New to laminitis

[rmasterson]

My very good do-er mare had her first bout of laminitis earlier this summer. She was injured in a freak accident and was off work when the first flush of Summer grass came through. She was X-rayed which confirmed laminitis and showed some rotation. The off- fore was worse affected. Vet & farrier say they have seen worse. She's in all day now with soaked hay and has lost lots of weight with a little more to go. I turn her out with her companions at night on a paddock that I would describe as not quite bare but not far off it. She has been shod differently (stubbed toe and more support at the heel) and re x-rayed. She also has silicone pads in front.
She has been sound for a month or so and is getting fitter. Unfortunately took her hacking today and she was quite lame in trot on her near fore.

A couple of issues/questions that I could do with your experiences on;

She seems very sensitive to any kind of rough ground even though she has pads on. She will take a very sore step if she stands on a stone for example.

Her droppings were quite green today, does this indicate fresh grass growth and if so, would that lead to a flare up?

Is there any other way of knowing the danger times for grass growth?

There is no strong pulse to her foot today. Is there always a strong pulse with a bout of laminitis?

How do people manage a flare up? Bute for a couple of days? Does it come and go?

Thanks in advance!

 

[meleeka]

The best thing to do is know what her normal pulse feels like. A bounding pulse doesn’t always mean laminitis and rarely no raised pulse can be felt, but it’s a pretty reliable indicator imo.
Greenish dung would indicate fresh grass to me, so the sensitivity (if it wasn’t there before) would worry me. I’d keep her off the grass or muzzle for a few days and see if it improves.
If your horse has had laminitis she’s more likely to get it again unfortunately, so you will have to be careful to spot it early. Has she been tested for EMS/Cushings? If not I’d get that done too.

 

[Gloi]

Have a read of everything on this very informative site
http://www.thelaminitissite.org/
Has your vet tested her for Cushings & EMS? If not then get it done.

It is very likely it is still laminitis causing her current sensitivity.

 

[holeymoley]

I’m wondering if the rotation has been corrected with the trim? Have you had more x rays since the first? Green poop would be a big no for mine, it sounds likes there’s something that’s not ideal being ingested ie the grass. Is she on any hard feed? It does sound like she may have some underlying issue if she is becoming sore that easily on the grass.

 

[rmasterson]

Thanks all, results not back from Cushings test. Had a look at the laminitis site very informative indeed. Thnaks again

 

[Micky]

The grass is growing like stink here, personally I would take her off it again and go back to soaking hay/keeping her in until she is sound?

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

My bet told me they now say 90% of laminitis is from undiagnosed/uncontrolled ppid

Mine is 41 now had laminitis once over 16 years ago and has been managed as a laminitic ever since. Muzzled when turned out. He was diagnosed with ppid Nov 2015 and is medicated with Bova paste as he cant tolerate the prascend pill.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

My very good do-er mare had her first bout of laminitis earlier this summer. She was injured in a freak accident and was off work when the first flush of Summer grass came through. She was X-rayed which confirmed laminitis and showed some rotation. The off- fore was worse affected. Vet & farrier say they have seen worse. She's in all day now with soaked hay and has lost lots of weight with a little more to go. I turn her out with her companions at night on a paddock that I would describe as not quite bare but not far off it. She has been shod differently (stubbed toe and more support at the heel) and re x-rayed. She also has silicone pads in front.
She has been sound for a month or so and is getting fitter. Unfortunately took her hacking today and she was quite lame in trot on her near fore.

A couple of issues/questions that I could do with your experiences on;

She seems very sensitive to any kind of rough ground even though she has pads on. She will take a very sore step if she stands on a stone for example.

Her droppings were quite green today, does this indicate fresh grass growth and if so, would that lead to a flare up?

Is there any other way of knowing the danger times for grass growth?

There is no strong pulse to her foot today. Is there always a strong pulse with a bout of laminitis?

How do people manage a flare up? Bute for a couple of days? Does it come and go?

Thanks in advance!

Laminitis can come on very quickly, I would be very careful letting her on grass this soon especially with rotation, as her droppings are indicating that she's getting perhaps too much. What does your vet say and and what was the management programme they recommended going forward? The sugar is lowest between early hours and about 10am. They an also suffer from low grade laminitis but if she was lame I would think she may have ot again and would get the vet asap for pain relief and to assess if needs to be box rested on a deep bed, you could also ask your farrier to check with hoof testers if they are about

 

[rmasterson]

Hi All, thanks for your feedback. Turns out that she was sound enough the day after I posted and has been sound since. She stood on a stone in the yard as I was mounting and it seems to have been the problem.
I think that she has some sort of pain in her feet (low-grade laminitis?) that makes her very footy on any kind of stony ground. She has been like this for many years. She will trot sound on the road but is very cautious on the stony lane between the yard and the road. This is despite having full gel pads in her feet!

Reducing her weight is my focus now. I am keeping her in all day every day with a small soaked haynet and at night she is turned out with her pals on a fairly bare paddock.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

I would test for ppid if not already. LGL can be a sign and my vet said 90% of cases of laminitis can be from undiagnosed/uncontrolled ppid. Test is free from care about cushings website, you'd have to pay the vet to take the blood sample but test is free. Also look at the sugar/starch content of any hard feed you give. Good luck.

 

[PurBee]

If you’re soaking hay and she’s on just a tiny amount of grass, it will help Reduce inflammation of laminae if you add omega 3, and a multi-mineral pellet balancer. Gain feeds do a multi mineral hay balancer called opti-care, just 1kg a day of pellets helps top up some essential nutrients likely missing in the soaked hay. The omega 3 wont be enough in opti-care so add more, i use freshly ground linseed, rather than rancid bottled omega 3 linseed oil...unless you know its Pressed fresh And refrigerated.