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Post by smithys on Apr 23, 2017 22:49:53 GMT
Advice please. Just bought a pony for my daughter, just because it was safe and perfect for her at this time (bad ponies in past). Unfortunately she has had lami in the past(stress lami when foal weaned). Well managed now. She is under weight and could do with some condition on her but her neck has a very small and I mean small hard crest which does move at the Base. At the bottom of this crest it has bent over very slightly. I am needing ideas to reduce the neck and get her working through her back . Hopefully this will improve the condition of her. Up until last week she has been playing out every day for a few hours and not regular worked (always been a child's fun pony so no serious work). She now is on very limited turnout as we are not out for summer yet and even when we are we don't have a lot of grass and my horses are limted. She gets a handful of healthy hoof twice a day and just started her on lami alert today. She is on two OK sized Haynets a day. Any other suggestions please ?
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Apr 24, 2017 7:05:25 GMT
From what you say, I'd guess that the pony has had fairly serious lami in the past, and could have EMS - has this been checked by your vet? - and I personally would be very cautious about trying to increase her condition just in case. A crest once established to the point where it does not go with general condition can be very hard to shift. The way to improve working through the back is by work in a correct outline, difficult if this is a small child's pony (which you don't say) unless you lunge or long rein her yourself. As for feeding - I'm not up with lami alert or the details of healthy hoof, and haynet sizes vary, best to weigh it for accuracy if talking quantities of feed.
I'm sorry not to sound more positive, but the last thing you want is a bad attack of lami, I've recently had to have one pts who came back to me suffering badly from it. My main suggestion would be to let your vet see the pony and talk her management over with him; you will often find that owners' perceptions of suitable condition are not he same as a vet's.
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Post by gillwales on Apr 24, 2017 8:38:30 GMT
Do not feed from haynets but on the ground as this will stretch the neck. Also if you do give any form of hard feed make certain that is fed from the floor. Avoid strapping the neck, however massage might help to loosen it.
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Post by smithys on Apr 24, 2017 9:24:41 GMT
I have a massage mitt would that work ?
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Post by gillwales on Apr 24, 2017 11:43:41 GMT
yes anything to improve blood circulation. in a way it will be similar to celulite on a person.
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Post by catkin on Apr 25, 2017 15:34:00 GMT
I quite agree with the above advice about being alert for laminitis, cushings or EMS. However, I've had 'sufferers' with no crest at all and have known quite a few (usually Welsh mares) with a crest who've never had any of the above and never did. Same applies to rings on hooves! I think work is the key - keep her moving and fit. Hard with small children's ponies who aren't really worked hard and you definitely don't always want bursting with energy! A large paddock with very little grass seems to be ideal. Have them live out (and yes get cold sometimes) to use up calories if you can control the grass intake. I would avoid any food containing sugar or cereal. Some people use neck sweats for say lunging to good effect. I have never tried! Good luck!
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Apr 25, 2017 17:47:34 GMT
Re rings on hooves - if totally parallel and concentric they're fine and normally caused by changes of diet, but if they diverge towards the heel get worried! I too have had ponies without a permanent crest be prone to lami, but I do feel what crest they have and if hard I bring the pony in. Don't know if there is any scientific justification for this but as an early warning it seems to work for me. I find that if I then bring them in off the grass and feed moderate amounts of hay, ideally soaked, then it will soften in a week or so even if there is no discernible loss of weight. A permanent crest, even when the rest of the pony is lean, is often a sign of EMS, along with other fat pads in strange places that are hard to shift. I now have a small area of field known as "Fat Camp" which I keep permanently as bare as possible for ponies who get too fat, I'd rather have them out on that than shut in taking no exercise but sometimes needs must.
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