How to Manage a Laminitis-Prone Horse

Once a horse has laminitis, she is prone to the condition throughout the remainder of her life. Since laminitis can be such a debilitating disease, it is important to take the proper precautions to manage it. If you have a laminitis-prone horse, here are some steps to help manage her condition.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Manage Your Knowledge of Laminitis

1. Study what a healthy horse should look like. Awareness of how your horse looks and behaves in good health will help you identify when something is wrong. Know whether your horse is overweight or obese and study what his normal, healthy gait should look like as well.
2. Understand all the causes of laminitis. Overweight, inactive horses are more prone to laminitis than fit, active ones. Prolonged work on hard surfaces can trigger lameness. Overindulgence in foods or grazing that is high in soluble carbohydrates as well as corticosteroid therapy triggers laminitis in some horses.
3. Look for the symptoms of laminitis. Common symptoms are reluctance to walk or move, lying down, rocking back on heels to take weight off the horse's painful toes, restlessness, even sweating or colicky symptoms. It is important to be familiar with the onset of any possible symptoms in your horse.

Manage Your Laminitis-Prone Horse's Environment

4. Control your horse's weight. If necessary, put your horse on a restricted calorie diet and increase his exercise to reduce his weight. Be sure to feed him a diet that is high in fiber and low in starchy substances. Feed him small amounts of food at numerous times throughout the day.
5. Restrict access to lush pastures, especially in the spring and fall when the grass is high. Consider fencing off a smaller paddock for your horse or keeping him in a stall for parts of the day. Use sheep or goats to graze down pastures in times of high grass. Consider putting a muzzle on your horse designed to limit her ability to graze.
6. Lock up feed sheds securely. Many horses have developed cases of laminitis after breaking into the feed shed and gorging themselves on grain.
7. Ride your horse daily. If your horse has recently had a case of laminitis, be sure to wait for the all clear from your veterinarian. Daily riding and activity is very important in preventing another outbreak of laminitis.
8. Visit a farrier on a regular basis. Hoof care is vital in promoting proper posture and alignment and thereby preventing laminitis. Get regular foot inspections from your vet or farrier and keep your horse's hooves trimmed well.
9. Supplement your laminitis prone horse's diet with vitamins, minerals and herbs. Certain supplements can improve foot health, prevent infection and inflammation and improve blood flow. Ask your veterinarian to suggest supplements that are safe for your horse to take.

Tips & Warnings

• Always notify your veterinarian if your horse is displaying any symptoms of laminitis. Immediate treatment is necessary to save your horse's life and well-being.
• Never starve a horse in order to promote weight loss. Doing so can provoke a serious condition called hyperlipidaemia.