Getting the right feed for a laminitic is important for any owner of a horse or pony with laminitis. A high fibre, low starch and low sugar diet is essential for laminitics, so avoid feeds that contain cereals or molasses.
What do you feed a laminitic horse?
Getting the right feed for a laminitic is important for any owner of a horse or pony with laminitis. A high fibre, low starch and low sugar diet is essential for laminitics, so avoid feeds that contain cereals or molasses.
What is the best hay for laminitis prone horses?
Today there are a number of commercial haylages available that are higher in fibre and lower calorie, making them more suitable for the good do-er and those that are laminitis prone; providing they are low NSC. These can be particularly useful when hay quality is poor, or for horses that additionally have respiratory issues.
Is your horse’s forage appropriate for laminitic horses?
When it comes to food for laminitic horses, people often think about the bucket feed first. However, as it forms such a large part of the diet, it is just as important to ensure that the forage is appropriate.
Is your horse or pony prone to laminitis?
The horse or pony prone to laminitis needs a special diet and careful management. Simply watching what you feed isn’t enough on its own; you are likely to also have to make some lifestyle changes. Keeping your horse at a healthy weight for their breed and height is an essential part of minimising the risk of laminitis.
What should I feed my horse prone to laminitis?
The basis of any diet for a horse or pony prone to laminitis or suffering acute laminitis is hay. The best choice of forage is one that is low in sugar, starch, and fructans (non-structural carbohydrates or NSC). Ideally, all forage that you intend to feed should be tested for NSC level and be below 10%.
What is best to feed a laminitic pony?
A high fibre, low starch and low sugar diet is essential for laminitics, so avoid feeds that contain cereals or molasses.
What is the best grain to feed a foundered horse?
Feed grass hay, possibly a little alfalfa hay, or rinsed sugar beet, BUT stay away from corn, oats, barley, and especially stay away from sugar as molasses. Feed extra fat in the form of oil or rice bran if you need to get energy into the horse.
How much hay should I feed my horse with laminitis?
Feed up to 2% of your horse's body weight (10 kg/day for a 500 kg horse) per day as low quality, low NSC forage, including mature or stemmy subtropical grass hays and/or weather damaged alfalfa/lucerne hay.
Can you feed carrots to a horse with laminitis?
One of the first things you are likely to be told, as the owner of a laminitic or EMS horse, is "no treats, no carrots, no apples..". A grape or prune is sometimes suggested as suitable for hiding pergolide tablets, but owners may be warned not to use a slice of carrot or apple for the same purpose.
Can you feed oats to a horse with laminitis?
Although horses with acute (active) laminitis should not be fed whole oats, there is increasing awareness that horses that have had a history of laminitis in the past can be safely fed whole oats. This is due to the fact that the starch in oats is highly digestible.
What should a foundered horse not eat?
Horses that have foundered should eat hay. Do not feed oats, corn, or molasses. Your horse needs to be on low sugar, and low starch diet, and some senior feeds may fit the bill and be the right choice for horses prone to founder, but always read the label.
What chaff is best for laminitic horses?
Timothy chaff is a variety of grass species, that is grown in New Zealand and Australia. It has lower protein and lower sugar levels than Lucerne, it is also low in non-structural carbohydrates, which is great for horses that are prone to metabolic issues such as laminitis or insulin resistance.
Is steamed hay good for laminitic horses?
Soaking hay and steaming it can benefit horses with respiratory issues, laminitis and those that are sensitive to sugar or require low potassium content. Dry hay can be very dusty, which may trigger respiratory problems in horses, particularly those with equine asthma aka chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (heaves).
Can you feed lucerne to laminitic horse?
Never starve a laminitic horse For a laminitic prone horse/pony, low sugar roughage sources may include Teff hay, Rhodes grass hay, lucerne hay, beet pulp or soaked grass hay.
Can horses with laminitis eat grass?
Quick facts. High amounts of sugars in grasses can bring about laminitis in horses susceptible to the disease. Susceptible horses should have limited grazing or no grazing.
