Laminitis and ways to Prevent Founder
Laminitis can creep up on your horse if you're not careful to watch for the signs. Lush green grass isn't always the best thing for some horses. You see, horses are somewhat like people. Some people can eat a lot and stay thin while others can just look at food and gain weight. Just because one horse is bigger and weighs more than another horse doesn't mean they need to eat more to be maintained. Some of the largest breeds are easy keepers. That means they maintain on a small amount of grain with hay. Some smaller horses may take more grain and hay to keep weight on. It's all based on the horse's matabolism and the amount of exercise a horse gets. You have to learn to look at a horse's condition every day to decide what their needs are. If you are not riding your horse, cut back on the grain. Never overload the grain..never never increase their feed suddenly. Every time a horse needs changes in their diet you need to increase over a period of 7 days. Increase each day a handful more to get to the amount that is desired to maintain their body weight. Never never get in a hurry to put weight on a thin horse or a starved horse. It must be a very slow process and it may take a year for a starved horse to gain the ultimate weight to maintain. Always be careful and cautious when feeding horses grain. It's also better to keep them on a safer feed that doesn't have a lot of starch and half the amount of grain you feed with oats. Horses cannot colic on oats. If weight gain is necessary talk to your vet about checking the horse for any health issues and ask them about adding a cup of vegetable oil or corn oil with their grain to help with their weight gain. Just hay alone will help a horse gain weight. Grass hay is a safe and sufficient hay for most all horses. Always discuss changes in your horses diet with your vet if you are not sure about what you are doing. Below are some informative sites to check out that can help you prevent a horse from getting laminitis. Founder can happen from the trauma of an accident too. Be sure to read how to prevent founder from accidents under Information on Injuries here on this site. It is always good to read and learn as much as you can about horses if you are going to own one.
