dione
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 179
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Post by dione on Dec 28, 2008 18:31:03 GMT 1
Hiya - Happy Christmas!!
Back to having pony problems!!! My son is really happy with Lightning his 12.3hh fairly stocky/feisty pony. My daughter was ecstatic with her 12.3hh British Show Pony aged loan pony after a slightly sticky start in the first few week or so! She learnt tons on him - did mg teams, sj teams with pony club, hacked out bareback, plaited, mollycoddled cuddled etc etc. Unfortunately he kept getting re currant laminitis although was on restricted grazing, stabled at night, just hi-fi regularly excercised etc. Turned out to be Cushings enduced and hence he has been retired with the owners. Trying to find a pony for her to continue where the other pony left her is an absolute nightmare. They are either too much for her, or too slow (leadrein ponies really) grumpy in the stable or a real handful on the ground (she is 7 1/2 y/o quite tall but stick thin), too far away, too expensive or they suffer with laminitis. Having been through the mill with her cushings induced loan pony its rather a put off although I have looked after laminitic ponies in the dim and distant past witout it being too much of a bother. (Maybe its a sign of old age on my part!!) There is a lovely pony on horsequest 12.1hh aged 16 y/o that sounds perfect asides from the laminitis but would anyone take one on??
Thanks Dione xx
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Post by cbc on Dec 28, 2008 18:54:42 GMT 1
Having experience with a pony who has laminitis who I will never sell on, and having bought one who I know has had it in the past, I would say that it depends on the circumstances. A good pony with a manageable condition has an awful lot to offer a young rider. I think you wold have to know some background from a hopefully honest seller to know whether you could manage an individual pony on a practical level.
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Post by dashequestrian on Dec 28, 2008 19:00:43 GMT 1
I think it depends on what caused the laminitis in the first place and whether it is recurring as well as whether you are able to easily manage grazing etc (if feed related lami) - always easier if you have your own land, can be difficut on a livery yard unless there are others with similar grazing requirements. My cob went down with a bad case of laminitis the first year I had him and was on box rest for months as well as running up huge vets bills (luckily insured). Since then he has been carefully managed (muzzled in summer, in for part of day, fed foundergard and exercised regularly). I have been lucky as with this mangement he is still able to go out on regular grazing with his buddies and touch wood has not had any problems in the last two years. Even with the benefit of hindsight, I would still have bought him, as he really is one in a million and is my perfect horse. I do think in a lot of cases laminitis can be managed, but it does take a bit of extra effort and there is always the worry in the back of your mind that it might happen again. If the pony is right in every other respect and is sensibly priced, then I certainly wouldn't rule it out. It would depend on how often the pony has suffered from lami though and why. Best of luck with your search
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Post by horsey123 on Dec 28, 2008 19:09:17 GMT 1
i would also say it depends do you have the right exerprance ad yrad to keep a lami prone pone
i have two lami prone ponies who are on full livery with me as there owners both have the expericace to cope with him
they live in a bare sand paddock with haylage and toys they are free schooled in the morning and longrained at night my daughter will also ride them i the day
i find it so much easyer to keep them like this my feild is a 40 acer natural feild with partyl wodded area and a streem so it hard to mussle or restrict them with out useing the system
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Post by tickle on Dec 28, 2008 20:31:25 GMT 1
I have had a pony 3 years that was supposed to have had laminitis a few years before we got him. We have never restricted his grazing other than you would with any other pony and his hooves are like teak so I suppose it depends on circumstances and severity.
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dione
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 179
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Post by dione on Dec 28, 2008 20:43:39 GMT 1
Thanks for all the positive feedback!! |Seems like a good pony/horse outweighs the risks if one is sensible and goes in with open eyes. My farrier though has very depressing feelings about laminitics and is a 'dont touch with . . . ' I will give the pony a ring and see if i can find out more history. Have also been offered (via email) a loan pony who . . . .. cribs Also a nice aged pc mare on NFED website sounds a poppet too if she is still available but she is for sale. thanks xx
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dingbat
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 2,481
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Post by dingbat on Dec 28, 2008 21:19:56 GMT 1
depends on the laminitis. some horses are much harder to manage than others. but if its easy to manage and you have the right facilities then i dont see a problem.
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Post by june on Dec 28, 2008 22:38:59 GMT 1
I think I'd prefer one that cribs! That can sometimes be fixed with anti-acids and ad lib forage and it doesn't make the horse lame. We're managing a laminitic Shetland at the moment and it is a bit of a nightmare so I'm biased!
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Post by donnalex on Dec 28, 2008 22:42:34 GMT 1
I would struggle with a lammi pony I think. I would feel sorry for it not being able to eat very much, all that living in a muzzle is no life really. I would probably end up feeding him too much, and would hate to keep it in a lttle bald area or stable when all the others were out. Not much help am I? I too would rather have a cribber.
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Post by suewhitmore on Dec 29, 2008 0:32:54 GMT 1
I have a lami pony, I keep her in a prison. (Actually a pen in the barn, with her own yard about 40ft x 20ft.) She gets about an hour a day turnout and she is really happy, she loves her life. I would only buy one if I did not have to keep it at grass and knew it was going to work daily.
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Post by mags on Dec 29, 2008 9:45:08 GMT 1
its would depend on my facilities. I wouldnt atm as im not in a position to maintain a horse with that problem but if I was able to fully control diet then I would consider it depending on each individual case I guess
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Post by horsey123 on Dec 29, 2008 12:09:34 GMT 1
yes as i have the facilities
i have 2 they are both kept in a 20x 30 pen with half pea gravle and half sand that i use for the barefoot horses too
they get 2 hour turn out a day and a both very happy sec a `s
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Post by starbuck on Dec 30, 2008 10:02:39 GMT 1
This is exactly the dilemma I'm having at the moment and it is such a hard decision to make. One thing I discovered is that although a new pony for myself because I know its history and that the laminitis will be mentioned on its vetting my insurance will exclude laminitis and anything related to this. Good luck with your decision, I'm still dithering!
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Post by marianne on Dec 30, 2008 10:56:44 GMT 1
I would consider a lammi pony if I had the facilities to deal with it - ie no grass but decent turnout ;D
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Post by jill on Dec 30, 2008 12:06:34 GMT 1
Or Paddock Paradise? If you can set that up using electric fencing (and the pony respects the fencing lol) it can do wonders - keeps them moving, keeps their grass intake down and keeps them occupied.
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