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Post by guiltygirl on Nov 11, 2008 14:06:03 GMT -5
My QH, 9 yr, I have had 4 summers and every summer he goes lame. this year he had mild laminitis in August. He has had in in the past as revealed by xrays with mild rotation. He gets rings on his front hooves every summer starting around May. He had become very overweight and was out on drought pasture-high in sugars. We pulled him out and put him in a dry lot- and within a week he was pretty sound. So I was just sure that he is Insulin Resistant- and just had him tested to confirm but he is normal. Glucose is normal and insulin was low. So what causes the laminitis? The grass? Being overweight (this is the first year that he was this fat, he has gotten laminitis int he past when he was a regular weight. Why is he sound all winter and then around Memorial day weekend it starts with the ouchy feet and by December he is goo again? He has been off grass since August-lost all the weight he needed-looks good-but is miserable off the grass-should I turn him back out on grass? Any suggestions.
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Post by Smay on Nov 11, 2008 14:41:59 GMT -5
Well, I don't envy you GG...your QH is giving you a tricky diagnosis, that's for sure! You evidently have researched it well, because not that many people are familiar with the high sugar content of stressed grasses ( drought, frost, etc.) and assume that the only time a horse is going to flare up with laminitis is in the spring when the grass is "juicy." I've had people say their horse foundered because it ate too much watery grass! haha
ANYWAY, your ponee is maybe having fluctuations with his hormone levels in the fall, causing him to flare up when the days get shorter. He may test normal for glucose and insulin, yet still have these flare ups. You are doing the exact right thing, managing his weight and keeping him OFF that fall grass pasture. Check with your vet about re-testing him for pre-cushings and IR symptoms in the spring, when hormone levels change again, and keep him well exercised, off the grass, off any high starch grains and etc through the winter. You might even get your hay tested if you have a constant supply, to make sure he has a low NSC hay, too. You might have some success turning him out in a grazing muzzle if he's really missing his buddies, but most smart horses and ponies learn how to get those off pretty easily! Now I've been having good success using Purina Wellsolve L/S and W/C ( low starch and weight control) pellets for my IR pony, who REALLY has to watch his weight to stay sound. They seem to love the taste and the W/C formula is almost puffed up like cereal to provide a safer pelleted alternative to grain. Good luck and keep trying things to avoid damaging his feet further... With mine, I've found that once they are sensitized to sugars in grasses, they develope a low grade chronic laminitis that comes and goes and has to be managed SO carefully...it's really tough. Exercise has REALLY been key for ours. The more he gets, the sounder he stays.
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Post by guiltygirl on Nov 11, 2008 14:56:45 GMT -5
Thanks Smay- I really really thought the test we be IR. He is doing great now as far as soundness. Do you give your pony any supplements like magnesium?
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Post by Smay on Nov 12, 2008 9:16:38 GMT -5
Oh Yes, I totally forgot to mention that one thing that has REALLY helped our pony with his sensitivity to sugars/starches has been the Quiessence pellets he gets - a magnesium/chromium supplement in an alfalfa pellet. For a while last winter our vet put him on Thyro-L to help bump start his metabolism and lose weight, which it did, but made him kind of shaky and nervous. I took him off after a month or so. He then got new therapeutic shoeing with pour-in pads and went into a lease situation with big-time exercise and dry lot turnout. He lost a ton of weight and the Quiessence helped a LOT to reduce those stubborn fat pads they get in the rump and crest. So he's still on the Quiessence and probably will be for life! But this is also a ponee who has been diagnosed as VERY IR...unlike yours! I'd try the Quiessence though as a test....it can't hurt and some people say it has immediate benefits that you can see!
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Post by picasso on Nov 14, 2008 8:31:46 GMT -5
My pony is IR too and will have laminitic flare ups if I am not super vigilant. As soon as the grass starts to come back she is in a muzzle 24/7 except for when she is in her stall. She is pre-heavey, though, so I have to keep her out as much as possible. She gets CarbGuard and Hay Stretchers along with Thyrol-L twice a day. I have been doing this for the past year and she has not had one flare up.
One thing I have found is if you give a cc of Ace as soon as they have a flare up of laminitis, it greatly helps them to get better much quicker.
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