Laminitis Feeding Pony

Once the digestive system is supported high quality nutrients should be provided.

Laminitis feeding pony. Feeding a horse with a history of laminitis can be a time consuming and confusing task and one that if not done properly can have painful consequences for your horse. 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. By learning more about laminitis and its causes signs and treatments you may be able to minimize the risks of laminitis in your horse or control the long term damage if it does occur. Consider feeding either a low calorie fibre based feed that is balanced in vitamins and minerals or a low intake low calorie balancer.

The laminitic horse s diet needs to be low in sugar we could get all very technical here and call sugars non structural carbohydrates water soluble carbohydrates starches. The media has made a significant push on the unfortunately high rate of human obesity but companion animals such as horses dogs and cats are also suffering from alarming rates of obesity. Overweight horses don t need extra calories in their diets so avoid feeding overweight horses with laminitis or ems concentrates with high digestible energy content. In a one year study of danish horses with and without laminitis harris and nanna luthersson dvm found that allowing a previously pasture restricted horse to have free choice grass or moving.

Rather consider a ration. The main cause of laminitis in horses in australia and in most parts of the developed world is obesity dependent laminitis odl. Wheat bran mashes are good for overweight horses. Consider that a common cause of laminitis is overfeeding a management factor that is normally within our control.

Horses with laminitis need high fiber low carbohydrate diets. Equine applied clinical nutrition recommends feeding horses prone to laminitis 150 200 iu kg diet dm so for a 500 kg horse eating 1 5 2 of his bodyweight that would be 1125 2000 iu vitamin e per day or approx. 300 400 iu 100 kg bodyweight so 1500 2000 iu for a 500 kg horse 750 1000 for a 250 kg pony. 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.

Understanding the signs and causes of laminitis and founder can help horse owners and trainers in preventing and treating this incapacitating disease.