Is beet pulp good for horses with laminitis?
A supplement containing protein, vitamins, and minerals will help the horse heal damaged tissues. For thin laminitic horses, consider providing calories from beet pulp (without molasses), alfalfa hay or cubes, soy hulls, or vegetable oil.
What can I give a pony for laminitis?
For a laminitic prone horse/pony, low sugar roughage sources may include Teff hay, Rhodes grass hay, lucerne hay, beet pulp or soaked grass hay.
What chaff is best for laminitic horses?
Timothy chaff is a variety of grass species, that is grown in New Zealand and Australia. It has lower protein and lower sugar levels than Lucerne, it is also low in non-structural carbohydrates, which is great for horses that are prone to metabolic issues such as laminitis or insulin resistance.
What should a foundered horse not eat?
Horses that have foundered should eat hay. Do not feed oats, corn, or molasses. Your horse needs to be on low sugar, and low starch diet, and some senior feeds may fit the bill and be the right choice for horses prone to founder, but always read the label.
Is alfalfa good for horses with laminitis?
Due to it's low starch and sugar content alfalfa is ideal for laminitis prone horses or ponies and those with muscle problems.
What to feed a laminitic horse?
The basic principles of feeding laminitic horses are well-established: Avoid high-sugar and -starch feeds and lush green grass. However, recent research has given us even more insight into how to manage horses affected by or vulnerable to laminitis. First and foremost, we must identify at-risk horses and ponies, monitor them, and adjust how we manage them daily to help prevent this devastating hoof disease from developing.
How to prevent laminitis in horses?
Coleman says diet and exercise are the best ways horse owners can manage their horses’ weight to prevent laminitis. “In the laminitic horse, exercise may not be possible, and so an appropriate diet will be essential,” she adds.
How does exercise help horses?
Along with diet, Coleman emphasizes the importance of exercise, if possible, for reducing at-risk horses’ weight. She cites a 2016 study in which de Laat et al. evaluated eight mixed-breed obese adult ponies using a dynamic feeding system with sliding doors that allowed ponies access to forage from only one side. When one door shut, they had to walk around a fence to the other side of the feeder to continue eating. On average, they traveled 3.7 times farther daily than when fed from a stationary feeder. This low-intensity exercise reduced the ponies’ body condition and cresty neck scores, along with body fat. It improved insulin sensitivity in those ponies using the dynamic feeder consistently and traveling more than 1.8 miles per day.
How long does it take for dexamethasone to work on horses?
Glucocorticoid administration, such as dexamethasone or prednisolone, within 30 days of the onset of clinical signs of laminitis. (Coleman cautioned that researchers need more supportive evidence of this potential—only 6% of horses met the criteria.)
Which horse breeds are at a higher risk than Quarter Horses?
He cites studies indicating that Arabians, Welsh Ponies, Morgans, and Andalusians are at a higher risk than Quarter Horses and Standardbreds.
Do horses need supplements?
Frank also suggests owners offer a balanced vitamin/mineral supplement to those forage diets lacking nutrients. Some horses, such as those that are still able to exercise, need additional calories, but from sources other than starch or sugars. Frank suggests offering these calories via low-NSC complete feeds or fat sources.
Can you soak hay before feeding?
While many people recommend soaking hay and dumping the sugary water before feeding, the resulting reduction in water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC, composed of sugars and fructan) content varies, says Patricia Harris, MA, PhD, VetMB, Dipl. ECVCN, MRCVS, an equine nutritionist specialist who manages the equine research program for the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Soaking can cause nutrient and even dry matter loss, which is important for laminitis-prone horses and/or those in a weight-loss program. It can also increase the hay’s bacterial load. Harris suggests buying low-WSC hay (as verified by hay analysis), have it analyzed by a laboratory again after soaking, and add a vitamin and mineral forage balancer to the diets of horses consuming it.
How to reduce risk of laminitis in horses?
