Dealing with laminitis

Dealing with laminitis can be a very distressing experience for both you and your horse.The quicker laminitis is diagnosed and the faster treatment begins the better the recoveryand ultimately the long term health of your horse.

Here are some top tips for dealing with the horse or pony with, or prone to laminitis;

First and foremost, if laminitis is suspected call your veterinary surgeon immediately foradvice and initial treatment.

Your horse or pony will need to be brought into a stable with a deep comfortable bed toprovide essential support to the hooves. Your bedding should mould to the shape of yourhorses feet, providing support for the internal structures; the laminae and the pedal bone.A comfortable bed will also encourage the horse to lie down and take the weight off theeffected hooves.As your horse will undoubtedly be on box rest for the initial stages of recovery it isimportant to use the correct bedding; one that packs in, is highly absorbent, locks in odour,is dust extracted and not tasty to eat!

Easy Pack Miscanthus is a great option for your horse’s bed as it ticks all of the above boxes,whilst remaining light and airy, creating a pleasant environment for you and your horse.Miscanthus is also incredibly durable, so a cost effective and as it is bio-degradable can bespread straight on to pasture to reduce cost on muck heap removal.

Nutrition is very important to any horse but especially those recovering from illness,as nutrients are required for the bodies healing processes. Over the years coveragehighlighting the importance of not starving the laminitic horse or pony has increased.However, correct dietary restrictions and management for weight control are essentialfactors in recovery.

Many people shy away from haylage believing it to be too rich, when in-fact unlike manysources of hay, which are cut from fields often not tended or selectively planted, the grassesin Easy Pack Haylage have been specially chosen and cultivated to produce a range withvarying nutritional contents

Both the Timothy and Meadow haylage are relatively low in protein, with the Timothy alsohaving a slightly lower sugar content.

Speak to your veterinary surgeon about the correct weight for you horse but remember;

• Haylage contains a high water content, great for palatability and digestibility; feedweight for weight when replacing hay.
• Haylage is packed in such a way as to preserve essential vitamins and minerals.
• In general your horse will need to consume up to2.5% of his body weight per day, ifyour horse is on restricted grazing, fibre will need to be provided from other sources.

To make your haylage last longer and keep your horse entertained, divide the totallydaily ration in to smaller sections and spread throughout the day. Using a haylage netcan also increase the time it takes for your horse to eat his ration, as these nets havesmaller holes than traditional hay nets making it harder for the horse to consume at speed.

The lack of dust content in haylage also makes it safe for horses with respiratoryproblems as well as reducing general environmental dust, essential for horses spendinglong periods stabled.

With Easy Pack Haylage and Bedding you can improve your horses comfort and diet, andyou will feel happier knowing you are giving him the best.