Preventing laminitis in rescued Shetland mare and foal

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Harmonic

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Hello. I'm new to the forum, and would really appreciate some advice for laminitis prevention. I am going to be taking a rescued Shetland mare and her 7 month old foal next week. The mare is very thin, suffering from worms, sweet itch and in need of an equine dentist. The foal looks to be pretty healthy, but I will be getting them both checked by the vet when they arrive and will start treatment straight away.

The problem is that they are coming directly from a very horse-sick field to my orchard with its lovely lush spring grass (never been grazed, in the past we have mowed it). I am very concerned that the mare in particular is going to get laminitis. I am going to limit the grazing they have access to using an electric fence and am also thinking of bringing them in at night to restrict their access to the grass a little more. However, the mare has never even had access to a shelter before so I’m not sure how she will react to being confined (she's around 20 years old).
Any advice on what may be the best way to prevent an outbreak of laminitis will be very gratefully received. Thank you!
 
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Harmonic said:
Hello. I'm new to the forum, and would really appreciate some advice for laminitis prevention. I am going to be taking a rescued Shetland mare and her 7 month old foal next week. The mare is very thin, suffering from worms, sweet itch and in need of an equine dentist. The foal looks to be pretty healthy, but I will be getting them both checked by the vet when they arrive and will start treatment straight away.

The problem is that they are coming directly from a very horse-sick field to my orchard with its lovely lush spring grass (never been grazed, in the past we have mowed it). I am very concerned that the mare in particular is going to get laminitis. I am going to limit the grazing they have access to using an electric fence and am also thinking of bringing them in at night to restrict their access to the grass a little more. However, the mare has never even had access to a shelter before so I’m not sure how she will react to being confined (she's around 20 years old).
Any advice on what may be the best way to prevent an outbreak of laminitis will be very gratefully received. Thank you!
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Hi and welcome to H&H

I think what you have planed is the way forward - also maybe a dinky muzzle or limited turnout. or a tiny coral they can go in for part of the day and only in the green bit for a short time. There is a little on pasture here for laminitics>>>http://horse-care-and-advice.weebly.com/l.html
 
I think I would be setting up a track with electric fencing - even if the orchard is tiny you can do a U configuration with a strip of fence down the centre of the U. There is a limit to how much you can restrict food, exercise is the key which this will provide, maybe have some straw for them to eat when they are off the grass, to keep fibre in the system. Watch out for colic too if she has been wormy and is going on to decent grass.
 
Thank you both for your replies, and for the welcome. Some great ideas and advice. I have had a look at the muzzles and how they work, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get the mare to accept it - at this stage I'm not even sure if she has ever worn a head collar before, so it may take a little time for her to feel happy in it. The orchard is big though (approx. 2 acres), so maybe that is something I can use in the future so they can both freely roam.
I really like the idea of the U configuration and will definitely try something like that to make them move around a bit more. I'm hoping it won't be too long before I can take them out for walks too, once they get settled in their new home.

Thank you both again, I am finally beginning to let the excitement be greater than the worry! (my first horses/ponies, at 46:))
 
Hello!

I second what has already been said, about the strip grazing, you might also want to think about turning out at night rather than in the day time when the sugars in the grass are lower. Sugar levels (well as I was taught anyway) peak in the mid to late morning, so if you turn out at night you should miss the peak sugar level. If you are going to feed fibre I would go for well soaked hay rather than straw as the lignin in straw can be hard to digest so if they are compromised due to worm infestations they could get a bit 'bunged up' for want of a better way of phrasing it. If you do feed hay you'll need to soak it well and rinse before feeding to remove as much sugar as possible. You'll lose some nutrients as well, but depending on their condition you may well end up giving a broad spectrum vitamin supplement anyway. You'll also need an electric fence with lots of low strands, and a fence tester to make sure all parts of the fence are live as shetties are the most brilliant and inventive of escape artists, especially where fresh grass is concerned.

The only other thing I would say is make sure that you have enough bedding so that if the dreaded lami does strike, they will have a good deep supportive bed while confined indoors.

