Yarra Valley Equestrian Landcare Group in Lilydale, Victoria, Australia | Non-profit organisation

Yarra Valley Equestrian Landcare Group

Locality: Lilydale, Victoria, Australia

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21.01.2022 Pasture Management for Seasonally Laminitic Horses In our last post, we discussed to metabolic challenges which occur in overly conditioned horses and ‘cresty’ ...necked ponies. Often these horses have underlying Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) or Insulin Resistance (IR) and become sensitive to spring and summer grazing. In these cases, a high intake of dietary soluble sugars from grass will elevate blood insulin levels and limit blood supply to the hooves, affecting the hoof internal structure and lamellae attachment. Many EMS and IR affected horses and ponies are on a constant ‘knife-edge’ of sugar intolerance and even small excesses in intake can start the laminitis process. For example, a few hours grazing during the afternoon and evening may trigger a laminitic episode within 12-36 hours in very sensitive ponies. The first symptoms are often sore feet, warm hooves and a reluctance to move. In Dr John’s experience, these early stages do not always exhibit a pain withdrawal on applying hoof testers over the toe and sole area, nor do they have a perceptible digital (palmer digital artery) pulse associated with internal hoof inflammation due to fluid accumulation. Once there is a build-up of painful pressure inside the hoof capsule, the situation can rapidly progress to restrict blood flow, lamellae perfusion and delivery of glucose and oxygen to the hoof. This results in loss of attachment bonding of the hoof lamellae and their fine lamellae projections, which are essential to maintain internal hoof structure and pedal bone anchorage. Many horse owners are aware of need to restrict grazing immediately to reduce sugar ingestion and control the risk of laminitis. At the present, early summer in many areas of Australia is causing problems with dry grass and less moisture. In these conditions, non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in the grass, which include sugars and starches, are transferred down the stems as the plant wilts. These sugar compounds accumulate in the plant base and roots, a natural process that allows the plant to store energy to fuel faster regeneration after rain. Even where the pasture appears dry, eaten down and sparse, ‘hoovering’ ponies soon discover the sweet roots and can consume significant amounts of sugar and starch, which tips the balance to increase the risk of laminitis onset. If the early signs of ‘sore feet’, restricted gait and ‘heat in the feet’ are evident, then remove the horse or pony from the pasture. A ‘Jenny Craig yard’ is a good idea to set up for a heavyset or sensitive horse. Feed soaked hay and low GI feeds in small amounts 3-4 times daily if possible, as it helps to reduce the blood sugar spikes after a large meal. Our weight management supplement, Kohnke’s Own TRIM, provides specific nutrients to help normalise blood sugar and insulin response as well as softening a hard crest and stripping off fat lumps or accumulated excess weight. If the horse or pony is foot sore, icing the affected hooves and judicious use of ‘bute’ under the supervision of your vet is paramount to reduce internal hoof inflammation. However, even after a relatively minor episode of laminitis, the lamellae can be damaged and weakened. It can take 6-8 weeks before the hoof structures are stable and the horse or pony can lunged or ridden, or allowed to gallop etc on turn out. If the horse is reluctant to walk and ‘proppy’ or ‘foot sore’, then do not force exercise in an attempt to encourage weight loss, due to the risk of internal tearing of the compromised lamellae and long-term damage to the hoof structure. Once the laminitis is under control, a short grazing period of 1-2 hours in the early morning (when plant sugar levels are lowest) may be adopted. Some horses used to 24/7 grazing become quite distressed when totally confined and there is evidence that recovery from the laminitic episode may be delayed. Even a 1 hour turn out can help reduce this form of stress but a horse or pony with onset of laminitis should not be allowed to graze freely all day until it has responded well to management and has begun the recovery process. Strip grazing or a grazing muzzle are methods that may help when facilities or spare time do not allow structured grazing periods. Picture: This informative graph has been prepared by Dr. John Kohnke and is strictly copyrighted to Kohnke’s Own. If you would like to use this post/graphic in your magazine or club newsletter, please message our page.

21.01.2022 We love the Equicentral system If you don't know what it is, you should watch this.

18.01.2022 Anatomy lesson for today

15.01.2022 Some interesting facts about freely foraging horses Free ranging horses eat for 59% -69% of their time depending on the season and availability of nutrients. Th...is is far higher than domestic horses, who spend far less time eating on improved pasture and even less time when stabled. Feeding times are directly related to how much food is available, ie shorter feeding times in the summer as there is plenty of food available and longer times in the winter, when food is scarce and must be sought out. Less availability in the winter means wild/freely grazing horses are ‘ribby’ in the spring and ready to consume the higher carb spring grass. Horses are natural Yo-Yo dieters! Feeding stops for a time so wild horses can perform other important tasks such as resting ( mares spent 26% of the time taking a break), moving, vigilance , traveling between meals, drinking, comfort behaviour, social behaviour and alarm reactions. Big Day!! See more

10.01.2022 Made in Victoria

06.01.2022 Good to know things like this.

02.01.2022 **The following post shows images of an equine stomach post mortem. ** STOMACH SIZE I get asked all the time about feed and all manner of horse care topics. Alo...ng with all of the usual discussions about type of feed for particular horses, weights of feed etc... there is the topic of HOW MUCH to feed. How many dippers of chaff, how full should the 20litre bucket be, 1 feed per day or two??? Through the amazing process of dissections we have been involved in, we always look at the stomach. Sometimes finding ulcers or bots and varying degrees of health of the stomach lining. One thing I’ve noticed is that the larger horses of mixed breed (say between 14-17hh) is that the stomach size doesn’t vary all that much. Horses are grazing animals, we know this. Horses do well on smaller feeds more often, we also know this. A lot of people struggle to truly grasp this until they see it or it is explained thoroughly enough for them to fully understand from an anatomy perspective. Here I will show you a stomach (approx 15.2hh tb mare) she had had a normal breakfast but also a big special bucket of carrots and apples right before being laid to rest (not her daily feed, just a one off treat bucket) and then the contents of that stomach in relation to a very average sized 15 litre tub. I will also show you the absolute MAXIMUM sized feed I would ever feed a horse of that size. There are plenty of great articles around that talk about overflow of undigested feed into the hindgut and the subsequent problems, feed sizes and ulcers, gut health in all forms but I’m not here to talk about that. I am simply sharing in order to give the average horse owner a deeper understanding of the relative lack of size of the average sized horses stomach ** This post is not about what to feed or even how often. That will be very specific to each horse, it’s environment and situation. Please seek advice from your trusted equine veterinarian or independent nutritionist. ** Dissection with thanks and in conjunction with Southern Holistic Equine & Ev’s Equine Services