Pony with suspected EMS... any advice/tips?

[Prince707]

Hi all,

Can anyone offer some advice/tips for managing a pony with suspected EMS? Is it all doom and gloom, or is there light at the end of the tunnel?

He's a 7yr old connie who's been intermittently lame on his near front for the past 6 ish months. Everytime I call the vet for a lameness work up he comes sound before the appointment (doesn't help that the appointments are around a week and a half from when I call to book). It only seems to show up when hes on the lunge on the left rein. He was also extremely foot sore a few weeks ago after he had been trimmed by the farrier (not shod) and he had severe bruising on all 4 feet (pic attached). I put him on box rest immediately and the vet came out within a few days. The vet was sure it wasnt laminitus and the farrier agreed - they advised that if it was lami, the bruising would be consistent with the pedal bone below the point of the frog. The vet concluded he had been trimmed too short and he could go back to full turn out. He came right within a week or so but the pony is due to be trimmed again next week, so I'm dreading it. It's also worth noting that within a few days of him coming sound, he went lame on his near front again which lasted about 5 days (vet advised I keep him in full work to keep his lameness visable ready for a work up, but to no avail).


He's holding on to every ounce of weight and I'm really struggling to get him down to a manageable size. He's on a sprinkle of hi-fi light morning and night with a small soaked net of an evening. He's turned out from 7ish til midday but there is no hope of keeping a muzzle on him or keeping him an electric fenced paddock. He's worked 5 out of 7 days but I admit the work could be harder. I've also just ordered a weight tape so I can keep track.

There's not a great deal on the internet about it so any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm extremely confused and not sure what to do next?

 

[ester]

Get on the ECIR groups/Eleanor Kellon's work - the hoof rehab group on facebook also has quite a few people with good experience on that side of things and some useful files.
Can you provide him with tracked grazing or would the electric fence not suffice then either?
It sounds like many would call 'sub clinical lami'

Does he actually need trimming?

It might be an idea to get your grazing/hay tested particularly for iron
http://forageplustalk.co.uk/iron-overload-in-horses-by-dr-kellon/
As a start my own does much better when supplemented with magnesium oxide, inclined to become fat paddy otherwise.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

It can be hard work with good doers but don't despair. Have a look at the ECIR FB page, it is US based but has a lot of good advice. The trick is to feed a high Fibre, low sugar and starch balanced diet without starving them. I use Forage Plus Anti Lami Balancer, salt, soaked grass pellets and chaff to carry the supplements. Interestingly my IR pony has incredibly thin soles and on the advice of my farrier I have started him on the FP Pea protein as he was very sore on the gravel to the field. Farrier is very clued up and for horses hooves that don't respond to the balancer it is possible they lack protein. After a month he is now walking on stones without wincing and my Connie has actually grown some serious Hoof between shoeings so it might be worth looking at it for yours to help with the bruising.

 

[SEL]

Will he definitely not keep a muzzle on? If he has EMS then it is the insulin response you need to manage and grass - even just a few hours - will cause a spike. They can eat a huge amount in a short space of time.

I saw a cracking job done of dieting a Welsh D last year. Muzzle on grass during the day, in with a small hole net of soaked hay overnight. She looked amazing by autumn and was sound too.

 

[DirectorFury]

As a start my own does much better when supplemented with magnesium oxide, inclined to become fat paddy otherwise.

+1 to mag ox, and I'd add cinnamon too. I've reintroduced both for my EMS horse and the weight has melted off her in the last 2 weeks despite her workload not really changing that much.

 

[dreamcometrue]

I got my Connemara x tested for EMS a couple of weeks ago as I just couldn’t stop her getting fatter despite muzzling her for turnout and riding her 6 days per week. I’ve always managed her weight meticulously as she had a brief episode of laminitis when I bought her four years ago, but the usual precautions just weren’t working.

The results came back positive so she is now in with soaked hay and on metformin. I am gutted that she has this, she is my world. I’m thankful, though, that she hasn’t had any more laminitis.

I hope you pony comes sound, that he doesn’t have EMS and that you are able to manage him. The grass is totally mad this year.

 

[fusspot]

My Welsh D was sub clinical Laminitic eventually getting recurrent abscesses too which was all down to the EMS-this was when he had already been diagnosed but were trying to control with diet etc.He then had to start on Metformin which did control it for a while,even on that he started getting abscesses again and eventually went down with Lami again. When mine was diagnosed I looked into the feed and took him off Hi Fi Lite and put on Hi Fi Molasses Free-Although Hi Fi Lite is endorsed as safe for Laminitics, you would be surprised at sugar contents-not much difference between Hi Fi and Hi Fi Lite,Hi Fi Molasses Free is about 10% less.If you look at the 2 side by side you can see how much more molasses still in Hi Fi Lite.I would have yours checked for Cushings-my sons pony went lame and it wasn’t until nearly too late that was picked up as Lami-she tested positive for Cushings but showed absolutely no signs.I would also do EMS check.My boy was fed Hi Fi Molasses Free with High Fibre Nuts,muzzled in Field and out at least 6 hours a day,large soaked haynet at night-Don’t starve too much as this can cause issues and they can just store the fat.If hay is soaked for at least 3/4 hours then it’s just something to eat with virtually no content-give hay a spray off before giving as it’s been sitting in the water so you just spray off to get rid of any sugars it’s been sitting in.I feel for you with how hard it is to keep a muzzle on,my sons New Forest is a nightmare and his is precautionary but to be totally honest,your horse is going to have no type of life if does have EMS as even if not all year round,it will need a muzzle part of the year.Its not a death sentence but does need strict management.Any questions please ask.Good Luck.x

 

[be positive]

Apart from the helpful advice already given my thoughts are that I would a) be getting extremely fed up waiting so long for the vet to attend what is an ongoing issue and if he did not come out the next time within a couple of days I would be changing vets, I know they can be very busy but he knows this needs to be addressed and is taking too long to get to you so is not doing the best he can to help. b) I would want xays done to see what is going on inside that foot, an inbalance could be causing the lameness and being able to see inside will be far better than guessing from what is seen externally and will help the farrier trim appropriately, if he requires trimming at all .