:( Pony has laminitis

tabithakat64

tabithakat64

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Despite being turned out in a muzzle, worked five days a week, having no feed and a handful of hay during the day when she's in Lady has laminitis
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This year she is the best weight she's ever been and is finally looking like a pony rather than a hippo.
This morning she was a bit pottery and I just assumed she was tired as I couldn't feel a pluse but when I brought her out of her stable this evening she was walking like a crab so rang the vet, she's had some pain killer and is feeling much better.
It's really shocked me as I felt like we were doing everything right and it just goes to show even if you do all the right things, they can still get laminitis.
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Can you all please send Lady some get well soon vibes
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It does sometimes feel that you can never do enough when it comes to Lami.
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I hope she makes a speedy recovery. Sounds like you're doing all the right things for her.
x
 
Sympathy from here too. My pony has also just gone down with laminitis despite not being overweight and in work.
 
Poor you and poor pony.

If you keep her fibre intake up she is less likely to suffer a bout. Soak the hay for 24 hours to get rid of the nutrients and give in a small hole net a handful is just not enough to prevent her hindgut becoming acidic and 'leaky'. If her hindgut does become acidic, this can actually trigger laminitis, which may have been what has happened here. You might also want to feed her a probiotic as this can help settle the hindgut. Starving a laminitic is not the way to go but I know that some unenlightened vets still advise people to do so
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The muzzle, however, is an excellent idea.

Hope pony is better soon.
 
i agree i feed my lamanitic mare soaked hay ad lib.
she is now on leafy stage grass without a muzzle 24/7 with her hay and (fingers crossed) full of herself as if shes 5 again.
 
Has she been tested recently for cushings disease? If not it would be worth doing. If she has it, medication will help prevent further attacks of laminitis.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Despite being turned out in a muzzle, worked five days a week, having no feed and a handful of hay during the day when she's in Lady has laminitis
frown.gif

This year she is the best weight she's ever been and is finally looking like a pony rather than a hippo.
This morning she was a bit pottery and I just assumed she was tired as I couldn't feel a pluse but when I brought her out of her stable this evening she was walking like a crab so rang the vet, she's had some pain killer and is feeling much better.
It's really shocked me as I felt like we were doing everything right and it just goes to show even if you do all the right things, they can still get laminitis.
frown.gif

Can you all please send Lady some get well soon vibes
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]
I just put mine on Lamiitis Prone from Global Herbs,my 15 year old mare and pony came down with it this year,and it was just when they were coming into season,so sometimes it does not have to do with food or weight....Hope Lady is feeling better soon !
 
The vet has advised that she now be kept on box rest with frog supports and on pain killers, ACP and bedded on shavings. She has also said that they may have to do x-rays
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She's allowed two large sections of soaked hay a day and a scoop of happy hoof. Some how that doesn't seem enough as she was able to eat even with her muzzle on and she's 13.2hh
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Is there anything else I can give her to keep her from getting bored whilst on box rest? I was thinking maybe some high fibre cubes in a snack ball or some swedes and apples hung around the stable, I will check out with the vet if I'm allowed to give her any of these.

I will ask the vet about testing for cushings but think it's unlikely as she is only 18.

I'm so gutted as I put so much effort into turning my skinny little nervous, challenging ride rescue case in to a healthy happy pony over the last ten years and have battled to keep the weight off for the last 7 and finally when I've achieved all this she's gotten ill and I'm worried her behaviour will just go back to being like it was when I first had her now she's on box rest
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So sorry about your pony. The grey in my sig tested positive for Cushings 2 and a half years ago after an acute attack of laminitis (since being on Pergolide he has not had another attack). I would definitely not give her any apples/swedes/carrots etc. Although hi fibre cubes are approved by the laminitis trust, their sugar levels do fluctuate so I wouldn't give her any of those either. When my chap had it, he was on rubber matting with a very deep shavings bed on the top and I fed him ad lib hay (soaked for 24 hours) in a small holed net - this took him ages to eat, kept him occupied and also kept his hindgut working. He also had frog supports fitted. Xrays showed that he had pedal bone rotation and my farrier fitted Imprint shoes (here is the website ) as the frog supports weren't helping. The imprint shoes marked a turning point and he improved rapidly. In total, he was on box rest for 11 weeks and then turned out for very short periods which were gradually increased.
Just a thought, but as you have been riding your pony 5 times a week do you do a lot of trotting on hard ground as concussion can be a major cause of laminitis.
The most important thing during the recovery period is not to turn your pony out too soon when she appears sound. A friend's native has just gone done with laminitis and the vet has told her to keep the pony in for a further month after the pony is sound and all symptoms of laminitis have gone.
There is a forum called The Metabolic Horse which has lots of info on laminitis and Cushings.
BTW my chap was nearly 18 when he was tested for Cushings - there are horses/ponies a lot younger who have also tested positive.
 
You can actually feed more than a scoop of Happy Hoof, personally I would feed the Dengie one - Healthy Hoof, it has more biotin in it than the Spillers one, but BOTH these feeds are intended to be fed at a much higher rate than 1 scoop, check on the bags for the correct amount for your individual pony. The biotin is important for foot maintenance and in the Dengie one it is in remedial levels so will actively help. The other thing that is important is that the pony's vits and mins are kept up, by feeding these feeds at the recommended levels, you can ensure that the pony is getting them. Her system is already compromises, she needs all the vits/mins to aid recovery.

The thing you DO have to avoid is starch, this will trigger laminitis, if you intend to feed a fibre cube, check the bag very carefully, a lot of fibre cubes are low in DE but actually do contain cereals, so before you feed them, check the starch levels as well, if they are below 10% then they should be OK, if in doubt, phone the feed company and ask them.

So, I would feed ad lib soaked (24hrs) hay in a small holed haynet
The appropriate levels of Healthy Hoof
Fibre Cubes (if under 10% starch) - the added bonus with these is that you could put in a feedball.

Avoid swede/carrot/turnips - high in sugars, but would think about mixing some speedi-beet in with Healthy Hoof and make a bucket feed she can pick at during the day alongside her haynet.

You may even find she puts on some weight, do NOT panic, if fed this way she will have put the weight on with fibre and her hindgut will have remained stable. It is not the weight so much that triggers laminitis, more an unstable hindgut. By this I do not mean let her get fat, as overweight ponies most definately ARE at more at risk, but you don't actually have to keep a horse skinny to treat it.

Hope this all makes sense
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Sending healing vibes.
 
Sorry to hear your horse has Laminitis.

The above posts are both very good.

You need to get your vet to attempt to determine the cause of the Laminitis. Get him to take a blood test. Laminitis can be caused by being overweight, having an intollerance to insulin, concushion to the feet, an infection, emerging encystead small red worms, Cushings Disease etc.

Pergolide is excellent if Cushings Disease is suspected (this is a prescription drug).
 
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