Horse Paddock Care - Laminitis
Laminitis is one of the most common causes of lameness and disability of horses and ponies. Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of hooved animals. It is characterized by inflammation of the digital laminae of the hoof. Severe cases with outwardly visibly clinical signs are known by the colloquial term founder.
Common situations/ contributory factors that may cause Laminitus:
- Greed- Theory states if a horse is given excess grass/ grain it may be unable to digest all of it, causing it to ferment in the hind gut killing beneficial bacteria. This can result in body- wide inflammation, particularly in the laminae of the feet, where swelling tissues have no place to expand without causing injury to other structures. By using a method of strip grazing this can be controlled.
- Lush Pastures- Releasing horses back into pasture after being kept inside, typically from winter stabling to spring outdoor keeping. Grass has been rested and potentially provides higher nutrient contents than some winter feeds. This is more susceptible to ponies rather than larger horses. Or give our Triple 'H' Horse Paddock Grass Seed mixture a go as it provides a blend of high quality carefully formulated ingredients so its more Laminitis friendly.
- Nitrogen Levels- Herbivores are equipped to deal with a normal level of potentially toxis non- protein nitrogen compound in their forage. If for any reason there is a rapid upward fluctuation in these levels the natural metabolic process can become overloaded, resulting in liver disturbance and toxic imbalance. Excess levels of Nitrogen may also occur if clover, weeds or any legume is allowed to dominate the pasture as they are nitrate accumulators. Regularly weed the paddock.
- Frosted Grass- Freezing temperatures coincide with outbreaks of Laminitis in horses at pasture. Cold temperatures cause growth to cease so that sugars in pasture grasses cannot be utilized by the plant as fast as it is produced and therefore accumulate in the forage. Sugars can cause an increase in insulin levels, which is known to trigger Laminitis.
- Fertiliser- Fertiliser contains levels of nitrogen. If you are using fertiliser on an area of pasture make sure you keep the area well fenced off so animals are unable to graze on it. If you have horses that are prone to Laminitis consider whether using fertiliser is suitable. If its considered necessary try to use a low Nitrogen fertiliser and refer to individual manufacturers recommendations for rest period after use. Another option would be to use our Choice Horse Paddock Grass Seed which is suitable for low nitrogen fertiliser regimes.