Why Does Too Much Grain Cause Laminitis

Eating too much cereal based compound feed especially if highly molassed.

Why does too much grain cause laminitis.

Soaking can cause nutrient and even dry matter loss which is important for laminitis prone horses and or those in a weight loss program. Most popular putting weight on a skinny horse 204 010. One dangerous disease that often results from ems is laminitis also known as founder. Written by tom lenz dvm ms spring might be the best time of the year but if we have horses that are prone to developing grass founder this season may be the beginning of serious problems for some of our horses.

What we do know is that through smart management you can reduce the risk of grain overload in your horses. Many experts agree that grain overload and the changes it causes in the hindgut trigger laminitis. A typical form of laminitis caused by inflammatory disease is grain overload horses usually have to eat at least 4 kg of straight starch rich grain in one go with the amount required to cause disease lower in horses that are not accustomed to eating a lot of grain. It s called equine metabolic syndrome or ems and it leaves tissues less sensitive to insulin which in turn causes the pancreas to produce more of this vital hormone.

It can also increase the hay s bacterial load. They can develop a condition very similar to type ii diabetes. Eating too much cereal either in one feed or in successive feeds. The causes vary and may include the following.

Digestive upsets due to grain overload such as excess grain fruit or snacks or abrupt changes in diet. Laminitis in horses can be caused by a number of things the most common being grain overload followed closely by the ingestion of too much green grass and sudden feed changes. A horse bingeing on grain is always a cause for concern but with a plan and veterinary assistance horse owners can help to keep ill effects of equine overeating to a minimum. To treat effectively we need to work out what is causing the problem first.

All these situations will result in an overload of soluble carbohydrate into the hindgut which will cause an imbalance in the resident microbial population. Other causes are the horse being ridden too hard especially in an over weight or out of condition horse. Exactly how these hindgut changes cause a restriction in blood supply and inflammation of the laminae in the hoof remains unknown. Horses that are over the age of 10 easy keepers overweight or cresty necked seem especially vulnerable to grass founder and should be the focus of founder prevention.

Management of the acute signs of laminitis is the same regardless of cause.