Keeping your horse at a healthy weight for their breed and height is an essential part of minimising the risk of laminitis. We recommend fat scoring your horse and weighing them, using our scientifically validated weigh-tape, every fortnight. You should aim for a fat score of between 2.5-3 on a scale of 0-5.
What to do if your horse has gained weight?
If your horse has gained weight then winter can be a great time to kick start weight loss. Trace-clipping or using a lighter rug will mean that your horse will burn off some of his excess weight keeping warm.
What causes laminitis?
There have been many studies on laminitis and it is clear that there is not one single cause. It is now thought that most cases of laminitis are associated with one of three underlying disease states:
What is the condition where the laminae are weakened?
Laminitis is an extremely painful condition effecting the laminae in the hoof. Laminae are finely structured tissues which bind together the inner hoof wall and the pedal bone. In laminitis the blood flow to the laminae is disrupted, meaning that they weaken and possibly die.
When is laminitis most likely to occur?
The risk is higher in the spring and autumn when grass growth is most rapid, and grass is higher in non-structural carbohydrates such as sugars, starch and fructans. This may increase the risk of laminitis for individuals that are insulin resistant.
What supplements can help with a swollen hindgut?
Consider the use of probiotic and prebiotic supplements to help maintain the pH and microflora of the hindgut. Studies show that these can benefit fibre digestion and affect systemic blood inflammatory cytokines.
Can horses get laminitis from starch overload?
Feed Small Meals: Laminitis due to starch-overload is very rare as most horses and ponies prone to laminitis are not fed large amounts of high starch concentrate feeds. It can occur occasionally, for example if a horse or pony breaks into the feed room. You should always ensure feed is kept secure and you feed small concentrate meals.
What do laminitic horses eat?
Conserved forage , such as hay and haylage , is the cornerstone of the laminitis prone horse’s diet; as they typically spend longer periods stabled, or in a no-grass area. When it comes to food for laminitic horses, people often think about the bucket feed first.
What is the best hay for laminitics?
The current advice is that the best hay or haylage for laminitics is one with less than 10% non-structural carbohydrate (NSC), which is the sum of water-soluble carbohydrate and starch added together on a dry matter basis.
What about forage replacers?
Another alternative to traditional long stemmed forages is to use a short chop hay replacer, which can be deemed one of the best forage based horse feeds for those with laminitis. This can be useful when the nutritional content of the forage is unknown, forage is in short supply, or when the horse struggles to chew long-stem fibres. Dengie Hi-Fi Lite can be used as a total forage replacement. Combining chopped alfalfa and straw with a light molasses coating, Hi-Fi Lite provides just 7.5MJ/kg digestible energy, 7% sugar and 1.5% starch. Hi-Fi Molasses Free can be used to partially replace the forage ration, up to 1kg per 100kg of your horse’s bodyweight daily, and provides 8.5MJ/kg DE, 2.5% sugar and 1.5% starch.
Why is haylage cut earlier than hay?
Traditionally, haylage was cut earlier than hay, meaning that the grasses were more digestible. For good do-ers prone to weight gain, haylage was less useful for managing their waistlines and so hay was more frequently recommended.
Is haylage good for horses?
Today there are a number of commercial haylages available that are higher in fibre and lower calorie, making them more suitable for the good do-er and those that are laminitis prone; providing they are low NSC. These can be particularly useful when hay quality is poor, or for horses that additionally have respiratory issues.
Can Dengie Hi-Fi Lite be used as a forage replacement?
Dengie Hi-Fi Lite can be used as a total forage replacement .
What is the best feed for a horse with laminitis?
Feeding for weight gain – for those laminitis prone veteran horses and ponies that need to gain weight or that don’t maintain their weight with ease then choose feeds based on more digestible sources of fibre and oil such as Dengie Alfa-A Molasses Free and Alfa-Beet.
Why do horses get laminitis?
Laminitis in veteran horses and ponies is often due to underlying endocrine problems most frequently Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID also known as Cushing’s Disease) and/or Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS).
