Laminitis!

Censorsh!t

Today the farrier visited my pony Millie. I initially called because of a bad job the last farrier (or rather his apprentice) did. He basically did not trim her hooves enough at all. In the last week then, one of her back hooves cracked and she was finding walking uncomfortable, so i quickly made an appointment with the farrier. I thought there was a possibility of her having laminitis, from her reluctance to move and the fact that she was put into a field with rich grass not long ago, and today it was confirmed that she does have it.
The farrier said to take her on hacks to get her weight down, but that's pretty much all he said. The thing is, how long should I take her out for? And should I keep it to grass and soft surfaces (we don't have an arena however) to ride her on?
As well as sectioning off the field wat else can I do? We don't have a stable, and even if we did, she absolutely hates being kept inside.
He never said anything about getting a vet to look at her either.
Any advice?

If you are worried, I would call out the vet.
You'll get better advice as well as peace of mind from them.

MDFM

Get the vet and then get your farrier back if needs be. Or, if you're not happy with your farriers opinion, get another one.
I would be concerned though with the fact the hoof cracked? What condition are the other hooves in? Other than the fact your horse is out, are you feeding him any supplements? Biotin for example? Does she normally get sore/tender after shoeing? reason i ask is that i have a horse, that, 9 out of 10 times after shoeing, he will be 'footy' for a day or so. though, i keep him going, i don't over exert him if he's sore, but i give him a few sachets of bute and he's generally fine in no time. When he this way, i'll exercise him lightly on the sand (no jumping) but i'll still hack him, only at a walk, on the roads.
without being presumptious, your horse may more than likely be overweight. and, if its a case of laminitis, you will have to control his diet. he may not like being in, but it may be a solution to his problem. Maybe keep him in at nite, without food, light hard feed in the morning, no forage, then exercise and turn him out for the day and back in at nite? With laminitis (and i''m only speaking from personal experience, i'm not telling u what to do) - diet/exercise go hand in hand, you need to create a balance between the 2. Sometimes, u have to be cruel to be kind..
But, get your vet out, maybe xray your horse, talk to your farrier aswell based on the vet's recommendations and then work out a plan of action.

Censorsh!t

Today I called to the veterinary clinic, the vet wasnt there but will ring as soon as possible. We got a few sachets of bute, and hoofkind horsefeed. I also bought a grass muzzle, as yes, she is overweight, and I have fenced off a small part of the field for her.
About her hooves, it was just the one that was in such a bad condition, so she may have hit it off something, but the others were still quite long. She does tend to get tender hooves after shoeing, yes.
Today when I went down to her, she refused to walk, but when I got her to take a few steps, she didnt seem lame, just uncomfortable. Yesterday, she was able to walk ok, except for when she was turning, the farrier noticed she did it unnaturally, and after examining the hoof, said she has laminitis, yet he did not stress it as being a serious case.
I am hoping the vet will ring soon.

doctor evil

This should help OP

http://www.laminitis.org/

Laminitis can be a very painful condition, once she's had it she will be more prone to getting it. Management for it will be for the rest of her life.

Censorsh!t

doctor evil wrote: »

This should help OP

http://www.laminitis.org/

Laminitis can be a very painful condition, once she's had it she will be more prone to getting it. Management for it will be for the rest of her life.

Thanks for the link:)

The strange thing is..this morning she was lying down, refused to get up for about 5 mins. She rarely lies down and will usually have jumped up by the time you're anyway close, but today, I had to just force her up eventually. Howeer, once she was standing, her mood brightened and she walked about no bother, even trotted a bit when i let her go.
We got the vet over, and he can't understand why she was lying down. He didn't notice anything very wrong with her, she's standing normally, not leaning back on her heels, and she doesnt have a problem walking. I guess only time will tell

needadvice

Laminitis is very tricky and can be fatal quite easily if left. My opinion but based on experience is that no way should she see grass til November ( I have one of these laminitic types so I know how hard it is). Light forage diet and exercise. While she has laminitis she should not be exercised at all as that the pedal bone inside her hoof can come away in extreme cases and exercise while once the remedy is no longer advised as it may increase the rotation of the pedal bone. Sounds like a very mild case but beware rich grass is now her permanent enemy. Good luck its a nuisance but they are always fab ponies its the type they are native good doers with super attitude.

Censorsh!t

The thing is I dont have access to stables, and she becomes very restless and stressed when she's put in for even just a night, so I don't think that's an option.
So, I basically have to rely on the grazing muzzle, which she hasnt got the complete hang of yet. I got the Shires nylon muzzle, http://www.saddleupinternational.co.uk/muzzle.asp , the second down. It has a rather small hole, I'm wondering should I make it larger somehow?

needadvice

Your best bet is this small paddock that you fenced off needs to be burned off with roundup. You'll need to put her somewhere while you do this or do it in another paddock and then move her ask a vet when it is safe to put her on it then she will have access to nibbles only all summer sounds like alot of hassle and it is but winter comes fast.

convert

Fencing off part of the paddock is a good idea as it will restrict her access and intake of fresh grass. However, if you have part of the paddock with very little grass on it, try and just keep her in it - that way she has to walk more to eat, so she'll be getting more exercise, too.....