Oh, and as soon as you can - get them out for walkies! You'll be surprised at the good it will do them and you'll all make loads of new friends!!!!!!
 
Thank you 3OldPonies. Some more good advice for me to follow. The ponies are now here, and starting to enjoy their new life. The vet has come and checked them and has said for now to just allow them access to the small area I have fenced off for them. I will definitely use strip grazing for them, just waiting for them to settle in and get used to the tape/fence before I confuse them with more tape! I'm really looking forward to starting the walks soon - will be good for all of us:). I'll bear in mind the info re soaking the hay and vitamin supplement - thank you
And thanks for the warning about making sure there are plenty of lower strands on the fence. They are quite well-behaved at the moment, but I'm expecting that to all change once they get some good food inside them and are in a better state of health. And once they realise that there is some much longer and greener grass on the other side of the fence:)

Thanks again for some great advice!
 
Thanks Harmonic. If the stuff I learnt while I was lucky enough to have a mini might benefit someone else I'm more than happy to share it.

I hope your little 'un settle in well and that they stay happy and healthy. It sounds like they have fallen on their feet being rescued by you!
 
Haven't a lot to add as most has been covered but I take my lads pulses and feel his feet every day so I know what the norm is for him and any change can be picked up on very early.

Oh and where's a pic? ;)
 
If your grass is long, I am told it will have less sugar than short stressed grass. I have had a laminitic mare but last year resorted to strip grazing on 'good' grass but just a little every day. She has done very well.
 
Thank you both again, I am finally beginning to let the excitement be greater than the worry! (my first horses/ponies, at 46:))[/QUOTE]

Well done you for taking these two on as a first horse/pony! I too am roughly same age and have my first pony to look after. I would recommend strip grazing with a muzzle to begin with.

Good luck keep us posted on how you get on.
 
I would just be very strict with the electric fence, give them a really small area first of all (like stable-size), ideally leading off from the stable with the door open if practical (so she gets used to the stable at the same time). Once they'd eaten that down, I'd just strip graze, so just move fence a tiny bit each day until you have a reasonable sized paddock for them. Because they're skinny, I'd supplement with hay all the time so always have a full haynet (or pile) out for them. Safer for them to eat hay than grass. My veteran who is lami-prone is out on his small paddock all the time but because he's older (and finding it harder to hold weight nowadays) I always supplement with hay (and fibre based feed in his case) rather than give him more grass.

If its an orchard, I would worry about any apples falling off into their paddock! Those are full of sugar!
 
Thank you all for your replies and sorry for not replying sooner, but my life seems to have been taken over by 2 ponies!
I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to offer some advice, and I have taken note of it all. The ponies are doing very well. I named the mare Mirabelle and her foal is Oscar. Mirabelle has responded really well to treatment for severe sweet itch, which appears to have just been left and gradually got worse over the years. Now, she is a little thin-haired, but otherwise looking good, no more scabby skin. And both of them are gradually putting on weight and looking better already - I stress 'gradually' as the vet has been a few times to check on them, and no signs of the laminitis I was afraid of. I will, however, be keeping close tabs on them, and implementing some of the suggestions I've received. I made their paddock very small to start with and it's slowly increasing in size, and I will soon be starting with the strip grazing as suggested. They also both love the stable - think it's a bit of luxury for them after what they've been through.

Thank you all again and also thank you for making me feel so welcome on this forum.

PS I have pics of Mirabelle and Oscar to upload, but not sure how to do it...
 
I'm hoping this works! Here are some pictures of Mirabelle (the mare) and Oscar (her foal). Mirabelle's skin is much better now, the picture shows her when I first got her and before any treatment. The pic of Oscar was taken yesterday.

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https://forums-secure.horseandhound.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=27285&d=1431713659
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The link isn't working for me - but don't worry it might be my PC. I'm so happy to hear that they're both doing so well - lucky little ponies in finding a mum who is so good to them!!! Well done you :)
 
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