Some interesting research has come out on breed, body condition, high risk environments, and risk of laminitis.
Nanna Luthersson, DVM, and associates studied laminitis risk factors in horses in Denmark. "It confirmed that cold-blooded-type ponies less than 149 centimeters (58.7 inches, or 14.3 hands)—such as Shetlands, Welsh Ponies, Dartmoors, Fells, Icelandic horses, and Norwegian fjords—and those being kept on high-quality pasture experienced an increased risk of developing laminitis for the first time. The study also highlighted the important role that a change in grass intake—both type and amount—can play at any time of the year, not just during the spring as commonly thought."
In Britain, Nicola Menzies-Gow, MA, VetMB, PhD, and associates found that low concentrations of the hormone adiponectin combined with high serum insulin concentrations are associated with a higher risk a horse developing laminitis due to over grazing. In the future, vets may be able to test for susceptible horses.
In The Horse article listed below, Amber Krotky of Buckeye Nutrition lists recommendations for helping reduce the risk of laminitis for cold-blooded, short horses like Icelandics: Don't turn them out onto new, lush pasture; restrict access to unlimited grass all year long; increase exercise, etc.
Krotky mentions that horses like Icelandics can eat three times their nutritional needs in 24 hours on unrestricted pasture. When we lived on the east coast, Blessi tried to do that on the lush grass of Chester County near Philadelphia. He gained so much weight so fast he had to go in the pudgy pony pasture, ie, a bare pasture. And yes, we tried a grazing muzzle. Putting a grazzing muzzle on Blessi was like giving him a Rubic's Cube to play with. Eventually he got the muzzle off in under 30 seconds, not including the time it took him to roll on his back so he could use his front leg to pull off the muzzle.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/38259/research-sheds-new-light-on-laminitis-risk-factors
2 comments:
This has been a constant struggle for one of my Icelandics. I had no idea that some horses can't eat "grass". His weight crept up and I didn't know that I was heading down a bad road. My guy also will remove his grazing muzzle. Locking him up is only option. All the things I've done wrong with my Icelandic and wish I'd known.
Sorry, it took me so long to figure out how to leave comments on my own blog. Blogspot changes some of its options. Anyway, I have done a lot of incorrect stuff with Blessi. It has been a life time learning process. I tried the grazing muzzle with Blessi. It was like giving him a Rubic's cube to play with. He just got faster and faster at getting it off. By the end, he would walk several steps, drop to the ground, and use his front leg to rub the muzzle off. Now he is in a mostly bare pasture with just enough grass for him to nibble a bit during the day.
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