Muzzling and the laminitis app

[HelenBack]

I posted a week or so ago asking for advice about managing grazing for my Cushing's horse. He recently had to have an increase in his prascend dose and I have to wait another couple of weeks yet to retest and see if his ACTH levels are now okay.

The good news is he seems to be very comfortable again now and he's being turned out during the day with a muzzle on, which he seems to have accepted okay. I do believe the muzzle is doing a good job of restricting his access to the grass as his poos are still brown and full of hay, and if I'm leading him around with the muzzle off he drags me around to get to some grass!

I've got the laminitis app on my phone and it's mostly been green lately but the other night it was cold and the following day it shot up into the red. This got me wondering, for those who are in a similar situation to me, do you restrict turnout on the days when the risk is higher or do you assume that the prascend and the muzzle are doing their job and turn out anyway?

 

[Leo Walker]

Mines on a fairly bare paddock, so I check it but don't do anything. If she was out on actual grass then I would, the same way I do if its frosty. If she was muzzled then I probably wouldn't change anything, but shes 6 and has never has lammi, so I can take the small risk. In your shoes I would restrict grazing on those days. Mine was actually off the chart the other day for the first time ever!

 

[HelenBack]

Thanks, I think this is my thinking too. It didn't quite go off the scale by me but was sky high after several days of being pretty much at the bottom of the green! It's back down in the low green again now but I think it might go up again in the next day or so as we have some low overnight temperatures.

Unfortunately we don't have bare paddocks on our yard, although I've currently managed to get him in a small paddock with some older browner grass in it and I'm hoping that and the muzzle is less risky than the short stressed grass in the main field.

The vet keeps saying to me not to worry as once we know his ACTH levels are under control he'll be at no more risk than any other horse but I think until we have the repeat test to find out I'll proceed with caution. I hate having to stable him so much and can't imagine it's very good for him but he doesn't seem to be that bothered and needs must at the moment.