Yes, it is your fault!!

amandap said:
Ah, misunderstood you there. I agree.

The importance of bucket feeds to many is a bit of a bug bear to me. Horses get most if not all their feed requirements from forages. If we put the effort into sorting out good forage and ways to eek out the correct amounts it would be effort better spent imo.
Click to expand...

Getting a trickle net was a big help with mine it really slowed him down made his food last longer and think helped him learn when he had had enough as he had to work hard to get his food. It was only after I got the Tricklenet that we would ever find him resting with food in the stable.
The only bucket food he gets is to get his supplements down him.
 
Mrs B said:
Sanctimonious 'I know better' post from you, PR.

And none of your business.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I agree with this ^^^^

The pain of losing a horse is traumatic enough without people like you rubbing salt in the wound.
Or - you could have offered support and guidance instead of waiting to apportion blame on someone who in all probability is feeling heartbroken right now.
 
Goldenstar said:
Getting a trickle net was a big help with mine it really slowed him down made his food last longer and think helped him learn when he had had enough as he had to work hard to get his food. It was only after I got the Tricklenet that we would ever find him resting with food in the stable.
The only bucket food he gets is to get his supplements down him.
Click to expand...
Sadly I don't think we can do without those supplements as grazing and hay will never be perfect.
 
Always Henesy said:
Sorry but I agree with this ^^^^

The pain of losing a horse is traumatic enough without people like you rubbing salt in the wound.
Or - you could have offered support and guidance instead of waiting to apportion blame on someone who in all probability is feeling heartbroken right now.
Click to expand...

I do understand you feeling this but I am guessing that OP is in the same position as I am with the ponies near me you just can not explain it to some people the owner of the ponies near me moved them from a lovely yard rather than address the issue.
So I do understand Pale RIder post.
 
I know of someone who has ponies with Lami. She denies it to herself, continues to feed them too much. One is so bad that imo it is suffering badly and it would be a relief for it to be pts!
OP - Be grateful that the pony is no longer in pain and consider that its owner may have made the kindest decision.
 
Goldenstar said:
I do understand you feeling this but I am guessing that OP is in the same position as I am with the ponies near me you just can not explain it to some people the owner of the ponies near me moved them from a lovely yard rather than address the issue.
So I do understand Pale RIder post.
Click to expand...

I have a "fatty". Technically, he's not at the moment. If anything he's a bit on the lean side. But I know, without a doubt that the minute I let my guard down and not carefully and vigilantly monitor his diet, he will balloon to a much larger, unhealthy weight. I have worked my backside off to get him fit and lean to do his job - and he's cheeky and happy - definitely not deprived.

Yet I've known people with obese ponies that just think they "can't" get the weight off, don't SEE that the pony is obese, aren't really interested in taking the steps to making them fit. So I understand PR, too. I think I understand the frustration. But I've had a horse (or two) with laminitis. One was concussive, and definitely not from being overweight - he was out on loan to someone and I took him back to rehabilitate him.

The other happened while the horse was in my own care. She was round, but definitely not obese. It's a bit of a mystery as to exactly WHY she came down with lami - possible hormone induced. And I did *everything* by the letter to ensure that she didn't come down with another case of it - box rested, soaked hay nets, but I coudln't (at the livery yard I was at) ensure that I could keep her on restricted grazing (she was a fence hopper - couldn't keep it in anywhere!) Once she was completely sound and back to work I was concerned about her having to be an indoor horse all her days - which to me wasn't fair. So she went on loan to my friend who has her own yard and could build her a starvie in "jurassic park". Much of the time she's integrated with the rest of her herd, but when necessary she's in with another fatty in JP ;) . She has been so carefully managed between us and it was the best thing I could have done for the mare.

So having been there, done that route with one laminitc, I tend to look at "every" horse as a potential laminitic just to hopefully save me and the horse the heartache and headache of having to rehab another.
 
amandap said:
Just picked this out not to be personal but because it seems to be common thinking ie. we don't know the whole story and it's up to the owner and no one elses business... this is interesting, one could say horses left to starve in a home is also the no one elses business if this is to be adhered to.
Over feeding is every bit as unfair to the horse as under feeding and actually the long term effects from being fat are far worse than being too skinny!
These are general comments btw. I feel I have to qualify everything I write.

I can understand PR's frustration and really the info about laminitis is out there, mind you, even the L.Trust are still not recommending soaked hay but say restrict hay and feed those bagged feeds that many of us have found to be totally unsuitable. :(

At least the horse is no longer suffering. x
Click to expand...

Actually, I do understand how frustrating it is. BUT the owner had involved a vet and a farrier, even if she made the mistake of not feeding 'correctly' in the first place. But that is just Pale Rider's take on it. That she fed crap (that PR wouldn't have fed) and didn't look at barefoot rehabilitation (which IMHO is not the b-all and end-all and yes, I do speak from experience although I usually keep out of the 'to shoe or not to shoe, that is the question' threads.)

