It’s been awhile since my last update on the halfies. My newest followers may not know that I am training a team of Haflingers. Working with Rosemary & Jasmine has been a slow and steady process. We have had some rough days, and some really amazing ones. My last training session was one of those really amazing days! For the most part, I worked the halfies in a smaller training paddock, but one day when the weather was beautiful, my little sister and I decided to ground-drive the team in one of our nearby fields. The halfies did a wonderful job listening to my cues and turning as one unit. This was a big step in the training process, one that marked their readiness to pull the cart for the first time. I couldn’t have felt more excited or proud of them at that moment.
And while it brings me great joy to share about their progress, it also saddens me to tell you that their progress came to a halt when I discovered Rosemary had foundered. Founder or Laminitis is a condition of the foot caused when the pedal bone rotates towards the horse’s sole. There are many causes of founder, but in Rosemary’s case it is due to eating too much rich grass. Her resistance to move, limp, and the constant shifting of her weight lead me to believe that she had foundered. My horses had never foundered, so I did a little research and moved both the halfies into a dry lot until the vet could come out.
More Horsey Posts: Training the Haflingers- It Takes Two
The vet not only confirmed my hypothesis, but told me that he thought Rosemary had foundered before. This came as a surprise to me as this knowledge could really have helped me avoid this situation. Nevertheless, I was reassured that Rosemary could recover and that when she did it would not affect her ability to pull. To help her recovery, Rosemary is on a hay only diet, and is being given a supplement and anti-inflammatory medication, which is a powder added to her feed. *I am currently looking for a better feed alternative for Rosemary that is low in carbohydrates, sugars, and starches. I have heard that a feed balancer might be the way to go; I would love to hear from some fellow equestrians! Comment below and tell me what feed brands you use or if you use a feed balancer!?*
Getting Rosemary better and keeping her that way will mean that full pasture turnout is probably not an option for her future which is why I am so thankful for the stable being built right now. The horse barn is still under construction. The stalls and tack room have yet to be finished, but the outside is complete. I have always kept my horses on full turnout, but I am looking forward to having options that will help provide the best care routine for Rosemary and my other equines.
*Don’t forget to comment and tell me about what horse feed brands you use or if you use a feed balancer?*
Tails & trails,
Reese
I am so sorry to hear about Rosemary. I know the pain, worry and difficulty of caring for a horse with laminitis. It took me quite awhile to figure out how to best manage my horse, Bear, so he would stop having laminitic flare ups where he would get repeatedly foot sore. The best help for me came from the Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistant Horse Group at https://www.ecirhorse.org/laminitis.php. It is run by a veterinarian. The site contains quite a bit of informational, management and diet advice specifically about laminitis as well as related conditions. You might find it helpful as you work to support Rosemary in her recovery and figure out a management set up that keeps her both physically healthy and mentally happy even though she is no longer a candidate for full-time turnout.
Thanks so much for the encouragement & help! As I have a Tractor Supply near me, I will definitely be checking out those brands! It’s so nice to have fellow horse owners to connect with!?
As a follow-up to my first reply, I wanted to add that while I found the ECIR group’s (Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistant Horse Group) information very helpful, I personally found some of their diet recommendations difficult to follow to the letter. Some suggested products were difficult to obtain in my area/quite expensive for my budget. I also did not follow their recommended trimming protocol, but I did decrease the time between my horse’s trim to every four weeks for about the first six months or so after his first laminitic episode to keep his front toes from growing out too much and increasing pressure on that part of the hoof.
What their diet information did do for me was made me really aware of how much sugar/starch is in a lot of grains/ration balancers/treats/fruits. And of course grass. And how sugar/starch levels in grasses and feeds contribute to laminitis in certain horses. So I now read product labels carefully. Even in products labeled low sugar/starch, there is a really wide range in numbers. Each feed manufacturer seems to have their own idea of low sugar/starch.
Two ration balancer products that I feed to my horses that fit within my budget and are easily available in my area are Nutrena Topline Balance (9% maximum starch and 5% maximum sugar) and Purina Enrich Plus (10% maximum starch and 5% maximum sugar). I’ve found both of them at Tractor Supply Company, for example. But please note both have more starch/sugar than recommended by the ECIR Group guidelines.
On the ECIR Group website that I listed above, there is a PDF that details both their emergency diet recommendations for horses in the midst of an acute laminitic episode and then their follow-up diet for horses past that point. There is also a separate PDF about treats. You can view their recommended feeds/ration balancers there and see what you might be able to access.
And of course, I’d recommend continuing to communicate with your veterinarian, including regarding diet and management choices, as well as working with your farrier. I know the whole situation can seem overwhelming (or at least it was for me), but these horses that are prone to laminitis really do seem to require a different kind of management than horses that aren’t prone in order to keep them healthy. It is helpful to have a vet and farrier team that you can really talk to and bounce ideas off of.
Hi,
I have 2 Haflinger horses. I keep them in a 2 acre pasture, but only the first year was the grass rich enough to cause them to founder., so now I am feeding Timothy hay and I feed a ration balancer pellet, after it’s been soaked a few minutes. It’s by Triple Crown. I do not give them grain to mix it in, but give them a small bucket of Triple Crown alfalfa forage mix and I add Equimen loose minerals to that.
Haflingers love to eat ! It was a concern of mine when I first got them, but since my 2 acres is mostly bermuda grass now, it’s not a concern.
Happy to share my thoughts.
Thanks for sharing! It’s so nice to be able to hear from other horse owners! Your so right about Haflingers loving to eat! Thanks for the help as I try to figure out the best feed routine for my halfies!
When we bought our halflinger about 10 years ago, the breeder was experimenting with free feeding large bales of straw to a herd. I have frequently supplemented with it just so my mare has something to chew on if she’s not turned out. You could check with her; Holy Singleton, Top of the Lines Farms, Redding, CA