Which is the lowest calorie Horsehage?

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Just a quickie for anyone still up. Little Molly, the Christmas Day rescue shetland is far far far far far far far too fat and I'm terrified of her getting laminitis. YO has been wonderful with some hard hitting guidance. End result is that Molls now has to be stabled 21 hours out of 24 to keep her safe. She has a mild allergy to hay so will have a small haynet, double bagged, for overnight. I'll have to buy Horsehage but can't remember if it is the blue, red or green that is the lowest in calories. Anyone know??? Thankies x
 
To be honest I wouldn't be feeding any kind off haylage to a pony at risk off laminitis. You say she has a allergy to hay? Take it it's because off dust spores? I would feed hay soaked for 12 hrs overnight as approved by the laminitic trust to pull out all the sugars and rinse well. It's important to keep her fibre intake up to keep the guts going so doing this with the hay means you can feed more. I would also be putting her on topspec antilam to make sure she gets the vit/min balance she needs and don't go short, also has pre/pro botics to help with the hind gut but won't go into that unless your interested. The green bag horsehage is rye grass, the blue bag is high fibre which is approved by the laminitic trust but to me that's a joke.
 
Sorry you didn't say about day time? Can't leave her without she must have fibre not only for her guts but for her sanity. Horses are grazers and should be grazing 18 out off 24 hrs a day. I also find handy to buy a little treat ball they can roll around and fill it with topspec fibre plus cubes which will do no harm and keep her amused. Wouldn't feed cereal and most high fibre cubes are cereal based if you read the back. My little laminitic pony I took on had laminitis at the time, 12 degree rotation And was being put down, and has now lost 25kg in weigh and looks fab,my son hunts him now. ( better stop there cause some people on her will accuse me off telling **** again.)
 
It's the blue Horsehage that's lowest in calories. My horse had a laminitic attack about 18 months ago, and I used the blue horsehage all of last summer. He was turned out in a field almost bare of grass so he was fed it ad lib 24 hours a day. He lost masses of weight on it, so I wouldn't hesitate to use it again or recommend it to anyone wanting their horse or pony to lose weight. It's a thumbs up from me :)
 
blue or purple (timothy) are fine for good doers and laminetics. you could also use something like dengie hifi lite as a hay replace.
 
It's Timothy - the purple one, It's rubbish that you can't feed it to laminitics, it's actually safer than some crops of hay!!! Timothy grass is matured for longer , is coarser and higher in fibre and especially low in fructans.
I had a mare that had nearly died of laminitis (with a previous owner) and also had COPD she was fed on timothy haylage for over 10 years with no problems whatsoever.
Best to feed that than some of the new hay around at the minute and you can dilute it with a bit of straw if the pony's teeth are up to it.
 
Thanks all. Tried everything but as shettie owners will understand, shetties are designed to live off patchy, scrubby, **** grass and normal grazing makes them humungusly fat in no time flat. Up til now Molly has been in for about 6hrs during the day and out at night on not very good grass, with 2 pals. She has half a feedbowl of hi fi lite while she's in and is on an eggspoonful of Equivite daily for vits, mins, pre & probiotics. Brilliant stuff. You can see your face in the shine on her coat but her belly is terrifying. Difficult when the pony has had who knows how many foals but I'd condition score her as 3.5 even not counting the belly. ALL horses, regardless of age, breed, gender are at risk of laminitis if they condition score at 3.5 or higher. We all know about trickle feeding but a shetland absolutely cannot be out grazing for 12 hours a day in the spring, summer and autumn. It would kill Molly. Soaking hay is indeed an option but the run off needs to be treated like effluent so the whole thing is problematic when it doesn't need to be. From today, she will be out for 2 or 3 hours on **** grass with her 2 herd buddies so she gets some companion time. The rest of the time she will be stabled except for her regular exercise. She is lunged or walked in hand 6 days a week. She will have a treat ball with a handful of hi fibre pony nuts in while she's stabled. Her stable is in a barn system and other horses are in during the night so she'll have some company. While she's in she will have 1 small haylage net, double bagged and a bucket of hi fi lite which is as appetising as cardboard but if she's hungry she'll eat it. Natch, I'll introduce the Horsehage slowly. I'm also breaking her to harness and to be honest there's nothing more I can possibly do to help her, short of selling up and moving to Stornaway.

Thanks again everyone - it's the Timothy Horsehage x
 
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