Tackling laminitis risk with Allen & Page
Sugar levels in grass peak in spring and summer, increasing the risk of laminitis in all horses and ponies. Joanna Palmer, nutritionist for Allen & Page, explains how to provide a balanced diet and reduce the risk of your horse becoming ill
WITH SPRING UPON us, the better weather and longer days mean lots of horses and ponies will be spending more time out in the fields. This is a welcome relief for many owners after the demands of winter. Still, the risk of laminitis rises sharply at this time of year, and careful management is required to balance your horse’s health and nutritional needs.
Watch the weight
When feeding any equine with a history of laminitis, it is essential to ensure their diet reflects their nutritional needs, most notably in maintaining a healthy weight. Spring grazing is likely to lead to significant weight gain, particularly in good doers, and it is well recognised that overweight and obese horses and ponies are more at risk of developing laminitis. Therefore, it is important to implement weight loss/control measures in order to prevent potentially problematic weight gain as early as possible.
By maintaining your horse at a healthy weight and body condition score, the risk of laminitis developing or recurring in the future can be reduced. The following will help you do this:
■ Regular use of a weightape and hands-on body condition scoring will help you notice changes in your horse’s weight and condition as early as possible.
■ You should be able to feel your horse’s ribs easily when you run your hand lightly across the ribcage.
■ There should be no fat deposits or signs of a crest developing on the neck.
■ Do not overrug and allow the colder overnight spring temperatures to aid weight loss as the horse uses fat reserves to keep warm.
The right forage
Unproductive, poor quality grazing is best for all equines at risk of laminitis and
restricting grass intake is an effective way of reducing this risk. Strip grazing, a tracked grazing system and using a grazing muzzle can all significantly reduce a horse’s grass intake while helping to maintain natural behaviour.
To maintain essential fibre intakes, supplementary forage should be provided to horses and ponies when stabled or on very restricted grazing. For those prone to laminitis and/or overweight, soak hay for between 12 and 16 hours before feeding it.
Soaking hay leaches out the water soluble carbohydrates, making it much lower in sugar and calories than unsoaked hay. Being lower in sugar means more can be fed to satisfy the horse’s need for a near constant (ad lib) supply of fibre.
Low-starch, low-sugar feed
While grazing alone may satisfy your horse or pony’s energy needs, it will not provide a balanced diet and a suitable supplementary bucket feed should be fed. Fast Fibre is an ideal choice for good doers and those at risk of laminitis as it is free from molasses and whole cereal grains, making it low in starch and sugar — falling well below the combined starch and sugar level of 10% that is recommended for laminitics.
When fed at the recommended amount for your horse’s size and workload, Fast Fibre provides a balanced diet with all the vitamins and minerals needed for all-round health and a low energy level to help avoid unwanted weight gain. Veteran Light and L Mix are other feeds that are suitable for good doers and those prone to or at risk of laminitis.
Increase exercise
Increasing the amount of exercise a horse does will use calories and help prevent unwanted weight gain. Laminitis is common in horses and ponies with equine metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. Regular exercise helps to stabilise blood insulin levels, which in turn can reduce the risk of laminitis.
While regular exercise is important, it is vital that your horse is fit enough for the work you are asking him to do. Avoid fast work on hard or stony ground to help prevent concussion to the hooves as this can also lead to laminitis.