teetering on the edge of laminitis - urgent advice needed

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JLD

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Hello I have posted before about my struggle to get my ponies weight down, I have put him on a track system system which I have today halved, increased his exercise but at his routine jabs the vet noticed some inflammation under his white recently trimmed foot. He is totally sound and shows no external signs but I am taking this very seriously especially as his feet suggest he has had it before. I can't currently stable him and have been advised not to keep him up on the hard standing as that may may it worse. He is getting the grazing muzzle off within 15 min ( a new design is on order ! ). Has anyone got any advice or Am I panicking unduly ? I just don't want to leave anything to chance now it has been raised. Thank you all ! Ice cream and cooled lemonade today !
 
Why can't you stable him? If you have hard standing fence off an area about 12 x 12, board it round the edges, rubber mat it and then put down at least 6" of shavings or easi-bed is more durable outdoors.

If there is ANY heat in his feet then hose them from mid-cannon down until they are cold, keep hosing as soon as they warm up. You can tub his feet but water must be higher than coronet, pref halfway up pastern.

Eliminate all added sources of sugar in treats etc and feed. Soak his hay and cut it to 1.5% of his desired bodyweight. To slow him down you can mix in some straw.

There's no need to panic, you just need to take effective measures.
 
Agree with some of the above, although I would give ad lib if its soaked for 12 hours. Hooves will be very warm, its 30 degrees outside! I think you are doing a good job, keep him comfortable and moving. If he show's signs of being pottery and sore, you need to think about getting him off the grass. Infact it would probably be a good idea to get him off for at least part of the day, from 9/10 am until the sun goes down ideally
 
I think you're doing a good job too, and I think I'd agree with AngieandBen on the amount of soaked hay.

I have a mare who sounds a bit like yours. She has actually only had laminitis once, and that was in midwinter, caused by frozen grass (bad winter of 2010) and over-rich haylage - she's allergic to hay in all forms).

I was recommended to try 'Laminitis-Prone' by Global herbs. Now it's always very difficult to prove that a preventive medicine works, but I started giving it to her then and have used it ever since, altering the dose as advised according to season. I was recently laid low for 6-7 days, and a kind friend fed and checked my horse for me (horse is out 24/7). I forgot to tell her about the Laminitis-Prone. when I finally staggered back into the real world my mare was just a bit footy. I realised what had happened - entirely my own fault - and sapped her back onto an increased dose. Two weeks on and she is absolutely fine again.

I know several people who rate it, and I think it is a useful tool. My girl is kept off the grass for 7 hours a day, but grazes unmuzzled for the rest of the time. Our horses do have barns they can go into to escape the flies and spend a lot of time hiding there, so she is probably self-regulating a bit as well, but the Lam-Prone gives me that extra bit of confidence.
 
Great advice!

You could also try supplementing with Magnesium Oxide - my shetland who was crippled the first year we had her (after being told she's never had laminitis) but is out grazing with my other two at the min, havent had a bout in a very long time. I give her a teaspoon every morning with a handful of chaff and haven't muzzled her at all this year.

Won't be the same for everybody but it has made a remarkable improvement in my little mare.
 
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If you are stuck with no stabling and can't use the hardstanding - and he is still overweight - then you are giving him too much track. I would make it even narrower and make him really work for his food. If you can't keep a muzzle on (which brand are you using? I found only the Best Friend brand really stays on, which is probably why it is twice the price!) you are in real trouble and maybe fighting a losing battle. How many horses are on your track? Can you get more horses on it? This will give him more to do as well as less to eat.
With mine I have had to make the track really tight so they have almost no grass and feed them soaked hay. I don't agree with soaking it 12 hours, in this weather it will be fermenting by then, you need to soak it to get the sugars out and that only takes an hour in clean cold water or half an hour in running water.
Yes you are right you need to nip this before it gets worse, good for you for being proactive.
 
