Preparing a lami-prone for the spring grass

[noblesteed]

Hi all,

Just looking with interest at the thread about lami and magnesium has got me thinking.
My horse had a lami episode last spring, he was overweight and was turned out against my wishes on very rich pasture for a few days - enough for him to have a mild episode. At the time he was tested for cushing and EMS and both came back negative. He was also fat-scored by the vet at 2.75 so not excessively fat, but he was cresty and had fat pads.
Since then he has had his diet very closely managed. He had a mild flare-up in November when we moved yards and I put him on haylage - we think caused by the acidity of the haylage. He has been absolutely fine since then on hay and farrier removed his lami pads last week saying he was satisfied that all is well.

He has dropped from 511 kg to 480kg (weightaped) since xmas and is looking great, I'd say about a 2.25. No crest or fat pads. He's turned out by day and given a suitable amount of hay at night, he also munches on his straw bed. He has a feed of 1 scoop mollichaff calmer with rosehips. He also gets a bit of fast fibre added but not a lot as it makes him loose! Since having rosehips added to his diet he hasn't lost a single shoe (we used to have a hard time keeping shoes on him and he would then get a bruise or pull his hoof to bits) and with it's antioxidant effects I am keen to continue feeding it.

I am wondering if there is anything else I could add as a buffer in preparation for the spring grass. After all the work getting him back into good health I don't want a relapse, so prevention is vital. He will be muzzled as soon as the field goes slightly green but the farrier suggested adding something that will help flush out toxins. He thinks milk thistle would be a good option. However reading the thread about magnesium got me thinking...

When I first bought this horse I fed him haylage as that's all we could have at the yard, but he also had a good magnesium supplement as he was a stresshead. He never showed any signs of lami at all. So could magnesium be the answer?

What do other lami-prone owners give to 'protect' them from the spring grass?

 

[Hen]

Hi all,

Just looking with interest at the thread about lami and magnesium has got me thinking.
My horse had a lami episode last spring, he was overweight and was turned out against my wishes on very rich pasture for a few days - enough for him to have a mild episode. At the time he was tested for cushing and EMS and both came back negative. He was also fat-scored by the vet at 2.75 so not excessively fat, but he was cresty and had fat pads.
Since then he has had his diet very closely managed. He had a mild flare-up in November when we moved yards and I put him on haylage - we think caused by the acidity of the haylage. He has been absolutely fine since then on hay and farrier removed his lami pads last week saying he was satisfied that all is well.

He has dropped from 511 kg to 480kg (weightaped) since xmas and is looking great, I'd say about a 2.25. No crest or fat pads. He's turned out by day and given a suitable amount of hay at night, he also munches on his straw bed. He has a feed of 1 scoop mollichaff calmer with rosehips. He also gets a bit of fast fibre added but not a lot as it makes him loose! Since having rosehips added to his diet he hasn't lost a single shoe (we used to have a hard time keeping shoes on him and he would then get a bruise or pull his hoof to bits) and with it's antioxidant effects I am keen to continue feeding it.

I am wondering if there is anything else I could add as a buffer in preparation for the spring grass. After all the work getting him back into good health I don't want a relapse, so prevention is vital. He will be muzzled as soon as the field goes slightly green but the farrier suggested adding something that will help flush out toxins. He thinks milk thistle would be a good option. However reading the thread about magnesium got me thinking...

When I first bought this horse I fed him haylage as that's all we could have at the yard, but he also had a good magnesium supplement as he was a stresshead. He never showed any signs of lami at all. So could magnesium be the answer?

What do other lami-prone owners give to 'protect' them from the spring grass?

Along with magnesium supplementation I have concentrated on making sure gut function is optimised and have started on Equishure as a hind-gut buffer.

 

[warmbloodcrazy]

I am wondering the same thing for my mums horse!!! He had laminitis last year for the first time and they said it was due to EMS. We've had him since a foal and it was a shock when he got laminitis aged 9! Hes a warmblood. He has lost a hell of alot of weight we've been so strict with him, he had a cresty neck and fat deposits ovr his bum but wasnt enormous at all. On his new set of blood tests last week they are now saying he is testing positive for cushings....he had been negative before when he had his laminitis attack and was even tested at Liphook as he had to go there as an emergency to try and help his feet.. hes become so lethargic since it all and we had been wondering how we can make him feel better without compromising his diet. He is on a low cal balancer and vitamin supplements. He is turned out in a starvation paddock and will be closely monitored into the spring but the worry is still there!

Hope it all goes ok for you!