pulses/laminitis - help please!

[Erin]

Reena is a 14.3hh New Forest cross. Had a strain to the Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon about 10 months ago and has spent nearly all that time only doing walk work.

As a result of only walking, she got a bit fat. This time last year, when in full work, she was 485kg on the weigh bridge. 18th May this year she was 530kg. (506kg on the tape)
I had been keeping an eye on her pulses, she would often have them after being out in the field on a warm day but they where always gone by the next morning.

2 weeks ago she had pulses in the morning, so vet was called out. She was hoof tested and trotted up, no sore-ness/tenderness in her feet at all. Vet was happy for her to carry on being exercised as she wasnt sore.
She had 4 days box rest (pulses gone by day 3) and then we started some turnout (muzzled)
All was ok, till we got up to 3ish hours (this was last Wed), and then she came in with pulses, so I kept her in again as she was having a tendon scan on the Fri and didn't want anything to interfere with that.
Was sound at the vets on hard and soft, so still not foot sore.
She was fine with a few hrs turnout (muzzled) over the weekend. But ended up out for about 4hrs yesterday as the little bugger wouldn't be caught and came in with pulses and still had pulses this morning (all 4 feet) not 'pounding' but easy to feel.

She has been on a serious diet and according to weight tape has lost 30kg (tape said 476kg this morn) Everything she is being fed is laminitis safe - shes having 1/2 rations Top Spec Lite, couple of handfuls of fast fibre and HiFi Lite. (and Agnus Castus, MSM + Valerian Root) 5kg soaked hay overnight and 2-3kg soaked hay during the day.

She is also having a cold water hydrotherapy spa treatment 3 times a week (for the tendon) which involves her legs (upto hocks) bing submerged in cold (2degrees) salt water for 10 minutes.

I am not sure what to do!

The muzzle is definatly reducing her grass intake significantly. But I'm worried that she is 'on the edge' as it where and a bit too much grass could tip her over the edge?
Could the spa treatments be keeping it at bay? (I havent got my head round how laminitis 'works' so not sure if this would be the case)

YO suggested the Global Herbs Laminitis Prone liquid supplement to give her a detox - has anyone used this successfully?

And if anyone could point me in the direction of any information/useful website that are in idiots terms, that would be great.

Anything I else I should know/look at?


Thankyou!

 

[ameeyal]

If she were mine i would keep her in for longer, before i allowed any turn out with a muzzle on, i think she is just on the edge of being lame, then i would just start with 1 hour a day turn out for a week, if no pulses are felt try 2 hours a day for a week.

 

[seoirse]

We’ve got one at the yard at the moment who had a rumbling of lammy for a few days about a month ago, not surprising since she is about 40kgs overweight. Owner has been advised to keep her strictly in until she is at target weight, and exercise every day now she is sound. Pony is luckily happy being in (she’s a lazy thing!). She’s lost about 15kgs so far, so a way to go. Pony is also serial escapologist so when she does go back out its going to be in a skinny paddock with mile high electric fencing all round and soaked hay to chew on. Poor thing, it seems drastic but its that or lammy. Mine is just being turned out now after 11 weeks on box rest after a really nasty attack of lammy. He was not overweight, was halfway through a fitness plan for an ODE and got it just because he struck himself and had to have a few days off, so his routine changed and we had a bit of a grass flush. He wasn’t even fat. I had to reduce his died to 1% of his body weight (though he’s been supplementing it by eating his bed!!) to get the attack under control and he wasn’t even fat. He looks poor now, but he is sound and I'm allowed to up his food a bit so hopefully he will look a bit better soon.. It’s such a savage illness.
Really best of luck with yours. I hope you can get it under control soon.