huge new info on laminitis

[motorgypsy]

please go to the health forum and read this. It's a HUGE breakthrough on the cause of laminitis. The hindgut was bypassed in the study and carbs and insulin were standardized at high levels in the bloodstream. The ponies they used were normal weight, not obese. They all got laminitis. Sugars in summer grasses under stress as well as fall and spring grasses under stress that produce fructans all will elevate insulin levels and in IR animals the result is laminitis. The key is to have your horse tested for insulin resistance and if it shows up, keep sugars low and make sure the horse gets plenty of exercise.

[Edurne]

how much exercise?

[CarolU]

Edurne, what I've read said 30 minutes a day. I'm thinking of tearing out my fino board (never used anymore) and putting in a hot walker there.

[Edurne]

okay..... in that 30 minutes what would you be doing..... walking... cortoeing... I assume you would work up conditioning as we do regularly.

[Abejita]

you do what the horse can handle..if thats only walking you start with that..I too have been eyeballing the farm for possible horse exerciser spots LOL Doubt it will happen..

[Pasomom]

Coincidences always amaze me. My trainer was telling me today I might want to consider putting in a hot walker some day.

[Edurne]

I don't know what a hot walker is except for the couple of times I did it at the track and then I think it was turn left, turn left and again. :lol: So I'm imagining it's either a tread mill, or a washing post contraption.

[motorgypsy]

Now if we'd hook ourselves to the walker along with or horses we'd all end up in better shape!! 8-) 8-) 8-)

[TrueStepPaso]

It's not just IR horses that get laminitis.....

[Abejita]

I dont think anyone said that only IR horses did get it Abby.
Then again ..at least in my experience..anytime a horse foundered for whatever reason.. the first thing the vet said was ..no grain..low quality hay..not really having any ideas WHY that worked for a lot of the horses..now they are starting to learn why and also about the different reasons for different founders.

[motorgypsy]

These ponies were not IR and they got laminitis. The problem arises from too much sugar and thus too much insulin in the blood stream from what I gathered. I was really most interested in the fact that the digestion and digestive system had nothing to do with it, nor did obesity. Just the sugar and insulin levels in the bloodstream being too high brought it on. Knowing this we can be very careful that we don't add sugars when they are already present in the grasses and we can also feed low sugar hays and beet pulp in addition to pasture grasses to lower the overall sugar intake. And by all means avoid sweet feeds.

This may mean a big increase in beet pulp based feeds since beet pulp had the lowest glycemic index of any of the tested grains on a couple of sites I went to. I think corn was the highest so if you are concerned, at least avoid corn based feed.