Turn out for laminitics. Advice please

Wooleysmum

Wooleysmum

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 August 2004
Messages
268
Location
Bucks
Visit site
Ok, he has had it again, not Cushings, tried and tested everything. Need to put him out, muzzled, but what in your opinion is the best time of day and how long for. He would be in at night.Totally fed up with this. Love the beastie to bits though, its a complete nightmare.Welcome replies about your routines for laminitis prone darlings.
 
Mine is in a woodchip pen, the same as Madhector suggests, with plenty of soaked hay right next to his mate, so that they can have a cuddle over the fence. They also have a twin field shelter so have half each
grin.gif
 
its better to turn out at night and keep in through the day if not you would have to find a bald field
 
Although not laminitic we had a pony who was very overweight and would have surely come down with the dreaded L word in time. We taped off a strip of field big enough for him to walk about on and then took the grass off. We didnt have the option of putting chips down, though I imagine this would have stopped it getting so darned muddy
crazy.gif
. we gave him soaked hayand within a week or so he was already losing alot of weight and able to lunge.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Although not laminitic we had a pony who was very overweight and would have surely come down with the dreaded L word in time. We taped off a strip of field big enough for him to walk about on and then took the grass off. We didnt have the option of putting chips down, though I imagine this would have stopped it getting so darned muddy
crazy.gif
. we gave him soaked hayand within a week or so he was already losing alot of weight and able to lunge.

[/ QUOTE ]

he he he!
laugh.gif
I know your little fat pony really well
wink.gif
 
Done all that, out at night, in during the hay, bald field when not muzzled. But I did change his feed recently to Happy Hoof, only a tiny amount though. Gave him Lamineze in it. He had zero feed all winter. Could it have been that? Who knows.Back on to Hi Fi Lite
 
I don't think it will be the feed mine get HH all year round, so far so good, its just one of those things, I don't think even vets know why some get it, there are so many causes. Chin up, he'll be better soon
smile.gif
 
Croycob - I have a shetland who I have been battling with lami with for the past year. She seems to be extremely sensitive to any change in feed. 3 months ago she was on the mend but went down with it again, the only thing Id done was put her on a different chaff (still lami approved though) so my barefoot trimmer advised putting her on a really basic diet of Speedi-Beet with Simple Systems Linseed (and her regular vit & min and joint supps). For the past 2 months he has never been so good! She is actually cantering around and literally trotting out of her stable every morning. Its amazing.

She however, is never on grass. I made the decision after the tiniest amount would set her off last year. Im lucky enough to have a small hardcored yard where my stables open out into, so she's in at night (so the other horses have access to their stables/shelters) and I simply open her door in the morning so she can go out into the yard as well. So she lives on hay and 2 feeds a day (of the above). Every weekend I let her out into the paddocks for a quick blow out with the other ponies but bring her in as soon as she thinks about grazing. I thought she'd be miserable not grazing as it isnt exactly normal, however she's feeling so well that Ive never seen her so happy in a long time!
 
We do very similar to the previous post - our pony is loose in the yard in the day - she can wander into the other horses stables, root around the back and get a little grass, and also has some hay left in her stable. We put her out for brief periods with the other horses, but never more than about 3 hours this time of year - and she seems quite happy weith this. She has 3 small feeds a day - chaff, hi-fibre nuts and speedi-beet, and is not overweight at all.
 
I have a laminitic cob on loan who came to me grossly overweight. I have had him since May 07. He lives in a decent sized paddock in the winter with rationed hay and dengie hi-fi lite and leisure mix twice a day(a cup of mix). In the summer he is strip grazed with two other laminitics and wears a Greenguard muzzle from 7.30-8am thru til 5pmish, he also gets hi-fi lite and leisure mix in the summer to make sure he has fibre in his system and the mix is for is vits and mins, also it helps him cope wit his workload.
I am unable to keep him in as he is bannished as he door bangs during the night and wont stop til someone says hello to him!
he has never been as slim as he is now his owner is amazed with him, she hadnt realised how fat he actually was!
Unfortunately I now have an 11y old that is a prime candidate for peripheral cushings due to being a fatty since he wa 18 months old! It has taken me some time to find a formula that worked for him, I just have to wait and see if last years soloution works this year!!
 
Thanks, guys, I cant get him off the grass unless he is in 24 hours. There is no facility. I asked but YO said no. Went to look at another place today, it was dreadful so he can stay where he is but I will try putting him out during the day. He may have got frosted grass last week. I agree with changing the feed. They are so sensitive.
 
I have my pony (not lamanitic but not willing to take the chance) out in a small paddock with no grass and a pile of haylage (had the haylage analysed first).
 
Just a thought but has your vet suggested Founderguard yet?

It would be worth a try until you get him stabilised and into a suitable routine that works for you. Basically it contains an antibiotic called Virginiamycin and this destroys the bad bacteria in the hind gut before they can proliferate, thereby preventing an attack of feed related laminitis. It is widely used in Australia but is unlicensed in the Uk so only available on prescription and thus quite expensive. It is very effective and worth looking up on google
 
When to turn out is a tricky one in my opinion... Everyone always says turn out at night, because the grass is safer as it produces less fructins at night, but the horse naturally eats more at night... so its a catch 22 in my opinion!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top