So, in summary and in this case I stand by my original comment. It was sanctimonious and none of his/her business.
 
I have fatties. They get a mostly forage diet. Like 99% forage. I have 6 boxes on 2 sides of the barn. My 2 fatties are in the middle. By the time I'm fed the last 2 which is a matter of dumping a bucket in and shutting the door, the 2 fatties are done their token handful. My husband is like that's cruel. And my motto is if you love them you don't feed them. Now they are on the big field as there is nothing in it really but in another few weeks they will live on a sacrafice paddock after working in which they will have to have to fight for a little grass. I do not care. I want them a little on the lean side. I used to not but it is far better.

Also if you're using a balancer the feed company says is great for fat horses because it contains very few calories, run a mile. This is when my metabolism problems started. Gee how can 2 coffee mugs a day be harmful. This is the reason for the explosion in IR type horses. Yeah I may sound like a conspiracy theorist but believe me it's rubbish in a bag. You'd actually be better off with a lick bucket containing some sugar. Anyway I digress.

Terri
 
Always Henesy said:
Sorry but I agree with this ^^^^

The pain of losing a horse is traumatic enough without people like you rubbing salt in the wound.
Or - you could have offered support and guidance instead of waiting to apportion blame on someone who in all probability is feeling heartbroken right now.
Click to expand...

Well put and very sensible reply IMO. We cannot judge unless we are actually there, listening to vets opinion and know 100 per cent what the issues were with this horse.

RIP horse and I'm sure your owners loved you. :(
 
Ponies don't have to be fat to get lami. My little man is the skinniest of my 4 natives and he suffers, infact the others are positively barrels in comparison and they have never suffered.
 
The-mad-cat-lady said:
Ponies don't have to be fat to get lami. My little man is the skinniest of my 4 natives and he suffers, infact the others are positively barrels in comparison and they have never suffered.
Click to expand...

Aggree ponies don't need to be fat but if they are fat there loads you can do like getting them moving and dieting them and that's what winds me up people get a pony it gets fat they won't take advice and continue over feeding because they enjoy it.
 
Agreed ...
However I thought the thread was about lami and the majority of posters seem to think fat = lami and I was just pointing out that its not always the case as my boy proves
 
I havent read all replies etc but Im sorry sometimes it is easy to sit detracted from the situation and judge, it is easy to find fault and as I dont know full details I feel for the owner ( stands ready for bombardment) given she had the vet and the farrier It would appear she cared for her horse. Having seen cruelty caused by people not caring leaving animals starving literally to death, dying for the want of vetinary care, poor love less creatures given up on life I am slower to judge - yes education regarding feeding of weight proned animals is always needed as you can kill with kindness but I with hold judgement not knowing the facts and i hope the owner finds peace and the horse is now painless x
 
I've read the OP and a few in between, so if am missing something, apologies, but I had to have my old boy PTS because he had laminitis AND cushings, now more referred to as Equine Metabolic Syndrome.

Laminitis is a horrible, horrible, condition, and so often is combined with Cushings, not necessarily in old horses either.

Anyone who's ever had to have a laminitic PTS will be continually berating themselves for it and wondering if/how/could they have done anything differently. Sometimes the answer is yes, but more often than not there was nothing anyone could have done unfortunately.

Whilst I understand the OP's anger/angst etc., I feel that there is a great deal more behind this situation than can be comprehended here, and anyone who's ever been in the awful position of having a laminitic, will tell you that its very easy for others to point the finger but when you've got the condition to deal with, for yourself, often, in spite of the best endeavours of farrier, vet, and feeding regime, the condition progresses to the point where the PTS decision is the only humane one that can be taken.
 
nother example of 'barefoot would have saved this horse' without any real understanding of the laminitis events that mean that barefoot could well have been VERY unsuitable for this horse.
 
Mrs B said:
Actually, I do understand how frustrating it is. BUT the owner had involved a vet and a farrier, even if she made the mistake of not feeding 'correctly' in the first place. But that is just Pale Rider's take on it. That she fed crap (that PR wouldn't have fed) and didn't look at barefoot rehabilitation (which IMHO is not the b-all and end-all and yes, I do speak from experience although I usually keep out of the 'to shoe or not to shoe, that is the question' threads.)

So, in summary and in this case I stand by my original comment. It was sanctimonious and none of his/her business.
Click to expand...

Agree with this. If the owner had not got help, and sat there doing nothing you could have been angry, but it sounds to me as though the owner was trying everything she could. I hope that you were quiet with your accusations in real life.

I'm another who had a pony that wasn't fat get laminitus. Even my fit event horse showed initial symptoms of it once - it was due to rich haylage. If only everything went by the textbook.... It doesn't.
 
Also agree with AH!
I have not been on this forum long or bit to a post but I dont think this is fair.
Maybe this owner needed some advice from the people round them who know better than the professionals she/he trusted at the time?? !

Although I can understand that you are pd and will maybe miss the horse I do hope the owner does not read this. I suspect they may be feeling bad enough right now.
RIP poor horse
x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top