Laminitis

Look out for LAMINITIS

Hi teamI’m looking out the window this morning, soaking up the glorious SUN!!

It feels like I moved to a different city after being so wet for soo long. Now I don’t want to rain on the sunny brigade (pun intended), but I want to warn you that today is the start of perfect grass growing conditions. Which is great as most of us (and our horses) are eagerly looking at that non-muddy patch of tasty new green grass just dying to move onto it and munch thru!Beware – this is the time the dreaded Laminitis lurks, just waiting to strike!

In a nutshell the new green grass is very high in sugar and for some horses, especially those that have equine metabolic syndrome, a couple of things can happen:

This sugar can go straight from the foregut (small intestine) thru to the horse’s hindgut without being digested very well. In the hind gut the good bacteria that breakdown the sugar in the grass can’t keep up, causing fermentation because the bad bacteria multiply.

The very special conditions in the gut get out of whack – importantly the acid/base balance. Soo the acidity climbs. This can start a chain reaction of metabolic events you don’t want e.g. colic, diarrhoea, etc..

Also, this sugar is broken down and used to prodcue glucose, lots and lots of glucose…The glucose is sent into the blood stream. The body wants to regulate the amount of blood glucose so it sends out the soldiers = insulin.

Insulin is like that special partner with its name on the list at the VIP party at the cell door.

Except when a horse has EMS, the bouncer at the cell door (cell receptor) forgot his glasses and doesnt see the insulin VIP name so wont let the glucose into the cell party!

So the body keeps sending out more insulin in the hopes that the bouncer at the cell door will see the insulin and allow it to let the glucose into the cell to be used! This is called hperinsulinaemia
The end result can be laminitis.

The exact mechanism is still a little unlcear but appears to invlove more hormones in the hoof lammelar cells. The high levels of insulin affect the blood supply to the laminae cutting them off from vital nutrients and causing oxidative damage and inflammation.

Basically, everything inside the hoof becomes unstable. It’s extremely painful and a very long road to recovery (if it’s even possible).

Soo what to do?? Fibre folks, fibre!! Lots of hay, (old is best). Strip graze is best, graze for short periods of time if you can. If you have cows put them thru the fresh grass first. Exercise and low starch feeds.

And best of all herbs, there are some wonderful herbs and treatments for laminitis prone horses. I have had horses with laminitis and can attest to getting them back to health with a herbal prescription and a strict feeding practice. And believe me, from experience, if you can prevent laminitis in the first place, do it!  Go here for a carefully formulated diet for your horse. https://dlequine.co.nz/index.php/diet-programmes-and-herbal-formulas/