How to help a laminitis prone veteran?
Keep them active – as long as your laminitis prone veteran is sound there is some evidence to suggest that exercise is beneficial for insulin sensitivity and also for weight control. Regular light activity is also beneficial for those arthritic joints.
What does improved knowledge mean for horses?
Improved knowledge, veterinary care and nutrition mean that many horses and ponies are living well into their old age.
Do you feed a veteran horse?
Feed according to weight not age – a veteran horse is not always underweight and so high calorie senior feeds are not always necessary. Regularly monitor your veteran’s bodyweight using a weightape combined with body condition scoring to see at what weight your veteran looks best and try to keep your laminitis prone veteran at a condition score 3 on the 5 point scale.
What is the best diet for laminitics?
A high fibre, low starch and low sugar diet is essential for laminitics, so avoid feeds that contain cereals or molasses.
What is L mix?
‘L’ Mix is a chaff based feed that is suitable for those prone to laminitis, with a combined starch and sugar level of only 5.25%. The inclusion of fibre in the form of alfalfa and chaff ensures increased chewing time, which is beneficial for horses or ponies on a restricted diet and can help to maintain a healthy digestive system.
Is Veteran Light good for horses?
Veteran Light provides all the nutritional requirements for optimum health in older horses and ponies yet it has a low calorie/energy level, ideal for those who hold weight well. It is high in fibre and low in starch and sugar, making it suitable for horses and ponies prone to laminitis.
Is fast fibre good for horses?
Fast Fibre. Fast Fibre® is barley and molasses free and is ideal for the good doer or for horses who tend to be excitable even on low energy feeds. Fast Fibre® is particularly useful for horses with dental problems, as it can be used as a partial hay replacer if necessary. It is also suitable for horses and ponies prone to laminitis.
What is the best diet for horses with laminitis?
Diets for horses with laminitis/EMS/PPID will usually be based on low energy, low sugar/starch high fibre forage with nutrients targeted to meet deficiencies in the forage, identified by forage analysis (or typical values).
What type of hay should I feed my horse?
Hay is likely to form the bulk of the diet for an EMS/PPID/laminitic horse. Late cut, native species grass hay is likely to have lower sugar levels than early cut improved species (e.g. ryegrass) grass hay. High fibre haylage may also be suitable. Forage should ideally be analysed ( ForagePlus (UK) and Equi-Analytical (USA) analyse ESC as well as WSC and starch) and contain no more than 10% total sugar and starch. If the amount of sugar/starch isn't known, it may be best to soak the hay to reduce sugars. Do not soak haylage as there may be a risk of secondary fermentation.
How to increase fibre in horses?
Increase fibre - feed 2 - 2.5% of the horse's bodyweight as forage (hay, haylage or grass depending on the need to restrict sugar/starch). Increase the DE content of the diet using rapidly fermented low sugar/starch feeds such as unmolassed sugar beet.
How much should a horse eat per day?
So to lose weight, a 500 kg horse might eat 7.5 kg DM, and a 250 kg pony 3.75 kg DM per day , and to maintain weight, a 500 kg horse might eat 10 kg DM, and a 250 kg pony 5 kg DM per day. NB ideally the energy content of the feed should be analysed and matched to the energy requirements of the horse.
What are micro trace minerals?
micro/trace minerals (amounts given in mg): iron, manganese, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, cobalt. vitamins: A, D, E, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin). Copper, zinc, selenium and sodium, and possibly iodine and vitamin B1 may be low in a forage diet and usually need to be supplemented.
What does a horse's diet depend on?
The diet for your horse will depend primarily on whether: - he/she needs to lose, gain or maintain weight - horses that need to gain weight need to have more energy provided by their diet, horses that need to lose weight need to have less.
Do horses with PPID need starch?
A horse with PP ID that doesn't have insulin dysregulation/EMS may not need to have sugar/starch limited, although it is generally recommended that all horses should be fed a high fibre diet based on forage with essential nutrients supplemented as necessary.
