When will this nightmare end?

[Jem]

Hey all, im feeling very emotional today.
Me and my mum were looking forward to a nice long hack out this morning, the sun was shining, and we both had a day off. Weve planning it for the past few days and really looking forward to it. Only to find when we got outside this morning blue was lame again!
I lost my horse due to laminitis in the summer, and for 15 months we battled the horrible condition hoping that we would one da yover come it. Jester had abcess after abcess in all four of his feet, at one point he had an abcess in 3 of his feet. The vet diagnosed him with white line disease, but it later turned out after x-rays etc, this was jesters way of coming out with laminitis.
Anway, after jester was put to rest it was very hard, but it was a nice feeling knowing he was no longer in pain, if i knew what the end would have been like for him, we would have done it sooner, but it was also nice not havong to dress his feet every morning and evening with a new poultice.
exactly one week after we lost our jester, his companion blue went lame on his near fore. I couldnt believe our luck, its as if we are cursed. Anyway vet sorted it out and we soaked his feet in cleantrax. a Few months down the line the same happened, so we treated him as a laminitic, stabled him, and kept him off the grass and all was well, although we had to poultice his foot for a week or so.
I recently got a new horse, and it is so nice being able to enjoy my hobby and get some fun out of it. Just when we start to enjoy things something goes wrong, and im scared that blue will end up going the same way as jester.
I find my self waking up some nights, worrying about the horses, and which one of them is going to be lame when i go and see them in the morning.
The vets suspects this is the onset of laminitis for blue, but if he has the onset in the winter, what the hell am i ment to do in the spring. I am dredding the summer i tell u.
I just dont know what to do for the best anymore.
I am now bringing them in at night, excercising them in the morning andturning them out late for a few hours. I feel cruel, but we cant afford all theese vet bills any more.
Can anyone give me some advice, coz im cracking up here.
thanx all, sorry to mumble

[kas]

Ah Jem, that's so tough. Have you thought about speaking to a KC trimmer?

[sharon]

You have certainly had more than your fair share of bad luck so far Jem, I am sorry that I don't know anything about laminitis, but it does seem odd that he is going lame now as its not really laminitis time that I do know.

Do you really trust your vet, what about a second opinion that you are doing the best thing?

I am a firm believer in doing as little as possible with regard to stabling and rugging etc and it has always stood me in good sted, I can honestly say that in nearly 20 years of having horses none of mine have ever been lame, I use electric fencing a lot and never stable and only one of three has a rug on.

I really hope that this turns out OK for you.

[Jem]

cheers sharon. Blue is usually out 24/7, and we dont rug him at all, unless its non stop rain.
im off to bed now, but ill let u all know how he is in the mornng, but i am expecting him to be at his worse. xxxx
thanx for ur coments xxx

[friendlynative]

Hi Jem, I feel so sorry for you all I can say is you are not alone, I too lost my 'little man' back in September to this evil cursed afflication after fighting for 2 years to try and get him better but it was not meant to be. His brother also suffers from it but at this moment has a mild attack aswell as doing his Suspensory ligament, I think the pain from the ligament set off the Lammi. Like yourself you begin to think you are cursed believe me you are not, it is just 1 thing after another I sometimes wonder if I will ever get to ride my beloved boy again. Like yourself money O that dreaded word I have a vet's bill sitting on my sideboard for £565.00 right on top of Christmas Hey Ho. We all get disheartened some more than others but never give up its the shortest day tomorrow then it will only get better. A thought could it have been the frost? I keep mine in when there is one because it is not good for Laminitcs. If you need to talk you can pm anytime, thinking of you,

FN*

[emmab]

hi jem,

u r having a tough time aren't u!
how is he this morning? which vets do u use? x

[mellymoo]

Thinking of you and your boy jem. Hope he's doing better today.

[mandal]

As friendly native said 'could it be the frost'.
Sugar (fructan) levels rise in grass when the sun gets on it after a frost.
However I think this is when the grass is still growing see :-http://members.aol.com/arfryn1/Horse Talk/dh-app1lam.htm

Hope the address is right. Doing a search is good for info on laminitis and fructan research is useful.

I try and get my horses off the grass into bare paddock with hay by 10am in autumn when there has been a frost as I know laminitis is a threat in autumn as well as spring.(not sure about winter)
My trimmer told me that some hays can also be high in fructans. Haylage has lower levels due to being partly fermented. I don't give mine too much haylage though as they are natives except one and I can only get ryegrass haylage.
You probably know all this Jem sorry if you do.

Hope blue improves so you can enjoy Christmas. Thinking of you.

[jill]

I really feel for you, and although this DG is great for ideas, sometimes you will find it difficult to sort out the best for you because there is just so much, and most of it good stuff. But why don't you talk to the Laminitis Trust people? They have a help line (0905-105-1051) and also a website www.laminitis.org/. I spoke to them a lot when my old mare had Cushings and they were really helpful and sympathetic. If you have had a succession of horses with a laminitis problem it suggests to me more than coincidence - they may help you find a common link, or an underlying condition for which laminitis is the one which manifests. Nothing to lose, I would have thought. Good luck.

[friendlynative]

I fully agree Jill, my Cob has grazed on every type of grass you could think of also up to his knee's in mud, however I moved them to a farm which is great my top paddock got very poached and the Farmer artificled it after an appropriate time I put the boy's on said paddock and my Cob got his first bout of Lammi. I truly cannot think of anything else that could have set it off, this was after a year of grazing on it quite happily before it was fertilized.

FN*

[Kim with Rio]

Hi Jem

You poor thing - I know how you feel with the one thing after another business, sometimes you feel like you are on one of those wheels the hamsters have in their cages - you just keep on running, worn out, and don't get anywhere......

As others have said it could be the sun on the frosty grass - I went to a talk on laminitis recently and this was highlighted as a prime cause. The fructans are at their worst/highest during the day and so it is better for high risk cases to be stabled during the day and out at night. You may already have done a lot of research, but if not it is worth doing and finding out as much as you possibly can about managing the disease. I know this doesn't take the pain (your pain) away though.

IMHO I would phone the Laminitis Trust Helpline and also get a second vet's opinion too. There may be some other things you can do, ie, change turnout routine, etc, to try and help reduce the risk. Are things flexible at your yard, ie, when you can turnout/bring in, efence parts of a field off to restrict grazing?

It's only natural to worry about them when you care so much for their well being and happiness. But be good to yourself - have a few extra choccies today.

Chin up.

K