Post-Lami Management Idea

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Paigeous

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Some of you may be aware I'm treating my 14.1hh 11yo Welsh cross mare for lami atm (& thankfully she's doing well :D). I also have a 17hh 4yo ISH mare.
They've always lived out 24/7 in summer & been in together. I have 2 acres of grazing & I'm contemplating how to manage the grass when lami mare is ready to go back out. 24/7 may have to wait til after winter, depending on results of next vet visit, x-rays, etc. but wanna get a plan in order :)
I've purchase a bucket-type grazing muzzle. I have read up on other people's threads on here about their successes with muzzles & 24/7 turnout & think this'll work, but thought I'd run my ideas past people on here :)

My paddocks are already split into 4 (half acre) paddocks. I'm considering splitting them again into 8 (quarter acre) paddocks & putting my lami mare her grazing muzzle on full time every time they move into a new paddock & taking it off when the grass gets lower, so that I don't have to split them up for the 4yo to graze paddocks first. And so that the 11yo can have a couple/few days per rotation muzzle-free.. Also planning on having vit & min licks in the paddocks, so having her muzzle-free would allow her access to these. I'm hoping to be able to manage the grass so that neither of them has to have hay/feed in summer. Does that sound like it would work to eveyone else? :)
 
are they permanently split paddocks or with eleccy fence? if the latter can you put a track up round the perimeter? This has worked really well for my fatty they move a lot more and you can move the fence in a bit occasionally for the extra grass.
 
I would be wary about turning out 24/7, there may not look to be much grass but that is because they're eating it all as it grows.

Can you stable for part of the day? I didn't think muzzles were designed to be worn 24/7?
 
ah so its possible.. it is also known as a paddock paradise system

ours looks like this
179595_10151762033585438_386965529_n.jpg


and goes all the way round a 3 acre field
 
It is difficult to advise on how best to manage because they are all so differnt and react differently to grass - assuming it was grass induced laminitis?
My Welsh lad has to now be stabled at night every day throughout the year to get him off the grass for a bit and ensure his system does not get overloaded. He is on half an acre of very grazed down grass throughout the year with the exception of the winter when I strip graze him daily onto a bit more - when the grass has stopped growing.
It really is about making sure they do not get too much, which causes their systems to not cope and then they get laminitis. A regular comination of exercise, reduced grazing, muzzles and well soaked hay should do the trick though.
Weigh tape and condition score your horse and make sure they loose any excess weight also.
 
The problem for some horses, wearing muzzles 24/7 can lead to soreness from rubbing of either the bucket or the head straps.:(

Also, some horses can be real escape artists from their muzzles, so unless your horse can be supervised and/ or checked several times a day to ensure the muzzle is still on I would advise going for strip grazing instead.
 
I think your idea sounds like it could work but I would worry about your little mare having a muzzle on 24/7 ... the track system is a really good one as it ticks two things off the list - restricting grazing and increasing exercise :) you could always pop your 4 year old in the middle bit every few days so that she can have a good chomp on some longer grass too. That way, both can live muzzle free some / most of the time :)

Glad to hear she is doing well :)
 
I tried the track system but found it doesn't work when the ground is very soft, as it has been here all summer. Everything turns to bog and the corners/turns become especially deep. I think you need very well drained, sandy soil - or a decent summer!.....and who knows when we'll get one of those?
 
yes I do think that depends on your soil.. however we are on the somerset levels (flat.. wet..) but our ground is a little higher than our immediate surroundings. The above pic was actually taken after the first lot of very wetness we had and all things considered it has held up really well and better than expected. They did come in at night for about 2 weeks at one point but that was all. There is a mud track where they have followed the electric fence but the rest is really fine and we got a bumper hay crop off the middle!
 
The 'track system' is basically a simplified version of Paddock Paradise by Jaime Jackson, which is actually an interesting book to read, based on studies of how wild herds move and aimed at keeping horses more naturally, specifically barefoot, but appropriate for horses that need restricted grass intake, any horses for that matter:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=parad...NI_enCA492&redir_esc=&ei=-YczUMbdMubxygGO3YEQ

Forum: http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/

Images of track set-ups, highly adaptable for all size paddocks, you can make it as simple, or as complex as you wish:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=parad...IfTBeaayQHR3YBY&ved=0CF0QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=594

images
 
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Enfys thanks for sharing these links, some of these set-ups are absolutely fantastic.
[Wanders off dreaming about whether livery yard would ever entertain a bare track system, how amazing that would be...]
 
Just remember short grass is just as deadly as long grass, especially if it's stressed, the sugar content rises. We have kept 8 on only 3 acres for nearly 3 months, poo picked twice daily and rough patches topped and despite it not looking full of grass, 4 of them including my 2 are still in muzzles and the rest are bigger than their desired weight!

