Worst year for laminitis?!

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Sandstone1

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Ive heard this year is supposedly really bad for laminitis?
Anyone else struggling to keep weight off their horses and ponies? Any tips? I know about muzzles, track systems and restricted grazing.
Its so difficult to find the right balance of keeping them happy with a quality of life while keeping their weight down.
 
I have a lami prone Connie who is literally out on a mud patch by night and in by day with a soaked haynet. She had lami last year despite never actually being chubby and she now constantly looks too ribby, but not a lot I can do about it... she’s worked 5/6 days a week.

Whereas I have a new forest cross who hunted all of last season, and finished the season looking well 🤦🏻‍♀️ Despite not really being fed.... so she’s on the same mud patch as my Connie and the pair of them are only out by night. My new forest cross is proving a nightmare to get weight off of - doesn’t seem to matter how hard I work her, she’s forever chubby!! So no advice to offer I’m afraid..... but keen to have any suggestions!!
 
Heard of two pts this week due to laminitis, both had no previous history but unfortunately weren’t kept as preventatives just out on big fields with no muzzle or grass restrictions.
It has fortunately made other liveries at their yard more vigilant and they are taking precautions.
 
so was last year, and the year before and the year before that.

My main tips-dont rug, its May- there are still photos of fat horses in rugs being shown on this forum and FB. Cut down t he amount of rugging in the winter, allow your horses to lose a bit in the New Year. The best months for getting weight off them are usually jan-march.

think of how much they are eating, cut out half of it-muzzle/spread feeding across time (including grazing), stop feeding bucket feeds if you are. Muzzles are not the work of the devil used properly and a damn sight better than laminitis -particularly useful if not managing your own grazing. If really having to cut foraging back look into enrichment to make life a bit more interesting. They need access to forage yes, they don't need to be troughing excellent hay/haylege-make them work for it-there is a lot of information online on enrichment, doesn't have to cost much.

Given how good the hay was last year I think that even soaking it will be of limited value for really good doers-give them straw. Make sure you are giving at least mag ox and salt while grass is so actively growing.

dont be stingy on movement, ride, lunge, lead them out, loose school-as much as possible. tired from work? don't care-do something with them. My non-ridden companion is lunged, loose jumped, does straightness training 4 or 5 times a week. I got caught out a couple of weeks ago, the other one was fatter than I'd like him. He's been worked twice a dat for two weeks, fed straw, muzzled, I've built a track-we've got some of it off and he's looking not bad now but we're having some rain so will be extra cautious.
 
I have asked myself "why" fifty million times since one horse developed EMS in 2007, (never had laminitis), and a second one developed serious IR and rotated severely in 2012. And the 2012 event was AFTER I started limited grazing and had cut out all grains & soy.

I've had my own horses since I was 12 -- I was 12 in 1959--- My first two ran wide open with beef cattle on 100 acres -- only getting a handful of homegrown corn &a oats to keep them coming up to the barn every day.

We did not have "GMO anything" back in those days -- GMO seeds are harmless you know and were developed to grow feed in larger quantities to feed cattle but our horses eat the same products that come from GMO seeds.

My first Keeper horses were mixed breeds -- Arab/Saddlebreds and Arab/Morgans -- right at the top of the Thrifty List, making them ideal candidates for metabolic issues. They made it to 29 & 27 and did NOT pass from metabolic related issues. That was a long life back in the 80's for back yard trail horses.

My horses that developed metabolic issues were/are registered stock -- both Tennessee Walkers. While cattle grazed their pastures previous to them, none of this land had ever been tilled or fertilized --- merely kept well cut. I say well cut because this area has a population of Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, and Water Moccasins.


I've had my soil tested -- while 25 acres is not a lot, it was lot when I had to go digging for soil samples our local Co-Op wanted. We are only slightly high in iron. Copper:Zinc was in an acceptable range.

The horses have been on city water since the late 90's -- maybe the chemicals in the water put their thrifty selves over the edge?

I am too old to go looking for more horses, once my current two pass on. If I did, I am pretty sure I would not be looking at registered stock. -- their health issues seem like a bigger risk than my mix breeds of many years ago.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
so was last year, and the year before and the year before that.
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I was going to post and say the same thing! This time last year, there was a local ‘storm’ of laminitis cases according to my vets. My own younger mare was initially diagnosed with it by a newly qualified vet, but it turned out to be foot balance issues (which she is still recovering from). It was an easy but wrong conclusion to jump to when every other lameness call out is to a laminitis case.

I’m setting up more of a track system this year over a larger area, instead of my usual strip grazing system where I shift the posts 2 x daily. I want them to keep moving more all day long and not stuff their faces x 2 daily when the fence is moved.
 
Thanks. Im trying to do most of the things mentioned. Just looking for any tips really. I dont rug unless really nec in winter and feed only fibre based foods. Think last winter was so mild they just didnt lose much weight.
 
Sandstone1 said:
Thanks. Im trying to do most of the things mentioned. Just looking for any tips really. I dont rug unless really nec in winter and feed only fibre based foods. Think last winter was so mild they just didnt lose much weight.
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I feel your pain, grass didn't stop growing even up as high as I am either-I took my ponies out of their well grazed summer/autumn field on xmas eve, two weeks later it was like an overgrown lawn. The acre field I took them out of two weeks ago is well over ankle deep in grass. I've never had so much grass at my place either and it can usually be best described as scrubby! One pony is fine, I've had him since a yearling and he self-regulates to an extent. The other never stops eating, he came to me after being very restricted and was very resource guardy for a few months. I am lucky that I got some oat straw last year, not only did it save me a shed load of money I think I would be in trouble if feeding last years hay.
 
