It’s that time of year again.
If you’re in an area that has enough rainfall to grow grass, then as soon as the weather changes to allow that, be sure to know the best strategies to keep your horse safe. Laminitis can sneak up on you, but knowing the early signs which may include (but are not limited to) your horse being tender-footed, developing rings in the hoof wall and putting on weight, allows you to make changes to your horse keeping. There are some wonderful resources available now and thanks to Google they’re easy to find, but I’ve listed a couple of good places to start with below.
Be prepared for spring/autumn grass
Get your copy of Founder Facts to learn how to avoid laminitis.
This 28 page booklet was written by qualified hoof trimmers/teachers to help horse owners with easy to understand information on founder and laminitis.
While there are lots of in depth books, articles and research papers on this subject, this booklet has an easy to read and implement action plan outlined for those who have laminitic horses.
Keep your horse safe from the second biggest killer and crippler of horses worldwide by having this handy booklet of useful advice.
Managing Laminitis Prone Horses
There are countless “how-to’s” regarding managing a horse diagnosed with laminitis, and many horse owners are familiar with these procedures. But how should you manage a horse that has not developed the debilitating disease, but is a likely candidate?
That great resource, TheHorse.com has some good suggestions here.
Need To Know Your Horse’s Weight?
Did you know the most accurate way to calculate your horse’s weight when you don’t have a scale, is to take their measurements and use the Weight Calculator here. There’s a video and diagrams to show you where to measure and you can enter these measurements and get the weight calculated for you in pounds or kilograms. How handy is that!
It’s more accurate than the ‘weight tapes’ provided by feed and worming companies, or just guessing.
Know Your horse’s Body Condition Score
This video explains the USA Henneke system of scoring a horse 1-9 thanks to TheHorse.com – click here. It can help you determine if your horse may prone to laminits, by knowing the areas of fat deposits to look for.
