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Dr Tom Shurlock of British Horse Feeds shares a few simple rules for feeding the laminitic horse or pony:
- Keep the daily intake of sugar/starch below 10%
- Don’t over feed protein. A daily intake of 12% will suffice, even for the most active animal
- Avoid raw starch. Bruising or crushing does not markedly improve digestibility, but micronizing does
- Think about which fibre alternatives should be used. Unmolassed sugar beet, alfalfa, soya hulls and oat hay give good VFA proportions, with unmolassed sugar beet giving the lowest lactic level
- Avoid too high an intake of fructans. We know about spring grass, but winter grass, if close cropped, can have higher levels as fructans are stored at the base of the grass stem, in preparation for spring. Don’t fertilise a pasture but have it soil tested and dressed to correct any mineral and pH imbalances
- Feed a product approved by The Laminitis Trust, such as Speedi-Beet or Fibre-Beet. These have been researched to encompass the above points and will help maintain the correct hindgut environment, ensuring bacteria that can cause harm will not be able to grow
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