Page 275 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

run your fingers over his side without being able to actually see them. There should not

be any deposits of fat on the crest of the neck, over the loins or tail head or around the
VetBooks.ir udder or sheath. Many show animals are at serious risk of laminitis as a result of
overfeeding.

• Feed a low carbohydrate, high fibre diet to animals at risk. Base the diet on forage such

as low nutrient hay, alfalfa, and straw. Unmolassed sugar beet is another suitable food.
Avoid food rich in carbohydrates such as coarse mixes and straight grains. This type of
diet is adequate for most ponies, cobs and Warmblood types in light work.

• Add a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure the animal’s

requirements are met while on a forage diet.
• Limit the grazing of susceptible animals especially in the spring and autumn. This can be

achieved by:

– restricting the time the animal is turned out
– strip grazing with the aid of electric fencing

– using a grazing mask or muzzle (Figure 6.53).

– avoiding grazing of lush or fertilized grass

– restricting the animal to a small, bare paddock during the danger times and
providing hay.

• If the horse has been stabled for any period of time, it should be introduced slowly to
grass, gradually increasing the time in the paddock each day.

• With susceptible animals it is worth considering the fructan levels in the grass, e.g.

1. Avoid turning out onto frosted paddocks where fructan levels may be high. In
sunny conditions when the temperature is less than 5 °C (41 °F), energy from

photosynthesis is produced faster than it is used and is stored as fructan.

2. For the rest of the year, avoid turning out at times of day when fructan levels are
high. Peak levels occur by midday, so removing susceptible horses and ponies
from the pasture at 8 a.m. and not turning them out again until late evening will

reduce their consumption of fructans.

3. Some grasses such as timothy contain lower levels of fructans than other species.

4. Ensure that horses and ponies do not gain access to feed stores.