Re. treatinig the laminitis - if you have a stream or river nearby that you could stand her in, it would be great therapy. I had a pony who got laminitis years ago, and we took him off all hard feed, kept him out as much as possible on a bare paddock, and stood him in a stream for about 20 minutes 3 or 4 times a day, and it really helped.

Censorsh!t

Yeah, unfortunately we dont have a stream nearby, but I'm using a hose for about twenty mins twice a day.
We can't really do anything like burning the paddock with roundup as we only rent the field, and the lady is pretty strict. My pony also has a talent for escaping her fenced off bit, I've no idea how, because none of the fence has been broken down! So until the grass is down, the grazing muzzle seems to be the solution for now.
The vet is happy with her progress, and gave us antibitiocs today for her.

Maybe get an electric fencer? Mains are best but the battery ones work as well.
That might help keep her in.

Censorsh!t

Yeah, i think we have a spare battery for one, I must have a look.
She's in a lot better mood, and is walking and standing ok, I'm wondering is this maybe just because of the painkillers though.
I rang the farrier again a few days back just to see what other information he had. He said luckily she only had the startings of it.
Anyone have any ideas of when I can start exercising her again? I want to get the weight off as soon as possible, and that's only happening very slowly with restricting her food.

togster

Hi. My understanding is the weigh should come fairly slowly. Otherwise you run into additonal problems. Restrict the food for now.

ironia

what is her food now?

hay, oats, musly, oil, carrots? how many and how big is horse?

of course wight is going down with swet, but good planned diet is also working.
it is serious for horse that fat is not in blood so much, so it not making problems fot heart and legs.

if food is to fat an too much proteins in it, laministis can starp progress again.

Censorsh!t

We got hoofkind horse feed http://www.horsehage.co.uk/MC-Hoofkind.html, it's specially for horse's prone to laminitis.
I give her one and a half/two hanfduls twice a day with a small carrot mixed in so that she'll eat it, as we must also mix in the painkillers and antibiotics. As well as this, she gets a bit of grass, but very restricted because of the muzzle.
She's 14.2hh, she's not vastly overweight, but could lose a bit.

ironia

sounds good.
are you not feeding dry hay?
but if she's not too much overweight, think with this kind of diet she will be in condition in some monthes.

what is is ration by day? I mean paddock, box, walking?

Censorsh!t

She has access to hay whenever she wants it.
The first few days she was in a small enough paddock, however she keeps escaping it, as she wants to be with the other horse. I'll see if I can et an electric fence up soon. So she is basically in a medium sized field 24 hours a day. If it were possible, i'd put her in a stable, but we don't have one, and she gets restless and stressed in them anyway.
I am not forcing any exercise on her at all, she can walk about the field as she wishes, although she is quite the lazy type, so doesnt walk about much.

ironia

and what vet says about exercises?

i think you have finish ourse of antibiotics before start to work her again. if she walks enough all the day for first time you don't have to exscercise more.

the best way you can do is ask vet and farrier about when you can start working.

togster

The quality of hay is an important factor too. If she has continuous acces to hay make sure it is not too rich in protein. Older drier (yellow) hay is probably better so she has something to pick at.

I would suggest contacting a vet to see what she should be eating etc. She still needs to get enough nutrition to stay healthy and active.

Censorsh!t

Well, the farrier said that I should take her on walks, out hacking to get her weight down, and didnt mention waiting for any length of time.
When I went to get the feed the woman in the shop, she's very educated in this kind of stuff, we usually ask her for advice whenever we need it, said that for now, exercise is a no because it'll only further the damage, and to wait til it has healed before beginning to exercise her.
The vet...hmmm I cant remember him saying anything, but i know he wasn't too concerned about her state, didnt say not to exercise, didnt say to exercise her either.

So, I'm guessing, I should maybe wait another while, wait til she's off all her medication, have the vet take another look at her then, and go from there.

ironia

it seems you have good consulter (food seller)
i you have to be 100% sure, that her hoofs are in normal condition after medicine.wait for while, it is only better for her.

laminitis ir killing horses slowly, horses life is more important than excersising.

good luck! waiting for good news.

togster

I agree. You should see what she is like when she is off her medication.

I mean exercise of course would be ideal, but unless you know for sure that she is not in pain (without painkillers) i would abstain. One trick i used before is to find a bare field and scatter hay all over it at different locations so she has to walk.

fits

Be very careful about exercising her at this early stage as the laminae will still be weak and she could founder.

Look at the info on laminitis trust and bhs about laminitis and follow as closely as you can. I am very wary about exercise for a month after an attack.

If one of mine got an attack, they'd be in on a deep soft bed with frog supports and taken off grass straight away.

togster

I wouldn't keep them in all the time but i would take her in to rest. Frog supports are imo only neccessaily when you start to exercise her again.

fits

I'd disagree. Frog supports are more useful in the early stages of an acute attack. They provide pain relief and support the pedal bone in the foot, discouraging rotation and/or founder.

Censorsh!t

Well I'm basically doing what the vet told me.

As I've said before, we don't have access to a stable, even if we did, she gets stressed in them, which would be no help at all. I know a stable with deep bedding would be ideal, but there's really no point when she can't stand them.
I'm going to wait til she has finished her medication, get the vet to have a look at her, and see what happens from there.

doctor evil

OP you can soak hay to remove nutrients or you can feed her old hay.

Can you rule out the carrot or replace it with something with less sugar such as part of a turnip.