IR Pony: Laminitis Woes

[downen]

So my IR pony, about 17 years, had a mild bout of Laminitis mid-April. Treated with bute, modified diet, all was well. He showed on the 18th and 19th and looked great. Then about 10 days ago with no apparent reason, the laminitis is back, and not responding to bute. I’m finally resorting to stall rest (his paddock has a tiny amount of grass) but he’s still running a pulse in both fronts and tender. At this point I’m thinking abcesses in both fronts. How common is this? And if I treat for abcess (wrap, soak, etc.) is there a risk of weakening the structures that support the coffin bone? Laminitis experts, help me out!

He’s on Smartpak IR, Thyro-L, Grass hay. No treats of any kind. He’s a 12.2 hand Welsh with a cresty neck and saddlebags.

[CrowneDragon]

The tiny amount of grass may be the culprit. If he has a little patch of over-grazed, stressed grass it is probably full of sugar.
I would get your vet involved ASAP, keep him off any grass, and make sure your hay is low in sugar as well. Soaking it in the meantime will help. Icing his feet may also help. Abscess in both feet, appearing simultaneously is not impossible but certainly unlikely.

[Herbie19]

Good idea to eliminate grass all together. Get your hay tested ASAP–soaking it is a great idea until then–at least 30 min in HOT water. If you have access to them I’ve had good luck feeding Ontario Dehy’s Timothy Balancer cubes to these guys–I never trust hay.

I’m assuming you’ve had bloodwork done to determine IR. What about ACTH?

FWIW my IR pony responded to Banamine much more so than Bute.

Good luck to you. Laminitis sucks.

[ryansgirl]

Have you had X-rays done? Highly recommend them if you haven’t yet - they can tell you if there is any rotation and to see changes over time (assuming you’ve had them done in the past). What about bloodwork? I’m assuming yes since he’s on Thyro-L? Until then, stall rest - limited movement, ice, ice, ice, bute, gastroguard/ulcerguard, soak his hay, deep bedding. The TC Ontario Dehy cubes as mentioned along with TC Safe Starch forage are good choices to feed for laminitic horses/ponies. And get your hay tested if possible. And as always - get your vet involved ASAP!

Yes laminitis sucks - ask me how I know :(.

[Atlas_Shrugged]

ice ice baby
call the vet
no hay or grain - just that dengie that has no sweetener in it- and ban. You can also flood a sand stall and let then walk around in ice water.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Herbie19;6988260]
Good idea to eliminate grass all together. Get your hay tested ASAP–soaking it is a great idea until then–at least 30 min in HOT water. If you have access to them I’ve had good luck feeding Ontario Dehy’s Timothy Balancer cubes to these guys–I never trust hay.

I’m assuming you’ve had bloodwork done to determine IR. What about ACTH?

FWIW my IR pony responded to Banamine much more so than Bute.

Good luck to you. Laminitis sucks. :([/QUOTE]

Yep, pretty much all of this, especially the Laminitis sucks part.

Even the tiniest bit of grass can contribute. Also agree that if you haven’t had ACTH tested lately you should.