Stress Laminitis - Prognosis

angieb

angieb

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Just looking for a bit advice / info please. My daughters wonderful pony who is 17 has been diagnosed with stress lami following a seperation from her field mates at a new yard. It came on virtually overnight. We have now moved again and they are back together but poor Shandi is in a mess.

Had x rays taken and she has 5 degree rotation in one front hoof and 2 degree in the other but no sinking . She is currently on bute twice daily & sedoline every couple of days and is supposed to be on metformin but I am finding it really really difficult to get her to take these, tried all manner of ways. She has tested clear for cushings & metabolic syndrome and the vet is reasonably sure its stress related.

She has been bad now for 4 weeks, very very slight improvement one day then the next she seems to be worse, the vet asked my farrier to fit heart bar shoes on her and she is definitely worse since then, although the farrier did say to expect her to be a bit more sore.

Basically I wondered if anyone has had a similar experience to us please, its heartbreaking seekling this wonderful pony who up until a month ago was ridden and jumped regularly in such a sorry state. I want to do whatever I can to help her but am at a loss now. Is it just time ? should she be on complete box rest ? what about supplements such as lamineze ?

Finally do you think the prognosis is good for her, can we expect her to make a good recovery, my daughter is beside herself as another horse on the yard very sadly had to be put to sleep last week with a similar (but not the same) problem.

Sorry to ramble on but any info would be much appreciated.
Many Thanks
 
The secret is too keep your horse stabled on a very thick bed until 4 weeks after your horse has gone completely sound again. Whatever the cause of the laminitis you want to gently reduce the weight of your horse but continue to feed it one hour soaked hay every 4 hours to keep its gut going.

It can take many month for your horse to become sound.

As regards getting your horse to eat the medication you could try dissolving it in water and syringing it into your horses mouth rather like a wormer or put the medications within apples or carrotts or even in apple juice (I appreciate that carrotts are probably not that suitable for lamaniics).

Also get bloods taken just to check that your horse does not have any emerging encysted small red worms as they contributed towards one of my horses getting laminitis.

Your horse could make a complete recovery but you will need to keep it's weight down in future.

Hoping your horse makes a complete recovery.
 
Sorry to hear about you mare, it is heart breaking to see them like this.

My mare was diagnosed with laminitis last March, I did catch it very early but as she is 16.1hh and a warmblood cross there were a few times the vet didn't hold out much hope. She was on complete box rest (deep shavings bed) for 5 months, the only time she came out her stable was to have her x-rays taken. The vet had her on bute and sedalin twice a day, this had to be given by syringe as she refused it in feed. The farrier put 4 sets of Imprints on her and then a set of heart bars, after that she was back in normal shoes.

I had advice from my vet and farrier, also I rang the laminitis trust. I changed her feed to Happy Hoof and weighed and soaked her hay, going up the yard several times a day to hang another hay net.

It did take the whole 5months for her to recover, some days a huge improvement then she'd go right back again - it was awful. I got the go ahead to ride her again in Sept and she's been great, although management now is huge.

Wishing your mare all the luck x
 
Our Welsh C is going through just the same thing at the moment and has been in box rest on straw under Vets orders for 6 weeks (hes on week 4 and looks so much better), and to lose a bit of weight. We also have been soaking his hay nets and have got him down to a set weighed in amount of hay each day.

When they say box rest they really mean no movement and if and when you do need to take her out just tie her up as close as you can by the door.

The best thing also if you have the xrays is to give them to your farrier or get you vets to send it to him so he can see what he has to deal with and any good farrier will be able to slowly over a couple of months help trim the hoof to straighten penal bones.

DO NOT give carrots stay well away

We have been told it could take anything from 3-6 months for him to be better so its all a bit of a wait but fingers x and huge fingers x for your mare
 
