Pre-laminitis? Help, out of my depth!

[SmallPony]

Hello! First post here - really hoping for some advice as I'm out of my depth!

I have a 20 year old 12hh welsh cross - she's never needed the vet her whole life (so not complaining at all now!) but I had the vet come out yesterday to take some bloods for EMS & cushings as pony has gotten very cresty over the past month or so.

The vet gave her a whole once over, and said I needed to restrict her grazing immediately to avoid laminitis, apparently she has some pulses in her feet but not 'bounding' (and she is not sore or lame).

Yard owner is worth her weight in gold and was out in the heat yesterday evening fencing off a little square of very sparse grass for me, and going to reduce hay etc.

Vet is going to call with blood results tomorrow hopefully and I will ask more questions then, but hoping for some H&H wisdom in the meantime!

Has anyone else got any experience of what I guess is kind of, pre-laminitis?

Am I OK to exercise her? She hasn't been worked properly for about 10 days (partly due to the heat) which I assume has contributed to the fattness... but will I cause any damage with a few long walking/hill hacks if it cools down over the next few days?

Does anyone have any other advice? I feel terrible about it... I knew she was rather fat, but had just planned a gradual increase in exercise once the heatwave was passed, and also feel guilty that I could have missed these warning signs if it wasnt for the vet picking them up!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would wait to exercise until the pulses have settled back to normal.
If she does have Cushings, Prascend will sort your problem out.

 

[millikins]

You need to soak her hay then rinse well and put in a small hole net. Is the vet o.k. with her being out? My laminitic did a whole spell on box rest then to give her a break I bought bags of cheap bark chips from Wickes, soaked them and made a tiny turnout for her next to the others. I'd take vet advice re exercise, is she prescribed bute? Good luck, it's horrible but there are many success stories on here.

 

[SmallPony]

You need to soak her hay then rinse well and put in a small hole net. Is the vet o.k. with her being out? My laminitic did a whole spell on box rest then to give her a break I bought bags of cheap bark chips from Wickes, soaked them and made a tiny turnout for her next to the others. I'd take vet advice re exercise, is she prescribed bute? Good luck, it's horrible but there are many success stories on here.

Thanks millikins. Ive bought a small hole net now and she has steamed hay anyway so not too much of a change. Vet made no mention of bute or box rest or anything... just said restricted grazing ASAP to get the weight off her... which is why I am a bit unsure on quite where we stand... My fault I should have asked more questions but didn't really process it all until afterwards and its all new to me!.

 

[Fransurrey]

Don't reduce the hay, but soak it instead. If she's a gorger then use a small holed pillow net (if she's not shod) to slow her down and keep her occupied. Did the vet show you how to take pulses? If so I would let them subside (I find I can't find them easily when they're normal!) then start walks.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Don’t panic, you have caught it early and your vet is on the ball with testing. Steaming the hay won’t reduce sugars but soaking will. If pony needs steamed hay due for respiratory issues you can soak it as well once it’s been steamed. Ideally to reduce weight feed 1.5% of body weight so weigh hay dry and then soak/steam and feed in equal amounts over 24hours. No to exercise unless vet advises it because although she doesn’t have laminitis that you can see damage can occur in the feet in the early stages. Without xrays you can’t tell and you don’t want to cause any rotation. If you are feeding any hard feed then everything needs to be under 10% starch and sugar combined and a supplement of high grade milk thistle is a great detox which will keep the liver working as it should.

 

[millikins]

If she was mine I'd want her off any grass until those pulses are gone, but on a soft surface. You don't say where you are but I'm in the South East, it hasn't rained for weeks but if we get the predicted thunderstorms tomorrow then the grass is going to spurt and will be dangerous for laminitics.

 

[scats]

You’re doing all the right things- restrict grass or remove from it, soak hay and allow free movement, but I wouldn’t be exercising until pulses haven’t been felt for a few weeks.

 

[meleeka]

Thanks millikins. Ive bought a small hole net now and she has steamed hay anyway so not too much of a change. Vet made no mention of bute or box rest or anything... just said restricted grazing ASAP to get the weight off her... which is why I am a bit unsure on quite where we stand... My fault I should have asked more questions but didn't really process it all until afterwards and its all new to me!.

Steamed hay won’t get rid of the goodness. It needs to be soaked, but you may find a teeny holed net is enough. Personally I find exercise is the best thing to prevent laminitis. Not fast work, but walking. If she was mine I’d get her off grass for a few days until the pulses go down and then get her gently moving.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

One of mine I suspected had cushings and his pulses were up and down on occasions so I keep him off the grass for 5 or 6 days until they are normal then re introduce to grass slowly.

His actually on Prascend now so his pulses have been normal plus my grass is pretty much burnt and dead at the moment.

To be on the safe side I would restrict grazing and monitor the pulses feed soaked hay until at least you get you blood results back.

 

[SmallPony]

Thanks all - good news on her bloods that all ok other than a mildly raised cushings result which we are going to repeat in 6 weeks, and then decide after that if to start prascend or just monitor via bloods

Vet discussion was super helpful - she explained everything again (patience of a saint) and she has said yes to exercise (obviously not charging about) - she explained that the pulses were only borderline palpable rather than something to panic about, and that the restricted grazing and gentle exercise to start shifting fat and building fitness is going to be more beneficial from a metabolic point of view for her to prevent an actual laminitis (like meeleka above has said). If any signs of her being footy then different story, but fingers crossed we will be ok! We are lucky to have a very soft arena surface so will be starting lots of walking in there just to be on the safe side.
No pulses and cool feet today, and even now after 24 hrs restricted I'm sure her crest feels softer?!

I have followed above advice and she has had a small holed, soaked haynet this afternoon, and is on Timothy hay which should also be lower in sugar too

Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[meleeka]

If you can make a track in her field then that would be fab for movement. I’m amazed at how trim it keeps mine. I use electric and take it all down in the winter.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

If you can make a track in her field then that would be fab for movement. I’m amazed at how trim it keeps mine. I use electric and take it all down in the winter.

Me too. First time using a track this year and I’m a convert, B has never looked so slim and even DP with his EMS is looking good.