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I’ve just been moaning on another forum about exactly the same thing. Mine has always been a good doer so I’m used to permanent diets and strip grazing, however even though this last week I’ve been even more strict, she has still put weight on rather than lose it. So now the strip grazing is just a token slither of grass and a slice of hay to fill her up.
She is retired which makes it more difficult, I’m going to need to make time for more walks.
 
Nope been praying for rain so we get some grass for the baby and old chap he lost shed loads of weight when he was poorly so trying to get it back before winter, the fatties are on the track and are slimmer than ever although it looks like a storm is brewing so likely to get torrential rain any minute. Trouble is that will just run off down the hill. My laminitic pony is light enough but still looks well but he is an acute laminitic not a chronic one he has no health issues just gorging causes his twice he was let onto a growing field by walkers sorry for him in his pen and once it was my fault I was nice to him and left him in the field while we went to a show expecting only t be a couple of hours the show was 4 hours behind time so he ended up in there too long
 
It’s a pain! Mine is on bare grazing full of weeds- his winter field which hasn’t been topped/fertilised or anything, it’s the same rubbish grazing he’s been on all winter. Out 8-3, comes into nothing then a properly soaked haynet overnight. He gets a handful of sugar free chaff just to get his danilon in him. He’s retired but gets loose schooled/walked out 3-4 times a week. And yet, he still has got a massive crest. He’s got a crest naturally anyway but it’s definittely got worse and I’m not sure what else I can do! Muzzles are a pain because he just gets them off even with a head collar over the top.
 
NinjaPony said:
It’s a pain! Mine is on bare grazing full of weeds- his winter field which hasn’t been topped/fertilised or anything, it’s the same rubbish grazing he’s been on all winter. Out 8-3, comes into nothing then a properly soaked haynet overnight. He gets a handful of sugar free chaff just to get his danilon in him. He’s retired but gets loose schooled/walked out 3-4 times a week. And yet, he still has got a massive crest. He’s got a crest naturally anyway but it’s definittely got worse and I’m not sure what else I can do! Muzzles are a pain because he just gets them off even with a head collar over the top.
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is it possible to put a track for him, continual movement?
 
I just keep a close eye on everybody (one has had lami so even closer on him) to be honest. This winter was particularly easy though, and grass started growing early. It suits mine to got on a small patch of electric fenced field though I did offer a bit of hay when it was cold last week. And then you have to be on the alert in the autumn. No peace for the wicked or the laminitis prone.
 
So far we seem to be doing better than last year though I’d don’t think he looks much different though not had my hands on him yet.

He can’t be muzzled anymore due to teeth/jaw issues so without the track we’d be a bit stuck and we got them on it earlier this year
 
I have a lami prone fatty so always worry.
But I've found that him living out all year round, on quite a large area but of crappy grazing, keeps him in reasonable condition...although he has loads of space, he doesn't have loads of grass, so he is moving around a lot more and burning off those calories.
A lot of his field is taken up by bushes and trees and brambles rather than just grass.
He is looking ok, always going to be chunky but he isn't scarily fat and feet are so far ok.
 
Every year is the worst year ever lol
Calories in v's calories out unless there is an u derlying cause such Ems or Cushings.
I have my two Shetlands in their summer paddock during spring and autumn. It's about 40m x 40m and it's eaten right down. It looks almost bare but they are just eating it as it grows. They get a wedge of haylage each day so I know they've had a belly full and they get a night out with the horses every now and then so they can really stretch their legs and interact (annoy) the horses.
One is very lami prone. I check pulses daily. Any signs of lami and I make the paddock smaller .
I think you just really need to be on the ball with lami, know your pony, check to find out why they are prone and work on getting your setup right.
 
This is an interesting article

http://forageplustalk.co.uk/iron-overload-in-horses-by-dr-kellon/

Biotin (and balancers) became very popular feeds for laminitics and have iron. I also read a paper theorising that type 2 diabetes rose coinciding with the fortification of bread and cereals with b vitamins etc.

Did anyone read the James Herriot book where Siegfried bled a laminitic? He didn't know how or why it worked but according to Dr Kellon it vastly reduces the iron and the insulin resistance.

I save my money at the feed shop these days and just feed grass and hay all year round.
 
Exactly, so we need to avoid feeding them more, there's an iron free rockies now produced at the request of farmers.
 
Amirah said:
This is an interesting article

http://forageplustalk.co.uk/iron-overload-in-horses-by-dr-kellon/


Did anyone read the James Herriot book where Siegfried bled a laminitic? He didn't know how or why it worked but according to Dr Kellon it vastly reduces the iron and the insulin resistance.
Click to expand...

It relieves pressure. The darker the blood and the more the horse bleeds, the more serious the laminitis or beginnings of it.

https://www.cavallo-inc.com/equine-ting-points/

I've had my IR horse "tinged" twice. It's an acupuncture procedure.
 
Quite but that doesn't have to be by not feeding a balancer and only feeding grass and hay, doing that throws a crest up on mine very quickly so I stopped :D.
 
A family member of mine has a mare with cushings and chronic laminitis. She was pottery recently so she was taken straight off grass and in to a well bedded stable. She was walking normally after a day of stable rest. She's on hay now and won't be out on grass for a while yet. I suppose we caught it before real damage was done.
 
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