Thank you all. I can't stable him coz haven't got a stable ! He doesn't currently have ANY hay at all or treats and no hard feed. Is giving even soaked hay not going to increase his calories ? Have got hay in so no problem just scared of making him fatter. Vet has advised lots of walking exercise and he is pretty good at pottering round his track. He is totally sound,not pottery and has no xs heat in his feet, the vet came just after he was trimmed and noticed there was a pink/red discolouration discolouration under under a just trimmed white bit of hoof. Good advice though. Thank you !
 
The only thing I can add to this thread (as all advice is given) is do not hose his feet with cold water! The heat is telling you something is going on in the foot, its the laminae trying to heal itself! Make sure his feet don't get too dry (lol with all the rain we're having, not too difficult), soaked hay, muzzle and if he isnt lami, exercise, every day with a day off once a week :) and no hard feed, handful of lite balancer will do ( and no carrots, apples or sugary treats )
It is warm at the mo, so feet may be warm anyway...but try and check at different times of day too as the heat does fluctuate throughout the day.
 
JLD said:
Thank you all. I can't stable him coz haven't got a stable ! He doesn't currently have ANY hay at all or treats and no hard feed. Is giving even soaked hay not going to increase his calories ? Have got hay in so no problem just scared of making him fatter. Vet has advised lots of walking exercise and he is pretty good at pottering round his track. He is totally sound,not pottery and has no xs heat in his feet, the vet came just after he was trimmed and noticed there was a pink/red discolouration discolouration under under a just trimmed white bit of hoof. Good advice though. Thank you !
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If you have him penned up on a supportive surface for most of the day then you'll need to provide him something to eat, that's why I suggested soaked hay.

btw I suspect your farrier might have pointed out that there was a probability of bruising from hard ground rather than anything more sinister!
 
If you can get some sheep, get some, as many as you can. Ask local farmers, small holders if they want some free grazing for a while. They will keep the grass down without having to introduce more horses and they can work the whole field under the track system. Also, no, giving soaked hay will fill your horse up, provide the fibre he needs and reduce his grass intake hopefully. I have managed my fattie by feeding him soaked hay all spring and summer and having sheep in and out the field and he the perfect weight this year with very little work.
 
Right have just taken his muzzle off after he has kept it on for 45 min although he appeared to have given up trying to graze although he was happily snoozing. I have a best friend muzzle on order.have just realized have been really dim as have fully functional field shelter he is currently snoozing in which I could easily gate off if muzzle won't stay on. Duh !! I guess I only feed the soaked hay if he is not grazing with his muzzle to avoid ulcers ? Sorry to be asking stupid questions, have always had horses on livery before but reAlly glad currently have own field so I can track it and muzzle him without everyone telling me how mean and cruel I am !
 
JLD said:
Hello I have posted before about my struggle to get my ponies weight down, I have put him on a track system system which I have today halved, increased his exercise but at his routine jabs the vet noticed some inflammation under his white recently trimmed foot. He is totally sound and shows no external signs but I am taking this very seriously especially as his feet suggest he has had it before. I can't currently stable him and have been advised not to keep him up on the hard standing as that may may it worse. He is getting the grazing muzzle off within 15 min ( a new design is on order ! ). Has anyone got any advice or Am I panicking unduly ? I just don't want to leave anything to chance now it has been raised. Thank you all ! Ice cream and cooled lemonade today !
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Having lost my beloved mare to Laminitis.

Its better to be safe than sorry. If is weight is an issue I would put him in enclosed shelter part time so he is off the grass. Check his pulses and hooves for heat.
Treat him as a lami candidate ,as even if he has not got laminitis yet he could be a candidate for it. Watch what feed you give him and also soak his hay, do this for a few days monitoring him for any signs of the heat or pulses going up or down. If worried contact your vet.



