ADVICEFROMTHE VET


LAMINITIS PREVENTION


By Sally Hodgson BSc(Hons), MA, VetMB, Cert AVP(EM), MRCVS


change in grassavailabilityincreasesthe risk of laminitis in susceptible horsesand ponies(and donkeys!). It is important to remember that horsescan easily eat the grassasfastasitgrows,soyou maynot perceivethe newgrowth! Signs of laminitis include astiff,‘pottery’


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gait in front, reluctancetomove,hot feet and a bounding digital pulse.Unfortunately,damage to the feet at the cellular levelhas already occurred 2-3daysbeforewesee the symptoms, so once lameness is present we arebehind the curve! Prevention is mostdefinitely better than cure. Strategiestoprevent laminitis begin with


weight management –hopefully,your horse will have lostweight overthe winter,asevolution has designed them to do.The challenge now is to prevent or at leastlimit weight gain as the availabilityofgrazing increases. Both the amount of food and the type of food eatenare important factors in managing laminitis risk. Ahorse needs to eat2%ofits body weight


as dry matter daily to maintain itsweight. If it eats more, it will gain weight; if less,itwill lose weight. Ahorse at grasswill satisfy and even exceed itsrequirementsjustbygrazing alone.Weneed to remember this when stabling horsesovernight, so we don’tfeed moreforage than absolutely necessary.


Ways to limit grassintakeinclude: • Limiting time spent grazing • Limiting the area available for grazing (smaller paddocks)


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espitethe cold nights,the daytime temperatureisnow getting high enough forgrass growth to really take off. This


• Using agrazing muzzle • Acombination of all three Horsescan increase their rate of eating enormously to compensatefor periods of restriction, so whicheverstrategiesyou choose it is essentialtostick to them all the time! For example,thereisnobenefitinkeeping apony on restrictedgrazing during the dayand then turning them out on to long grassatnight, as theywill increase their intakeonthe longer grasstomakeupfor the earlier restriction.


Ways to makeforage lastlonger in the stableinclude: • Multiple haynetsindifferent partsofthe stable


• Multiple haynetsused one inside the other to makeitmoredifficult to get the hayout


• Hayballs (liketreat balls, but with moreand larger holesfor hay)


• Forage blocks (hung in the middle of the stable,sothe horse can’teasilybiteintothem)


• Dietary changes The trigger forlaminitis is an abnormally


high blood insulin which persists overaperiod of time.Tolimit the risk of laminitis, we need to choose feedsthat cause as small an insulin spikeaspossible –salad instead of cheesecake! Wherepossible,feed haynot haylage –the


insulin spiketriggered by haylage is much greater than after feedinghay.Readthe ingredients listofany balancers, feedsorsupplementsyou givecarefully –watch out formolasses, sucrose, fructose,glucose,sugar.Mixes tend to be very sugary and arebestavoided. Feed bags should also carry an indication of the energy densityof the feed–mosthorsesnot in racing or advanced eventing need remarkably little hardfeed.


JUNE/JULY2021For thelatestnewsvisitwww.centralhorsenews.co.uk ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Sally Hodgson BSc(Hons), MA, VetMB, Cert AVP(EM), MRCVS


Sallyisancientenoughtoremember thefirst,properJamesHerriotseries. Whetherornotshe’dreadthebooks firstislostinthemistsoftime,but theappealofspendingtimeoutdoors solvingbizarreproblemsandmaking a(positive)differencetothelivesof animalsandtheirownerswasstrong. Havingbeentoldbythecareersadvisor thatveterinarymedicinewas‘too difficult,youwon’tgetin,’Sallytookthe longwayaroundandcompletedadegree inZoologyatLiverpoolbeforestudying VeterinaryMedicineatCambridge. ShewasaskedtoleaveCambridgein 2007(havingsuccessfullygraduated) andwentstraightintoequinepractice, workingforpracticesinLambournand SuffolkbeforejoiningHNVGin2010. •HookNortonVeterinaryGroup WhiteHillsSurgery,SibfordRoad HookNorton,Banbury,Oxon,OX155DG T


el:01608730085 www.hooknortonvets.co.uk


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