If there's no sinking that's a very good sign.
My mare had laminitis last year, possibly from concussion, but the vet said the cause doesn't matter as the treatment is the same. She had 11 degrees of rotation in one front foot and has since made a complete recovery.
I agree with what others have said about the bed - you need a really deep shavings bed - like 10 bales - because it will pack into the foot and support the pedal bone. And the horse shouldn't be leaving the stable at all.
Feeding was a nightmare - we had to do pretty much a starvation diet which was 2 sections of a small bale per 24 hours - my pony is 14 hh /400 kgs. All the hay had to be soaked for 24 hours to remove all the nutrients. I double netted her night time section and gave it as late as possible and left the day time section outside the stable so that people passing could give her a small handful each time. Once the weight started to come off I was able to increase the hay allowance slightly.
She had bute and ACP and I also gave her laminaze and she was allowed a handful of chaff to take her medicine and a vitamin supplement. Now I feed Blue Chip Lami Light year round which I am really happy with. I still have to be very careful with what I feed - and this is a veteran who works 2/3 hours a day!
She had egg bars fitted immediately which made some difference although didn't bring her sound. When she had a previous attack about 10 years ago she had the front of her hoof wall removed to reduce the pressure in her foot - it was a horrible looking thing but she was in a lot less pain afterwards so it was worth it.
Good luck! Laminitis is a horrible horrible thing and all the dieting (especially when on box rest) is deeply unpleasant but you can pull through. Recovery takes a long while and there will be setbacks but stick with it and you will get your pony back in the end. And the bright side (ok I know I'm pushing this but still, it did help to keep me positive) was that during the box rest you can really work on your relationship with your horse, lots of grooming, teach some tricks, stretches, massage and just hang out in the stable with her. Good luck!
 
Thank you all so much for your info, its nice to know that other people have been through this and come out the other side ok, although I wouldnt wish this on anyone .
Shandi is on a very thick shavings bed with rubber mats to, the vet has told me to continue with her feed (she is on a small mix of safe & sound with speedy beet) and just watch her hay intake, although to be honest she isnt really eating her hay at the moment anyway.

She takes the bute ok in her feed, its the metformin I am really struggling with, I did try the water/syringe and she took a bit but then spat it out. Problem is she has to have 30 tablets a day and they are big ! I have cut them up and hidden them in apples but she found them, in desperation the vet said get some molasses (I know !) and coat them in it but she wouldnt even eat them in that.

I have the xrays and have shown the farrier, he seems to have cut her toes right back but I trust him, he knows what he is doing. Vet due again tomorrow so we will see what she says.

I hadnt realised that Shandi shouldnt even be leaving her stable, I have brought her out once or twice for a change of scenery, not walked her far just out of the stable but I wont do it again now I know.

Thanks for any info and I will post to let you know how we go on, it sounds like a long process but she is well worth it. I just wish I could make her feel better now .
 
vikkibeth said:
Our Welsh C is going through just the same thing at the moment and has been in box rest on straw under Vets orders for 6 weeks (hes on week 4 and looks so much better), and to lose a bit of weight. We also have been soaking his hay nets and have got him down to a set weighed in amount of hay each day.

When they say box rest they really mean no movement and if and when you do need to take her out just tie her up as close as you can by the door.

The best thing also if you have the xrays is to give them to your farrier or get you vets to send it to him so he can see what he has to deal with and any good farrier will be able to slowly over a couple of months help trim the hoof to straighten penal bones.

DO NOT give carrots stay well away

We have been told it could take anything from 3-6 months for him to be better so its all a bit of a wait but fingers x and huge fingers x for your mare
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Good luck Vikkibeth, I hope you're boy continues to improve, thanks for the info it makes me feel better that there is light at the end of the tunnel for my poor mare.
 
I've had all sorts of problems with my old mare getting laminitis, which turned out to be cushings related.

But a while back the chestnut, Netty, in my siggy got stress related laminitis. She rolled in the field and got stuck under the post and rails. I was at work and it was some time before a neighbour found her. She went down with it badly and took a couple of months to come right. But she did come right and never had it again until her thyroid became underactive much later in life (but that's another story!)

Anyway she did go back into full work and was sound afterwards (the galloping picture in my siggy is after the laminitis!)

In both her case and my old mares case I let them have freedom in the school which has a really lovely cushioning surface, rather than box rest. But that was really because neither horse would have stuck long term box rest without going crazy

I'd say you are highly likely to be able to do everything you did before with your pony, but I was always very careful with my chestnuts weight ever afterwards.
 
Thats great to hear, thank you ! Glad you horse made a full recovery.

Just on another completely different thing, how do you ad pics to the bottom of your posts like you have please ?
 
My brothers appy came down with lami two months ago, 10 degree rotation in both front pedal bones. Vet wasn't sure he would make it to the first of his four weekly xrays but he did. We had 18 bales of shavings in his bed as his stable is huge, all the way to the door.
He is on 14 pound of soaked hay, for as long as possible weather depending, in a 24 hour period and a handfull of happy hoof morning and night with one danilion in the morning.
Foam pads to begin with then after seconds xrays which showed right fore was the same but left fore had rotated a little more but he was coming up 90% sounder than when first diagnosed and was on the same amount of pain killers, two danilion aday, he now has imprint shoes on as both my vet and farrier said banging nails into an already sore and inflammed hoof can make it worse.

