Grass seed hay for laminitic horses?
Grass seed hay is an intended by-product that is left over from the cultivation of grass for seed. Grass that is mowed when the seed is fully formed is also called grass seed hay. Most of the NSC is in…
Winter laminitis
Winter ... and the whole country is frozen solid. The ground freezes over at night and in some places the mercury hardly rises above zero during the day. Whilst most horses don’t encounter any problems in these conditions, other horses…
The Laminitis coordinator
Your farrier convinced you that your horse needs these very special shoes. The vet left you an impressive amount of painkillers, vasodilator and antidiabetic drugs. The homeopath, the biomagnetic therapy practitioner and the acupuncturist promise that your horse will quickly recover,…
Prevention of laminitis
Horses at risk Prevention begins with determining whether your horse belongs to a risk group. In that case, all the following information deserves extra attention. Risk groups: Welsh, Exmoor, Shetland and New Forest ponies, cobs, Appaloosas and Icelandic horses…
Social interaction
As soon as the laminitic horse is able to move again, it is good to give him company. Choose a quiet horse as a companion, preferably a horse the patient is already bonded with. If possible, reintroduce the horse back into the herd. Make sure the…
Potassium
By over fertilising for years with both organic and inorganic fertiliser the soil may contain a surplus of potassium. Dried chicken manure especially contains high levels of potassium. Too much potassium in the soil, and therefore in the plant, interferes with the ability…
Grazing muzzle
Grass leaf tips contain lower NSC levels. A grazing muzzle helps prevent the horse from grazing the grass lower down. Grazing speed decreases. Food enters the digestive tract more slowly and steadily. The horse can stay out on pasture longer and therefore will get…
Soaking hay
Water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), can be partly removed from hay (and beet pulp) by soaking and rinsing. Approximately 50% of the WSC drain out in one hour’s time. Soaking for longer is not more effective. However, rinsing in larger volumes of…
Silage and haylage
Silage Silage is grass that has been conserved by fermentation. The grass is wrapped in plastic when the moisture content still exceeds 70%. Silage has a high protein content. The protein is partly broken down to ammonia, which burdens the liver…
Direction instead of goal
Unfortunately we can not offer our horse the living conditions it deserves. Deciding to keep a horse means limiting the freedom and options of the horse by definition. We ride them, have limited space, time and resources available and are never…