Laminitics and winter

[The Moo]

Much is spoken about spring grass, autumn grass, late afternoon grass with laminitics but how do you generally manage a laminitic through the winter.

I know frosty grass is bad but I know of several laminitics who live out through the winter, presumably as the weather etc keeps their weight down.
But it isn't as simple as that is it?

Does anyone have a laminitic and how do you (successfully) manage them through the winter.

[bevbob]

Well.......... I usually turn Bobs out after the frost has thawed and he comes in at night. In Jan he got lami and it was a mix between the warm weather we had which was making the grass grow and we had some really good hay which I didnt want to feed him so mixed it with old. It did take a bit of persuading to get the YO to get some different hay in, in fact 3 horses had lami in Jan.
Bobs usually loses a bit of weight by Jan, this year he didnt. When the vet came he said it was the 5th pony he had seen that week with lami! it is definately on the increase.

Nothing seems simple when you have a laminitic pony. I think just watching for every little sign you can at any time of the year is the best way.
I have put Bobs on global herbs lami prone supplement and it makes me feel a whole lot better even if it does cost the earth, so far he has been fine. We have had a couple of cases this spring but thankfully the yard owner has fenced off a field now and there isnt much grass in there at all.

Have you got a laminitic?

[The Moo]

Not at the moment.

The grass seems to grow all year round these days and with all the warm weather, dry weather, wet weather, there doesn't seem to be any 'normality'.
What puzzles me is my friend leaves her laminitic ponies out at night through winter and they seem fine even though the grass is frosty in the morning. I suppose that is because although the grass is frosty there is no sun to try to make it grow.

As you say, I think you just have to be vigilant all the time.

[bevbob]

I think the grass holds a high fructane level when its frosty? not sure on that though.
I really wish someone would come up with an instant cure for lami, wouldnt that be wonderful.

[harveydales]

Yes, I think it is getting more and more difficult to know what to do for the best with the way our winters are changing. There seems to be no logical pattern as to what triggers Quest's Laminitis. He lived out all winter last year for the first time ever and was fine. The last time he got Lami was in July a few years ago when he was being stabled most of the time.

This winter the grass kept growing here and Harvey put on too much weight - I had them on the regrowth from the hayfield and won't do that again. I'm going to get some cattle to graze it down hard and then turn all 3 horses out on it for the winter. I've never found the frosted grass triggers Quest's Lami but I know it is supposed to. All I do now is moniter him very closely and if I think his pulses are up, then I keep him in a bit. So far this year he's been fine.

It really is a nightmare, isn't it?

[bex]

i know that cushing horses are prone to Lami in the autumn and winter due to the amount of daylight because its hormonal. that probably doesnt help but thought id share that with you.

[Biggerside Benwell]

I was always led to believe that the frost/lamintis link is to do with the temperature change affecting the hindgut. So if the horse has been stabled overnight and stomach is warm its eating the very cold grass that does the damage, i could be complettly wrong though.

[harveydales]

Yes, I thought the same as you Kristy. I assumed that was why horses living out were OK in this respect.

[The Moo]

Another theory was that the pony is moving about more and able to keep the blood supply to the feet pumping.
I suppose it all depends on what triggers the lami in each particular case, the fructans in the frosty grass, the temp in the hindgut, the blood pumping to the feet.

I would go along with the temp in hindgut theory but how long does it take for the grass to be chewed in the mouth, down the neck, through the stomach, etc , it must have got to body temp at least by then.

[carolinec]

Our little pony Billy is laminitic and he lives out 24/7 all year round.
We've never had a problem with him in the Winter and he's on frosty grass quite often in Winter.
It's always been the summer months that have been the problem and we have to really restrict his grass intake.

[pauhla]

My native cross tends to get laminitis in winter and after a long process of elimination we discovered frosted grass is his trigger. He has metabolic syndrome so I have to try and balance his exercise and food. Not easy as he's unbacked so I let him tag along behind my mare when I ride round the farm....perks of having 560 acres to call home...and we go walking together a lot too.
Basically, he has to be off frosted ground till the sun has thawed the grass and if it is heavy frost and has penetrated the ground and doesn't thaw all day then he has to be in for 24 hours AFTER the ground has completely thawed so the winter before last he was in for 3 weeks at one point as it was so cold. Fortunatly I had an end bay of a dutch barn so he had lots of space where I could bring my mare Jemma in at night for company and he had a 270 degree view around the farmyard and house so it helped but he was still not happy!
It really can be a juggling act but generally grass itself isn't the main problem in winter and there are other trigger factors such as temperature.
He is on Magnesium oxide and Top Spec anti-Lam with Speedi beet and Happy hoof plus soaked hay when in and hay when out and this seems to work.
I can highly recommend the Yahoo metabolic horse group for anyone with laminitics, metabolic ssyndrome or Cushings horses. The info I got there probably saved my sanity!