Horsey Peeps

[Rae]

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Honey was struck by laminitus a few weeks back.



She's well on the road to recovery now, infact I'm thinking about turning her out again. There's so much advice out there but so far the common advice seems to be:

dont turn out if there's been a frost.

long grass better than short grass.

dont turn out if very cold/wet.

obviously keep her weight down and dont allow a laminitus crest to develop

I've also ordered some mag-restorer from maneline - a magnesium supplement for horses which is supposed to be excellent for laminitic ponies. Has anyone had any experience of this product?

I'm hoping to be able to turn her out every day and bring her in each night.

 

[princessinpink]

hi I hav had experience of lamanitic horses as my cousins horse used to suffer with it badly. I havnt had experience of using this product. the only advice i can offer is(prob same as most people are giving you) when it is forcast frost try keep her in until lunch when the frost has cleared. the fructines in the grass are higher when its frosty! also give her hay instead of haylage due to sugar contents. you will prob no all or most of this and are already doing it!

 

good luck! :luck:

 

[fable]

Poor Honey - it really is a problem knowing how best to manage it. We've been dealing with it for the past two years with one of our ponies, although his wasn't related to being overweight, over fed or any of the other usual suspects for causing lammi. I'd be a bit careful of the grass at the moment as there's been quite a bit of rain and the weather's still been mild, so it could still be growing. Although long grass has less fructens in it , a pony can quite quickly eat more of it than it would get on a starvation patch of sparse grass - some people use grazing muzzles or electric tape to strip graze a very small area. I don't really know if the magnesium supplement helps - I've only heard of it being used in calmers - and then it's only effective if the horse has a magnesium deficiency. The only product my vet thinks works is founderguard, which has to be got by licence from Australia - quite a complicated process.

Hope she stays sound for you - good luck :luck:

Val

 

[~Sally~]

We infortuanately lost a horse to laminitis

i agree with what has been said about turn out, weight etc but have never heard of using a magnesium suppliment so can't offer any help

hope honey is stays 100% sound for you :huggles: :luck:

 

[jinnyfizz]

Hi Rae - sorry about Honey going down with that

My old shetland, Twiggy, is prone to it but I haven't used any supplements so I'm not much use to you there!

All I would say is that the grass always produces a growth flush in October and it is prime time right now for laminitics to suffer again so maybe leave turning out for a while longer yet, especially as Honey is a recovering laminitic :huggles:

Twiggy has grazed out since May this year without problems, but she has had to share with 4 sheep and 2 TBs which has kept the grass down well! In the past if she has shown any signs of 'feeling' her front feet I have just put her straight into a starvation situation with minimal hay and a few low energy nuts. This has always worked well and she hasn't had a problem for over 5 years now :thumbsup:

Hope it works out OK for Honey :luck: :luck:

 

[tinker*]

Hi,

wishing honey all the best :luck:

there has been loads of lami this year due to heavy rain and rich grass.

one of mine got it 3 yrs ago, i used Laminaze (by NAF) that was good stuff.

 

[maggie217]

A lot of the people who keep and work their horses 'barehoot' use magnesium. When working horses barefoot it is especially important to keep the feet in the correct condition as problems cannot be hidden by shoeing. [shoeing also causes lots of problems but that is another subject]. The magnesium helps to counteact the effects of the fructens in the grass but must be fed in the correct manner. I would suggest you 'Google' barefoot and magnesium and see what that brings up. I'll give you a fuller answer later if you are still interested.

Pauline :luck:

 

[Janimal]

Sorry to hear about Honey Rae, I hope she is fully recovered. :luck:

We lost one of the shetland ponies at Hall Hill, a couple of years back, to laminitus... we have a starvation paddock....for the remaining two ponies which at the moment touch wood are ok. But when there is a flush of new lush grass it ca be a big problem.

It is possible once she has had it too, she may be quite prone to another attack, I would certainly keep an eye on her weight too, and these frosty damp mornings.

 

[OEH]

Poor Honey, it is such a nightmare to manage them with it isn't? Good Luck and sorry not to have any helpful advice. :luck:

 

[Rebecca Claire]

So sorry to hear about Honey, just been reading this thread. Some really good advice has been given on here. Really wish you both the best :luck: and at least you are giving her all you can and putting her out to enjoy her day, even if its only a couple of hours and coming in at night sounds just perfect :thumbsup:

 

[Rae]

Thanks everyone.

She is still a bit footy - but I've started to lunge her this week (only in walk) to shift some weight off her. She wasnt massively over weight and she was stripped grazed when it happened. The pony she was with was double her size - she's just at the right age for it and been unlucky I think.

Anyway the magnesium hasnt arrived and now with the frosty mornings I have decided to keep her turn out limited to the outdoor school (with her haynet) until May/or the frosts have passed. When Ic an start riding her/lunging her every day it wont be so bad for her and she'll have to get used to it.

We've been using laminze too - I've almost ran out and will get another 2 weeks worth to be on the safe side.

