with mine, and looking for footiness on the turn. The 7yo had all of these but it was due to poor foot balance after being on loan (very long toes, low heels). She still needed X Rays, Danilon, padded up fronts and 3 weeks box rest on a deep bed plus corrective trimming, so similar initial treatment as for laminitis. The first (very young) vet thought she had laminitis, especially as there is so much of it about here even in the very well managed equines who are muzzled and/or strip grazed, and haven't had it before :(.
 
Tiddlypom said:
This is indeed proving to be a nightmare year for laminitis :(.

I'm unexpectedly back up to three neds, and I have close mowed the winter paddock in order to put no 3 back on it. It's surprising how much grass came off what looks like a bare paddock. The ned in the background had a lami scare, it wasn't in the end but farrier and vets all said that they're dealing with lots of cases atm. I'm watching them all like hawks, espcially the two Cushing's mares.

vVspOWI.jpg
Click to expand...
Doesn't close mowing 'stress' the grass and cause more sugar in new growth? I asked my vet about this and he said only mow every fortnight - so now I am not sure what to do. My sheep are not doing a very good job even in a small paddock!
 
ponyparty said:
Sort of on topic... Has anyone used Keratex Zeolite to try and ward off lami? Any evidence that it does anything??
Click to expand...

Not specifically for lami - but for helping with grass related toxins then yes (although not that brand). Activated charcoal is another thing I have in my huge stash of powders that I will add to feed for when my mare decides electric fencing / muzzles are optional and I find her in a field of lush grass. She's PSSM / EMS and has evidence of liver damage so I try very hard to keep her away from grass flushes.
 
Patchworkpony said:
Doesn't close mowing 'stress' the grass and cause more sugar in new growth? I asked my vet about this and he said only mow every fortnight - so now I am not sure what to do. My sheep are not doing a very good job even in a small paddock!
Click to expand...

I asked one of the metabolic specialists about this (from a PSSM perspective, but its all about sugar) and she said the sugar level might be higher, but they will eat a LOT less from short grass than long grass. Overall with the long grass they can stand in one spot and munch greedily so will probably take in a lot more sugar overall.

She told me to take a small pair of scissors and see how much grass I can cut in 10 mins. If I can fill a plastic bag then its much too long.
 
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