Dr Nerida RichardsEquilize Horse Nutrition Pty Ltd. How Well Do You Know Your Feed Manufacturer? Make sure it’s impossible. If your horse needs to lose weight you must do it carefully, as forcing the laminitic horse into rapid weight loss can also stop them from healing their damaged hoof tissue and may cause other problems like hyperlipaemia. Horses and ponies prone to laminitis still need plenty of forage in their diets. Here are some guidelines for making it a lot easier: All horse’s diets should be based on forage and the laminitic horse is no different. If your horse needs extra feed in addition to the low sugar forage you are feeding you must be VERY careful when selecting a suitable feed. There have been many studies on laminitis and it is clear that there is not one single cause. If it is not holding its bodyweight on this diet, increase the amount of low sugar forage you are feeding and reassess your horse. These are: Allow your horse to graze in the very early hours of the morning until about 11 am as this is when pasture sugar levels are lowest. In her book The Truth About Feeding Your Horse (2007), nutritionist Clare MacLeod says "Haylage can be a safe feed for laminitis-prone horses and ponies, but a high dry matter, high-fibre, low-protein haylage with low residual sugars should be selected." Steam extruded feeds are low in sugar and starch which is beneficial for all laminitics. Restricting forage intake by too much may increase the risk of colic, gastric ulcers and oral stereotypies. For horses that need a higher level of hoof-related nutrients, Kentucky Equine Research offers Bio-Bloom PS (Bio-Bloom HF in Australia) to provide additional support for hoof quality and growth. In the majority of horses with IR induced laminitis, it is important to remove the cereal grain bi-products such as bran, pollard, or rice bran or feeds based on millrun, such as equestrian or pony pellets, from the ration, as these feeds contain starch and soluble sugars. You should NEVER feed a feed to a laminitic horse if it has any of the following ingredients: Millrun, millmix, bran (rice or wheat), pollard, Any form of steam flaked, micronized or extruded grain. The majority of cases of laminitis are associated with an underlying endocrine disease, commonly Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Cushings). Keyflow® feeds also have the additional benefit of Protexin, a probiotic which, is ideal for a horse with laminitis. Soaking hay for 12 hours in cold or 4 hours in warm water can reduce the NSC and calorie content, or alternatively mix hay with lower-calorie oat or barley straw (up to 50:50). Trace-clipping or using a lighter rug will mean that your horse will burn off some of his excess weight keeping warm. Laminitis causes the sensitive lamellae to s… If left untreated the pedal bone can become completely unsupported and can rotate within the hoof or sink through the sole. I’ve seen horses open doors, open the lid to the feed bin and perform miracle acts to get at that sweet feed. Causes of Laminitis in Horses. It can occur occasionally, for example if a horse or pony breaks into the feed room. Quite the opposite. Laminitis Trust approved feeds from British Horse Feeds. Broodmare Nutrition: A case of now or never! June 14, 2015 Restricting Kurt’s food intake has not reduced his girth. If you believe that your horse is suffering from laminitis, don’t panic. Feeding Horses with Laminitis. It contains high levels of calcium, as well as magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, lysine, vitamin C, vitamin K, and folic acid. If you can’t access these kinds of hays, soak the hay you do have available in warm water for 30 minutes, before tipping all of the water off, rinsing and feeding. Most Keyflow® feeds are low in sugar and starch so would be well suited to a horse at risk of laminitis. Reasons why Pryde's EasiFeed is different, Thoroughbred Yearling Prep - Feeding the Muscles. If you are unable to control the hours of the day your horse is allowed to graze, use a grazing muzzle to reduce your horse’s intake of pasture. Wheaten chaff, with minimal grain … Meeting the laminitic horses requirements for protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals will help them recover from any previous bouts of laminitis, help them to resist other disease and infection and will keep them in good overall health. Feed a low sugar complete feed at the recommended rates for your horse’s bodyweight and current activity. Does The Horse Feed Contain What The Horse Needs? Excessive intake of grass or grain engorgement – for example, if a horse or pony gets into the feed room. Laminitis won’t occur for 12-18 hours after the grain has been eaten. How to determine what makes a quality horse feed? Preparing a Horse for Show or Sale - Getting the Shine, Condition, Topline and Muscling, Thoroughbred Yearling Prep: Have You Got The Look, Key points for Thoroughbred Weanling Sales Preparation, Feeding Broodmares: Getting nutrition right without spending more than you need, On the road again... feeding when on the move. Horse owners know to be cautious when allowing horses access to lush green pasture in the spring. If you will be feeding soaked hay with unknown mineral profiles, or that changes all the time, at least check with the state university of the area where the hay was grown to find out what mineral deficiencies and imbalances are common, and to get advice on supplementation. One way you can do this is by placing their hay in 2 or 3 hay nets, which makes the hay hard to pull out. To prevent boredom in these horses, make their forage hard to eat so it is more time consuming for them. Laminitis is an extremely painful condition effecting the laminae in the hoof. Tips for feeding a horse that won’t sweat, Equine Gastric Ulcers - Using Feeding Management to Reduce Their Incidence and Severity, The horse's digestive system - The Gastrointestinal Tract. You should NEVER feed a feed to a laminitic horse if it has any of the following ingredients: Oats, corn, wheat, rice or barley Millrun, millmix, bran (rice or wheat), pollard Any form of steam flaked, micronized or extruded grain Laminitis is an extremely painful condition affecting 1 in 10 horses/ponies every year and can cause permanent damage to the hooves. There are a few ways you can give your horse access to low sugar forages. Never feed grain or grain-based products to an overweight horse, horses with Equine Cushing’s disease or Insulin Resistance or horses which have suffered previous bouts of laminitis. We find them much more focused when we put them onto Easisport. Feed-induced laminitis is linked to either obesity, chronic intake of grass or short term excessive intake of starchy feeds or rich grass. Exercise will help to aid weight loss and can help protect against insulin resistance. The laminitic horse’s diet needs to be low in sugar (we could get all very technical here and call sugars non-structural carbohydrates, water soluble carbohydrates, starches, ether soluble carbohydrates or non-fibre carbohydrates, but let’s just keep it simple and say ‘sugar’). The basic principles of feeding laminitic horses are well-established: Avoid high-sugar and -starch feeds and lush green grass. Note hay will usually contain 10-12% moisture (or more), so 7.5 kg on a dry matter basis = 8.5 kg as fed weight for a hay … Side Bar – Feeds acceptable for feeding to horses with ECD, EMC, and IR Grass forages, grass/legume mixed forages, low quality pasture, variety of natural forages Concentrates containing a small amount of oats, beet pulp, rice bran, soybean hulls, flax seeds, vegetable fats. Consider feeding either a low calorie, fibre-based feed that is balanced in vitamins and minerals or a low intake, … As explained, there are differences between the conditions in grass and the horse that give rise to spring and autumn laminitis, but both centre around the dysfunction caused by too high a protein and sugar intake. Breed and height is an extremely painful condition affecting 1 in 10 horses/ponies every year and can cause permanent so! But that tired-looking autumn grass can be a great time to kick start weight.. 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