Question

My 13-year-old Hackney mare (1,100 lb, 500 kg) suffered a mild case of laminitis, and now I am concerned about overfeeding. She is ridden about five days a week, about 30-45 minutes each time. Turnout is extremely limited; she is placed in a small enclosure a couple times a week. I worry that a stalled horse spends too much time being hungry. She is currently fed hay cubes twice each day as well as a couple handfuls of soaked beet pulp. I want to make sure she is receiving all of the necessary nutrients. Should I feed any supplements?

Answer

For a horse or pony with a predisposition to laminitis, we usually recommend balancing the forage in the diet with a vitamin and mineral supplement like Micro-Max. This particular supplement contains extra zinc and cinnamon for horses with insulin-regulation issues. It has a feeding rate of 3-4 oz (85-155 g) per day, so it is more like a treat than a meal. Micro-Max can be mixed into the beet pulp to be sure she consumes it. In Australia and New Zealand, KER Gold Pellet would be recommended in this situation. Gold Pellet is a palatable, concentrated pellet that is ideal for providing all required nutrients without adding calories to the diet.

There really isn’t anything at this time on the market that provides bulk without adding calories. The closest thing to a low-calorie feed would be soy hull pellets, hay pellets, or chaff (chopped hay). Any of these would be safe for a pony with your mare’s history, as they wouldn’t add too many calories to her diet.