The appy is now down to one danilion aday sound in a trot up and negative response to the hoof clamp thingy :) so is allowed 20 minutes walking twice aday in the school so if he does have a freak out moment (Which he does quite often showing evreyone how much better he is feeling) its on a soft surface.

We arent out of the woods yet as vet says with the amount of rotation he is unsure why he is progressing so well, and quickly, but we are going with it. Next xrays are in just over a week so fingures crossed he will look better. He is still a very long way from going out in the feild and getting back riding.

It will take a very long time and at times you think you will never get there but i've come to understand if you do everything the vet advises then you will have a better chance of coming out the other side.

HUGE HUGS

xxxx
 
Hi, my friend's horse was on quite a high dose of metformin and he would not touch feed with the tablets in, so she crushed them all up to a powder in her coffee grinder (note to self, do not drink coffee at friend's house), put the powder in his feed and added heaps of mint, and he wolfed it down.
 
I have no experience of stress related Laminitis just cushing related. However if will help with regards to hope for the future - my boy had 7 degree rotation in one foot, 10 in other and has come probably 95% sound (bit more of a way to go) within 3 months, this was his second bout and i left him shoeless and purchased a pair of Old Mac boots for walking out of stable. I struggled administering any drugs to him - i ended up actually blow piping and syringing tablets down this throat to ensure he got them.

I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery for your pony.
 
slightlyconfused said:
My brothers appy came down with lami two months ago, 10 degree rotation in both front pedal bones. Vet wasn't sure he would make it to the first of his four weekly xrays but he did. We had 18 bales of shavings in his bed as his stable is huge, all the way to the door.
He is on 14 pound of soaked hay, for as long as possible weather depending, in a 24 hour period and a handfull of happy hoof morning and night with one danilion in the morning.
Foam pads to begin with then after seconds xrays which showed right fore was the same but left fore had rotated a little more but he was coming up 90% sounder than when first diagnosed and was on the same amount of pain killers, two danilion aday, he now has imprint shoes on as both my vet and farrier said banging nails into an already sore and inflammed hoof can make it worse.

The appy is now down to one danilion aday sound in a trot up and negative response to the hoof clamp thingy :) so is allowed 20 minutes walking twice aday in the school so if he does have a freak out moment (Which he does quite often showing evreyone how much better he is feeling) its on a soft surface.

We arent out of the woods yet as vet says with the amount of rotation he is unsure why he is progressing so well, and quickly, but we are going with it. Next xrays are in just over a week so fingures crossed he will look better. He is still a very long way from going out in the feild and getting back riding.

It will take a very long time and at times you think you will never get there but i've come to understand if you do everything the vet advises then you will have a better chance of coming out the other side.

HUGE HUGS

xxxx
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Thank you for that, I am so glad your boy is getting better and lets hope it continues. I am following everything the vet says to the letter now, its reassuring that so many horses have come out of this situation ok. Thanks & good luck !
 
Janesomerset said:
Hi, my friend's horse was on quite a high dose of metformin and he would not touch feed with the tablets in, so she crushed them all up to a powder in her coffee grinder (note to self, do not drink coffee at friend's house), put the powder in his feed and added heaps of mint, and he wolfed it down.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will try that ! I WILL get the tablets down her neck !
 
Keep going and don't ever lose hope, that's my advice.
They are stronger than we ever give them credit for!

Our girl is 17 and a Sect DX and has been the cheekiest, naughtiest (sometimes!) most loving pony ever. She suddenly had 2 seizures, a week apart, which came from nowhere and (touch wood) have never happened again and she came down with severe lami leading to rotation of pedal bones. The vet could only put it down to these mystery seizures and stress induced lami as she doesn't go out without her muzzle or for any longer than 2 hours, she was being ridden daily, jumped, schooled, hacked you name it. She had Happy Hoof, so no feed problems and was never trotted etc on hard ground.
Our farrier was the most wonderful person and he shod her and managed somehow to almost correct her feet - sadly, he died suddenly but had left 'his' horses in the care of another farrier who is fantastic and is keeping her shod well.
She still isn't sound but has recently tested +ve for Cushings so we are hoping the meds work. There has been so many ups and downs over the last 2 years and she hasn't been sound for maybe 14 months of it. We know there is maybe another 8 or 9 months ahead of ups and downs but yes, it will take time and lots of it.
Over that, she's never lost the sparkle in her eyes. Keep at it, keep a nice thick bed, lots of fuss and attention, soaked hay and have faith in your farrier. I hope things work out for you all!
K x

ETA - as for tablets, I'm not sure of the size etc, but with Pergolide we put them in the middle of a (sugar free!) Polo and hold her bucket under her mouth whilst she eats just in case she drops any!
 
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