Reassure me...

[C1airey]

A frustrating situation at my yard now means that I have no grazing for one of my horses. She’s a tubby native pony. I can (and do) graze her in-hand and can get her out for a leg-stretch at each end of the day but she’s a good candidate for laminitis and she had an impaction colic about 5mths ago. I’m paranoid that she’s potentially brewing another colic without the slow trickle of grass and constant movement of turnout.

My only turnout option involves a lot of long, lush grass which has re-grown over ground that used to include a muck heap.

I am doing the right thing keeping her in, aren’t I? Lack of sleep and lots of worry are starting to take their toll. Obviously, I’m also looking to move ASAP.

 

[jwallismartin]

Don't feel guilty about keeping her stabled. You're saving her life. However, there are some things you must, and must not do. First, I'll deal with what you must not do. You must not allow her anywhere near the grass you mentioned, not even if it's only a few mouthfuls. Neither must you starve her. She still needs food. Feed her 1.5-2% of her bodyweight in hay which has been soaked for at least an hour and then drained to reduce sugars. Don't feed bran (or other starchy foods). Do feed chop and feeds designed for equines prone to laminitis. (Plenty of info on web. Ask vet and feed merchants for advice.) She'll also need a vitamin/mineral supplement.
Make sure she has adequate exercise, preferably under saddle. If she's getting food and exercise, she won't be unhappy, so stop tearing yourself apart. You're doing the right thing by practising tough love.

 

[C1airey]

Thank you.

I’m done in.

Mare in foul mood.

We just have to make it to Saturday. Then I can worry about her getting colic from the stress of the move ?

 

[COldNag]

Is muzzling an option?

 

[C1airey]

I did consider it, but the grass is too long and she’s very sensitive about having things around/touching her muzzle.

 

[jwallismartin]

Is muzzling an option?

Provided it's fitted correctly, a muzzle can help to prevent a horse from getting laminitis, but it has to be used in conjunction with sensible feeding. I can't stress enough how important it is that the horse isn't starved. It must be fed, and it must have a vitamin and mineral supplement. Refer to my earlier advice on feeding. Unfortunately, some will accuse you of being cruel because you muzzle the horse, but it's infinitely preferable to letting your horse go down with an agonising bout of laminitis.

Fit it so that there's an inch between your horse’s lips and the bottom of the muzzle. You should also be able to put three fingers between your horse’s face and the side of the muzzle, otherwise the horse can't chew. A muzzle won't prevent him from drinking, so no worries there. The horse should be stabled at night, and the muzzle should be removed until he is turned out again.

A final word - I'm long in the tooth, and old fashioned, but a lifetime's experience has taught me that no matter how many safety gismos manufacturers incorporate into bridles, halters, and anything else that goes around a horse's head (or backside if it's a harness), tack made of webbing is potentially lethal to horse and rider alike. (So is anything made of Indian leather.) You're probably not made of money (neither am I), but tack should be made of the best English (or German, French, etc) leather money can buy. Why? Because it's super strong, but will in fact break in a crisis. Webbing might snap at the points where manufacturers have deliberately incorporated weak spots, but if you've ever seen a horse that has suffered burn marks and lascerations caused by webbing tack, you'll understand why good leather tack is worth paying for. And btw, chuck any nylon hay nets into the recycling bin and use hemp/string nets.

 

[teddypops]

Can you fence off a small area in the field? My 2 smallest ponies live mostly in a very small field on not much grass. They don’t get laminitis, however the miniature Shetland had colic recently and vet said to put her onto better grazing to keep her gut moving. They now have another area on better grass. So far, so good.

 

[dorsetladette]

If your moving saturday, that's only a couple more days of being in. Just think of it as box rest. It sounds like you have more than 1 so they will be moving together? and your mare will have you as regular contact and routine, so lots for her to be comfortable with and ease any stress she may feel. Being in a field and having grass to eat will probably distract her from to many worries/stresses. You could always put her on a calmer for a few days either side of the move if your really worried.
I hope saturday goes well

 

[Littlewills]

Provided it's fitted correctly, a muzzle can help to prevent a horse from getting laminitis, but it has to be used in conjunction with sensible feeding. I can't stress enough how important it is that the horse isn't starved. It must be fed, and it must have a vitamin and mineral supplement. Refer to my earlier advice on feeding. Unfortunately, some will accuse you of being cruel because you muzzle the horse, but it's infinitely preferable to letting your horse go down with an agonising bout of laminitis.

Fit it so that there's an inch between your horse’s lips and the bottom of the muzzle. You should also be able to put three fingers between your horse’s face and the side of the muzzle, otherwise the horse can't chew. A muzzle won't prevent him from drinking, so no worries there. The horse should be stabled at night, and the muzzle should be removed until he is turned out again.

A final word - I'm long in the tooth, and old fashioned, but a lifetime's experience has taught me that no matter how many safety gismos manufacturers incorporate into bridles, halters, and anything else that goes around a horse's head (or backside if it's a harness), tack made of webbing is potentially lethal to horse and rider alike. (So is anything made of Indian leather.) You're probably not made of money (neither am I), but tack should be made of the best English (or German, French, etc) leather money can buy. Why? Because it's super strong, but will in fact break in a crisis. Webbing might snap at the points where manufacturers have deliberately incorporated weak spots, but if you've ever seen a horse that has suffered burn marks and lascerations caused by webbing tack, you'll understand why good leather tack is worth paying for. And btw, chuck any nylon hay nets into the recycling bin and use hemp/string nets.

This is all great but not helpful to the poster at all