Right so he is taking his muzzle off??? there was a very useful thread about this recently how not to lose it. If he is rubbing it off on the fence - gates- trees. Like my pony does, I made a corral within the field so there is NOTHING she can rub it off on. This works for her, most will rub it off on something but an electric arena there is nothing solid to do this on. Someone else put a few other ideas, but this works for my girl. You could try a different type of muzzle, I don't know what type you have but a green guard or dinky one, the dinky leaves nostril's clear which can benefit some horses
here is my corral.

If you cannot do this me personal would find somewhere where I could have access to a stable.

Laminitis is a horrid journey I would always make sure I had an option of a stable now.


peofmuzzleIdontknow071_zps9a674ad4.jpg
 
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Micky said:
The only thing I can add to this thread (as all advice is given) is do not hose his feet with cold water! The heat is telling you something is going on in the foot, its the laminae trying to heal itself! Make sure his feet don't get too dry (lol with all the rain we're having, not too difficult), soaked hay, muzzle and if he isnt lami, exercise, every day with a day off once a week :) and no hard feed, handful of lite balancer will do ( and no carrots, apples or sugary treats )
It is warm at the mo, so feet may be warm anyway...but try and check at different times of day too as the heat does fluctuate throughout the day.
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Laminae cannot heal. Once they've stretched or separated, they cannot become healthy again. You can only grow new healthy laminae. Hosing will not affect this, and neither will making sure his feet don't get too dry.

I agree with the others that getting him off the grass is the way forward, though if he isn't at all footy, I'd imagine the bruising the vet saw may have been traumatic, rather than laminitic.

If he's had it in the past though, it is better to be safe than sorry. Grass can be very high in sugar, particularly during the day. Late afternoon (around 5pm) is the peak time for sugars in the grass. Hay that has been soaked for 12 hours will have a much lower (and more uniform) sugar content, and is much more suitable to feed a laminitic than grass.

If his feet are comfy, I don't see any problem with penning him in on the hard standing.
 
Forget the hay and feed soaked barley straw roughly 8.5 DE, and a low cal balancer. Its a vicious circle because keeping them in means they use less calories. Will it lead from a bike, if you can get it too walk fast enough on tarmac its actually less jarring as it tends to be more even going than hard ground.
 
Thank you so much. Is great to have access to so much experience. Going to sort out a gate for his field shelter to keep him off grass for at least part of the day and persevere with the muzzle. He is pretty easy going so will prob get used to it fairly soon. Also going to try the bike thing. I live on a 1/2 mile quiet lane b4 main road so could go up and down that a few times in the evening. If anyone else has advice keep it coming !
 
Are you able to produce a wet ground area in his grazing - eg flood an area until the ground is waterlogged and cold - if you do this in an area you know he goes to snooze then he is likely to stand on the cold and wet ground.

This will help reduce the heat in his feet
 
Ok. Slight development - I just took him out in hand on the tarmacked lane to see what he was like after some of the comments on here,he usually works in the field. He was decidedly footy. He is off grass as of now in his field shelter with soaked hay. Will work out a proper plan over next few days ! Thank you so much. Hopefully may have avoided a nasty attack. How long would you keep him in ? Going to change him over to in daytime out night but I just wanted him off NOW this evening.
 
If he is footy then no grass, at all, for a month. Also no exercise, there is nothing holding his hoof together (worst case scenario) put him on a deep shavings bed with well soaked, double netted hay and call your vet. Or your farrier if you prefer but your vet can prescribe bute and ACP to make him more comfortable.
 
Vet saw him yesterday and just advised weight loss with a narrower track and walking exercise, wasn't worried at all. farrier saw him yesterday and his only comment was how good his feet are ! It's just me wanting to not let things escalate. He is no different to how he was yesterday or in fact the past 3 years I have known him !
 
If he can tolerate it, can you get some kind of ice pack around his fetlocks/pasterns? Lady who trims my horse told me about a guy US (I think) who has demonstrated that chilling the blood to the feet can avert laminitis. I'll have a hunt for his name and any studies.
 
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