Laminitis advice please

[whymewhyme]

I have a new pony, apparently he's had lami once a few years ago. The last time I had a pony with lami was when I was kid, can anybody give me any advice on management and what to feed and not to feed ( obvs not feeding him but are a few carrots ok each evening ? ) what do I need to look out for? How much hay?

A lot depends on his current weight and also the quality of your grazing and hay - it's a good thing he's managed to stay lami free for a few years. It sounds like his previous owners were on top of this - can you speak to them and find out what their recommendations are? In general would say the most important things, in this order are:

-His weight- little ponies seem to manage to get fat on thin air but it's really important to keep him trim to keep the weight off his joints/feet. Use a weight tape to monitor him regularly. At this time of year he should have lost some weight ready for the spring grass to come through. If he's still a bit porky you may need to look at increasing his exercise and/or restricting his grazing either by strip grazing your fields (quite good for the grass quality to do this anyway) or using a grass muzzle. I'd also keep him unrugged if possible. In summer we used to keep our porky ponies in a small starvation paddock that was fairly bare, they'd be kept busy moving around all day looking for tiny blades of grass and neighing at passers by who would be convinced they were being neglected and starved, poor things!

-Related - diet. no hard feed, ever, unless he really gets into poor condition. The odd carrot or polo as a treat is OK but you need to make sure it really is very occasional and small amounts only as too much sugar is very bad for them - I try to avoid feeding little ponies treats at all as I find it makes them nippy/bargy but if you really want to give him something maybe look into buying some low sugar treat cubes? Re hay it depends a bit on the quality hay you usually feed/have access to. I am not a fan of restricting their hay too much if in overnight and/or the fields are totally bare, as they do need a steady trickle of roughage going in for their guts and if not given much greedy ponies will scoff it all quickly. However there are a few things you can do - feed slightly less rich hay if you can get it, use a small holed net or feeder so it takes them longer to eat and/or mix hay with straw so they have to browse through to get the good stuff.

-Good shoeing. You need to find a good farrier experienced with lami prone ponies to keep his feet in good shape and the pressure going onto the right parts of the hooves through good trimming and well fitted shoes if he wears them (some ponies with lami need remedial shoeing but hopefully your boy is not that bad)

Good luck!

I have an old pony who had lami a few years ago - managed to keep him lami free ever since thank God! I echo all of the above advice. My farrier has been with us for years and years and is just brilliant and has been invaluable in keeping his feet in good condition.

My situation is complicated by the fact that he's a veteran, and 3/4 TB and loses weight quickly. At the moment he is living out and I am having a right job to keep weight on. But that's not as important as keeping him lami-free so I'm not stressing too much.

I strip graze all summer and give him ad-lib hay. From a lami point of view it is unfortunate that last year's hay is such good quality and you could always soak it if yours is as rich as ours.
As for feed - he's been off all cereals for years now. I feed him Fast Fibre and Hi-Fi molasses free but at the moment because he's dropping weight he is on micronised linseed, Pink Mash, Pure Veteran and vegetable oil as well. If he was a good doer I'd just give a bit of fast fibre and chaff for his supplements.

The important thing is to keep his weight under control and to watch his grass intake - particularly the spring grass and when there's frost on the ground. The autumn flush can also be a dangerous time for lamis.

With careful management there is no reason why he should have further episodes. But it does need very careful management - it can cause serious damage and even be fatal.

Have a look at the laminitis site or blue cross, some good advice there.

I had a lami pony for years. There's a great app that monitors the weather in your area to give you a risk for your grazing and suggest whether or not to turn out.
After years of remedial shoeing (by then she had cushings, was spending six weeks every year on box rest and starvation diet and looked like a hat rack) I pulled the shoes and went barefoot. It was brilliant because without shoes hiding the symptoms I could see very slight footiness and get on top of it in a day or two.
Magnesium supplements can help as most grazing in the UK is low in magnesium.
Regular exercise is crucial. Running around for 20 minutes on the lunge isn't enough, the best thing is long slow work with hills! I think the blue cross did some research into that a few years ago. Concussion is bad for laminitis so be careful not to hammer it on hard ground.
Hay should be soaked for at least 2 hours and preferably nearly 24 hours to remove the sugars. It's important to rinse it well after soaking because the water it's been soaked in is full of fermented sugars.
Good feeds are speedi beet if you want to put weight or fast fibre. It's important that they have enough food (forage) to be eating most of the day otherwise you set yourself up for other problems like ulcers. I would avoid dengie feeds - many but not all laminitics are sensitive to alfalfa (mine was). There was molasses in lami light or whatever it's called. Don't rely on vets' knowledge of feeding as it's often poor. Don't rely on laminitis trust labelling as it's just marketing. Get in the habit of reading ingredients on feed bags and know what you're giving your pony. Simple is better.
Sugar is lower in grass overnight so at risky times of year it's better to turn out overnight. This has the added benefit of avoiding flies in the day too.
Monitor weight - take regular photos, learn to condition score or use a weigh tape. It's hard to see change when you see the horse every day so ask someone's opinion such as the farrier who only sees it from time to time.
Poor grazing is best for laminitics. A nice bare field where you have to top up with soaked hay is great, if more expensive. The dream is a track or paddock paradise system if you have the facilities to set one up. Look on the rockley farm blog for more ideas about that.

Soak hay. Really soak it. You want it to be be entertainment rather than nutrition by that point. 24hrs ideally.

Used to give mine hi-fi lite, carrots and a little coolmix, plus supplements and a slosh of Vege oil.

Poor sod had a grazing restriction tub on his nose too or went out in a very bald paddock.

Get a really bloody good farrier. Mine was incredible at making remedial shoes which managed to keep them sound.

My 9 ½ hand Shetland wears one of these most of the time when out. Means she can go out in company. I think these are the best muzzles out there (and I have probably tried them all). No rubs, break away, I go through two per year per horse.

www.tackandturnout.co.uk/dinky-shop/product/738-dinky-classic-grazing-muzzle