I had my 2, including recovery lami pony in a bare patch at night with nuts and soaked hay but brat kept escaping so they now are in their muzzles nearly 24/7 with half hour to an hour off in the morning and again late evening. You will be amazed at how little they really need to survive on. Lami pony is kept slightly under his ideal weight and cob is bang on perfect weight and if they need to put weight on, I just give them some soaked hay or increase the amount of safe and sound and linseed meal they get for dinner.

We are moving them into their new paddock soon, only 4 acres and my lami pony will be having half his greenguard taped off and we are fencing them into small strips so they don't overindulge. It took 1 night on a new paddock for my pony to be caught with mild laminitis and he was wearing a muzzle at the time! Muzzles reduce what they eat but they can still eat a large amount especially when its medium length grass! You only have to listen to them munching away to realise:rolleyes:
 
I think people may be misunderstanding me slightly.. I'm not planning on her wearing her grazing muzzle all the time.

I'm thinking: put her in new paddock with 4yo & grazing muzzle on for 2 - 4 days (will have to monitor how long the grass lasts) & then take muzzle off for a few days when grass is low, still sharing with 4yo. The theory behind this: the paddocks will be small & she'll be sharing with non-lami 4yo which means it won't take long for the grass to be eaten low, but she'll be restricted by muzzle so 4yo will do most of munching, then she can have a few days' break from the muzzle when the grass is low.
If I do this, I'll have 8 quarter acre paddocks to rotate round & it will be happening once she's been weaned/tested carefully back onto grass, not as soon as she's allowed out of the stable again. She will be back in work by then, too.

Does this sound any better explained this way?

Not wanting to fetch in all the time if it's safely possible to avoid doing so as she HATES being stabled & is currently climbing the walls. I have to stable 4yo at night to keep her sane - we tried separating them for longer but she got depressed & stopped eating :(
 
I can do without grass at all I'd just like a space where my mare can move freely that isn't a roundpen or other 'work' environment and isn't mechanical (ie a horsewalker). And be around/near other horses. That would be heaven. Great to see all these ideas though, food for thought.
 
Suppose I could keep some fencing aside & strip graze these paddocks further if/when there is a boost in grass..?
Really don't want to fetch in all the time in summer. Neither are keen on it, lami mare is worse. She puts up in winter but can be difficult to turn out & as soon as she feels it warm up significantly, she ups her game.

Frustrating, but I love her to pieces anyway :D
 
the trouble with very small paddocks is that they do limit/discourage movement.. and the track gets away from that.. particularly as you can then effectively 'strip graze' the middle but give them a small bit on each corner so they have to walk further to find it ;)
 
We have a chronic lami pony (and a couple of 12hh that I weight manage to prevent) and we have a large area approx 60x30m near the yard and car parking that we fenced off, scraped back the topsoil and covered in wood chippings from the local tree-surgeons and forestry commission (free). This area provides grass-free turnout and has a field shelter in and we hang haynets of soaked hay at various points. It has gates at both ends and we can open up onto the track to the paddocks and when she has her muzzle on she can go out on the paddocks with her friends for an hour or two just by opening the gate. It also means that she is getting some exercise from pottering around all day and night to keep the muscles moving and blood circulating.
We designed this system some five years ago and it has kept our little girl happy through winter and summer ever since, and was also borrowed successfully by another owner from ponyclub when her overweight stable-phobic LR pony had been suffering with full blown lami for 6 months without improvement. That pony went on to make a full recovery and is in ridden work and full turnout elsewhere now.
 
Mnmnm, I'm glad to hear you have such a good success story :)
I have considered points made by different people & I think I've decided what I'm going to do with her. Though of course, this does depend on how she reacts when we first try her out again.
I think I'm going to keep my half-acre paddocks & strip graze them with both girls. The 4yo can have breaks in the longer grass while we're there, but she's really not greedy, so will not graze down the grass enough to go on to a paddock without the 11yo, who will have a grazing muzzle. This is with the possibility of taking it off at night & putting it back on in the morning, at which time they will get their allowance of fresh grass. This all depends on how lami mare reacts. She will be in work also, which will help keep her weight down. Plus, by restricting my 4yo too, I can ensure she doesn't get lami too.
I do think the track idea is good & could be quite beneficial. However, I don't think the YO (a farmer) would appreciate this use of his land. Plus, it's not very practical for the fields I have; it would be very difficult to construct a decent track around one acre.

I will of course be weaning her back onto grass carefully & monitoring her closely.

Thankyou very much for all the advice, I will keep it all in mind & apply different things should I need to :)
 
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