She is barefoot - the vet has suggested we shoe her in 2 weeks time even if just for a few months to give her frogs a rest so that's what we'll do. I've never had a 'clip clop' horse before

maggie217 if you've got more info on the magnesium I'd be really interested. :thumbsup:

 

[ja jumper]

sorry to hear about your poor pony,its not just fat ponies who get it it can be from jumping on hard ground and other problems as well that trigger it off,my friends pony had cushions for many years without us knowing this was causing her problems ,

fat ponies its best to go out in the day with a grazing mask on and come in at night and have a well balanced dinner and a good size hay net ,as you must keep the gut healthy ,a very high fibre feeding is what your looking for hi fi light hi fibre cubes etc,the mistake many people make is turning a pony out well before the problem has been sorted .if the get laminitis you must bring them in ,take offf their shoes vet wrap their feet and fit frogs supports,and have a very good deep bed ,acp is very good as it makes them lie down so taking the weight off their feet and you must give bute , the other thing i would do is a totally detox off the system to get the liver working well again ,most people starve the poor pony which is a no no

pink powder is a great feeding stuff as it keep they gut very healthy ,try this and the laminaze is good as well

we feed nupra feed to our jumpers as they are very hot ,that is a very good magnesium boost not heard about it for laminitis

hope your pony sorts out ,look up the laminitis trust on the net also ,

 

[maggie217]

Hi Rae

There is a magnesium deficiency in most of the grazing in Britain. Also most of the grazing we give out horses in this country is much too rich, horses should be able to roam over rocky land finding bits of dryer grasses and herbage wherever they go, of course this is not practicable here so we must take extra care about grazing.

You can safely add magnesium to feed. You can use magnesium oxide - this is expensive in a pure pharmaceutical form but agricultural calcined magnesite (CalMag) is fairly cheap and readily available from agricultural feed merchants.

I would seriously consider going down the barefoot route - [but beware of the Strasser method - this has brought dis-repute to horses being trimmed barefoot]

however you farrier probably will not be keen - particularly if he wants to put shoes on now.

But shod or unshod it would be a good idea to feed a magnesium supplement. By all means start on it now but it really wants to be fed as an ongoing preventative - or at least fed before the flushes of grass in spring and autumn. It is not often realised how high in fructens an autumn flush of grass may be. Any rings, even slight, on a horses hooves are an indication of separation of the hoof wall. Of course this starts at the coronet so the whole hoof needs to grow healthily to prevent laminitis. Once the growth at the coronet is affected some damage has already been done, so you need to be ever vigilant.

You might like to have a look at these websites

http://laminitis-magnesium-connection.blog.co.uk/

http://www.unshod.co.uk/articles.php

interesting articles on the Richard Vialls website [above link]– see all his website – and it might be worth having a word with him

http://www.richard-maxwell.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5728

On the richard maxwell site you may have to join the forum - look in the forum for the 'update on laminitis'

Hope all goes well

Pauline

 

[Rae]

sorry to hear about your poor pony,its not just fat ponies who get it it can be from jumping on hard ground and other problems as well that trigger it off,my friends pony had cushions for many years without us knowing this was causing her problems ,She's had a blood test for this it isnt cushings thank goodness

fat ponies its best to go out in the day with a grazing mask on and come in at night and have a well balanced  dinner and a good size hay net ,as you must keep the gut healthy  ,a very high fibre feeding is what your looking for hi fi light hi fibre cubes etc,the mistake many people make is turning a pony out well before the problem has been sorted  .if the get laminitis you must bring them in ,take offf their shoes vet wrap their feet and fit frogs supports,and have a very good deep bed ,acp is very good as it makes them lie down so taking the weight off their feet and you must give bute , the other thing i would do is a totally detox off the system to get the liver working well  again ,most people starve the poor pony which is a no no

Yes and it's sooo tempting to turn out as they hate being kept in - I can see how this happens  - she'll be off grass till May now because of the frosty mornings

pink powder is a great feeding stuff as it keep they gut very healthy  ,try this and the laminaze is good as well

Thanks  - will try the pink powder too - Ecksey uses this so she'll know where to get hold of it,

we feed nupra feed to our jumpers as they are very hot ,that is a very good magnesium boost not heard about it for laminitis

hope your pony sorts out  ,look up the laminitis trust on the net also ,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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Thanks

 

[Rae]

Hi Rae

You can safely add magnesium to feed.    You can use magnesium oxide  - this is expensive in a pure pharmaceutical form but agricultural calcined magnesite (CalMag) is fairly cheap and readily available from agricultural feed merchants. 

Thanks for that tip - it's just cost me £50 for what will be 3 months supply of mag-restorer.  Is the cal mag cheaper?

I would seriously consider going down the barefoot route - [but beware of the Strasser method - this has brought dis-repute to horses being trimmed barefoot]

however you farrier probably will not be keen - particularly if he wants to put shoes on now. 

She is barefoot now never had a problem and we've jumped, hacked out on lots of surfaces.  Infact for many reasons I prefer the mac boots to shoes ie they prevent any stones getting in her feet when out hacking, the farrier is very happy to continue barefoot he's always said she has good feet and doesnt need shoes.

  Any rings, even slight, on a horses hooves are an indication of separation of the hoof wall.  Of course this starts at the coronet so the whole hoof needs to grow healthily to prevent laminitis.  Once the growth at the coronet is affected some damage has already been done, so you need to be ever vigilant.

Now that's *really* interesting.  I'm going to take a photo of her feet tomorrow - there are rings, obviously much worse now at the coronet band    but she must have had rings for 12 months.  I thought it was normal.  Would be very interested to know what you think of her feet.  She's never had a feed, so no feed balancer till we got her ( 8 months ago).

You might like to have a look at these websites

http://laminitis-magnesium-connection.blog.co.uk/

http://www.unshod.co.uk/articles.php

interesting articles on the Richard Vialls website [above link]– see all his website – and it might be worth having a word with him

http://www.richard-maxwell.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5728

On the richard maxwell site you may have to join the forum - look in the forum for the  'update on laminitis'

Hope all goes well

Pauline 

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​

Thanks so much for that Pauline, much appreciated.

 

[imperative]

Hope all goes well with your Honey!

 

[ja jumper]

id talk to your vet ,regarding the barefoot thing ,a laminitic pony feet are on fire ,like us walking on hot coal, as long as your ground is good you mabe ok,but think what riding you do with her first? can she go barefoot ,this has also led to problems ,one of our has had stick on shoes as his feet are very thin and he gets sore when nailing in his feet