Fat Horse Slim

Here’s a typical story - a 12hh pony whose owners did not have the heart or willpower to make him lose weight. This meant the pony had endured 11 painful episodes of laminitis over nine years.

Finally their vet insisted on a very strict diet; the pony lost 45kg (which was 20% of his body weight) and came down to a body score of 2.5. Happily he has now been sound and free of laminitis for two years.

Dieting must be done carefully. 'Starving' a laminitic too severely can lead to the rapid mobilisation of fat reserves in the bloodstream. This is called hyperlipaemia and can be fatal.

The objective is to provide a diet based on long fibre. This gives the bacteria in the gut plenty to work on but is low in soluble carbohydrates (sugars) to minimise the potential for adverse bacterial fermentation and endotoxin production (poisonous chemicals in the gut).