Thin soles help needed

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xXMrsIrishXx

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Our welsh section A came down with laminitis last may and got given the all clear October. He has slowly been ridden again since march (due to me having a baby) but just cannot get him sound over stoney ground. Would hoof boots be the way to go or do we need to rethink his diet?
He is currently stabled during the day and out by night with a grazing muzzle on
Has a haynet of soaked hay when he comes back in in the morning and has 2 daily feeds of happy hoof,speedy beet, spillers high fibre cubes and cod-livine supplement. One with his haynet when he comes in and one before being turned back out. He also has his feet trimmed every 6 weeks.
 
That's a lot of feed for a lami prone pony.......

Ease up on the molassed feeds for a start?
 
Oberon said:
That's a lot of feed for a lami prone pony.......

Ease up on the molassed feeds for a start?
Click to expand...

These were suggested by both my vet and feed merchant as being lammi safe. I am however a novice when it comes to feeding so didnt question when these were suggested to me as stubidly thought both the vet and feed merchant would know more than me lol.

The reason our pony is on this amount of feed was because he came out of winter too lean and vet felt he needed to put some back on but in a safe controlled way.

What would you reccomend instead that would do the same but without the mollasses ?
 
Really listen to Oberon... Oberon and cptrayes are the barefoot gods on here, but I'd stop all that feed and feed either a cup of fast fibre soaked with 2 cups of water and a broad spectrum vit and mineral supplement (morning and eve if you want) or a handful of dengie hi fi 'good doer' is for lammis I think, with the supplement. All you need it for is as a carrier for the supplement. You could also consider a magnesium supplement for improving the hooves. If in doubt, contact feed companies and ask to speak to their nutritionalist, Allen and page will send someone out to do a yard visit and give you a free bag of feed. A bag of fast fibre should last months with a pony like yours... And more money to spend on the fun stuff :)
 
Don't bother with the Dengie Good Doer its 8% sugar! Tbh you don't need to feed a chaff, If feeding Fast Fibre just make it a bit firmer, mine eat it fine without anything else. If you need a bit more weight the feed some Linseed, or oil
 
I feed my laminitic just Fast Fibre and soaked hay, with a few vits etc as required, when he looked too poor at the end of the winter I just gave a little more soaked hay and a slightly bigger feed and he soon picked up. He is now in work and his feet are in great shape.
 
If u do want a chaff, Badminton do a molasses-free & alfalfa-free one called 'Easy Rider'. Mine love it. If your feed store doesn't stock it, ask them to order it in for you. I switch between Fast Fibre and Speedibeet cos they get bored of 1 after a while.
Have a look on ebay for 'Pro Balance' or 'Pro Hoof'.
I agree about feeding linseed - it's fab stuff. Cheapest to buy in bulk from Charnwood Milling (online).
 
xXMrsIrishXx said:
These were suggested by both my vet and feed merchant as being lammi safe. I am however a novice when it comes to feeding so didnt question when these were suggested to me as stubidly thought both the vet and feed merchant would know more than me lol.

The reason our pony is on this amount of feed was because he came out of winter too lean and vet felt he needed to put some back on but in a safe controlled way.

What would you reccomend instead that would do the same but without the mollasses ?
Click to expand...

You are right that the feeds you are giving are considered and marketed as lami safe.
The HappyHoof is recommended by the Laminitis Trust (which means 'it looks good on paper') as it contains Molglo - a 'low sugar alternative to molasses. It is a mixture of soya oil and molasses at 40% sugar....whereas straight molasses is 47% sugar :rolleyes:. It also contains alfalfa - which is too much for most horses/ponies in light work.

The Spillers High Fibre Cubes are very odd - they cross every rule.....but they've been found to work for even the most sensitive horse. However - only a small amount for flavour...don't rely on them for nutritional benefit as you wouldn't be able to feed a Sec A enough without making him explode :D.

Speedibeet is unmolassed beet - that is fine. It is a easily fermented fibre source and therefore a good source of calories.

Codlivine - I don't know much about. I never considered feeding fish to a horse.

If you want to put weight on a lami sensitive horse - then fibre is the way to go.

Horses get 50% of their calorie yield from fermenting fibre in the hind gut (a big vat, filled with bacteria - just like a huge factory).

Safe sources of fibre are unmolassed beet (best rinsed in a sieve, soaked, then rinsed again), Fast Fibre, unmolassed hay chaff, unmolassed oat/barley straw (if teeth are OK).

He will need a good quality vit and mineral supplement - one that contains higher levels of copper and zinc to lower levels of iron (to create good quality tissue - hoof and skin...and control insulin levels well) and also vitamin E - as he won't be getting enough from soaked hay and restricted grazing.
Pro Hoof contains these things, plus Yea-sacc to keep that hind gut bacteria happy http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-HOOF-..._Equipment&hash=item4161ba519b#ht_1748wt_1048

Micronised linseed contains the omega oils to the same balance as grass but without the sugar levels of grass (so more balanced than the cod liver oil). If he isn't allowed full access to grass, then the linseed will give the goodness he is missing. A sack will last you a year.
http://www.charnwood-milling.co.uk/mail-order/Horse_Food.html#a55

Don't forget salt too - simple salt is always helpful. A dessert spoon a day plus access to a pure white lick (nothing red - added iron).
 
Equimins do Laminator . .....a mineral supplement to prevent or support the condiditon, I would only feed Fast Fibre and Laminator, plus 30 to 50mg [half a coffee mug] of micronised linseed meal as long as pony is not fat.
FF is also hay subsitute: no cereal and no added sugars it only takes a few minutes to soak and is fairly papalatable.
It is vital to trickle feed by giving access to small nets of soaked hay rather than having him standing without for six hours.
Equimins sell 10kg bags of micronised linseed meal which should last you 100-200 days.
Ask farrier to check every six weeks.
 
Last edited:
Has the pony been tested for Cushings and IR? Either can be present with no other sign than sore feet, so I would recommend it.

ps I am DEFINITELY no God!!!!
 
Thank you everyone for all your help, i emailed Dengie feeds today and they recommend that i try our pony on the following

Alfa-A Molasses Free – 500g
Leisure Vits and Mins – 15g
Coat and Hoof – 15g


Obviously they know what they are talking about, i hope lol
Anyone used any of these?

:)
 
I wouldn't necessarily assume that a feed company is going to advise on the best feed for a horse. (or TBH that they know what they are talking about)
 
Thin soles are often a consequence of diet, shoeing and/or metabolic disorder.

Some horses (not all) are very sensitive to starches/sugars and others to anything with specific ingredients. For example some horses are very sensitive to alfalfa and even a small amount can cause problems and an end consequence can be foot problems/thin soles.

A low grade (or worse) laminitic that is peripherally loaded can sink, this will lead to a flat footed/thin soled horse.

On x-ray where is the top of the pedal bone compared to the coronary band?

As CPTrayes has already referred to, cushings and/or IR can cause sufficient problems that a horse becomes thin soled (I see this a lot), as can problems with the liver or anything interferring with the function of the hind gut.

From experience I prefer not to feed alfalfa to laminitics or to any horse with thin soles, unless there is 100% certainty that the thin soles are not related to dietary issues.
 
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