Ryland losses 100kg in weight after being diagnosed with laminitis

Ryland, affectionately known as ‘Ginge’, is a 15.2hh, 11-year-old, Irish Sports Horse. Ginge was diagnosed with laminitis in May 2021. At the time, he was very overweight with a condition score of 4.5/5 and weighing 670kg on the weighbridge. A blood test also showed his insulin levels were over 300 µIU/ml, so he was prescribed Metformin and was under vet’s instructions that he needed to lose weight.

Ginge’s owner Hayley spoke to Dengie Performance Horse Nutritionist Claire Akers, M.Sc for some feeding and management advice to help get his weight under control. Claire recommended a bucket feed of Dengie Hi-Fi Molasses Free with a balancer. Ginge was also taken off the grass completely to recover from the laminitis and so Hayley could monitor exactly what he was eating.

Hayley spoke to her forage provider about Ginge’s situation and was supplied with a ‘lower spec haylage’. Unfortunately, the analysis results revealed the haylage was actually higher in both WSC and protein than what Hayley was originally feeding. Claire suggested to mix some straw with the haylage to provide him with a lower calorie and sugar forage.

Claire visited Hayley and Ginge regularly to monitor his weight loss ensuring that they remained on track. So far (May 21 – June 22) he has lost 100kg which is around 16 stone, with still more to lose before being at his ideal body condition.

He is still being fed the Dengie Hi-Fi Molasses Free and is now back out grazing overnight with a grazing muzzle. During the day, he is stabled and has 6kg as a mixture of haylage and straw.