Laminitic pony out of box rest. Should she stay out or come in?

Hello. Your horse is severely underweight. It is important to go slow trying to put weight back on her. She should have access to pasture & a good prairie grass hay all day. If you did not worm her using ivermectin, that is what I would recommend ( Ivermectin Gold so you also get tapeworms ). I would normally recommend the Panacur Power Pack, but she may be too debilitated to use this now. Maybe in a couple of months come back with this. There is no one way to prevent colic or laminitis. Access to hay, controlling parasites, controlled access to concentrates ( grain, especially the sweet feeds ), and limited access to high energy feeds like corn & alfalfa should keep her healthy, but horses are horses & you cannot control everything. And do have a veterinarian come out & check her vitals, teeth, pull blood for a Coggins & update all necessary vaccinations. Thanks for rescuing her & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

As long as the wound appears to be healing, he should be fine to return to pasture. Please continue to monitor the wound daily for any evidence of swelling or drainage. If you observe either, please contact your veterinarian.

Hello. It is not cruel to keep a rabbit indoors if you supply a good environment, proper diet, & plenty of activities & stimulation. You can take her outdoors for short periods & only allow her to graze grass that is clean & never sprayed with fertilizers or herbicides. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

With all four feet involved at some point laminitis is likely. Quarter horses tend to get heavy and are prone to laminitis. I would reduce or eliminate grain from Harley's diet and you can feed soaked plain beet pulp with a small amount of low carbohydrate pellets if you need to supplement him. Keeping him off lush pasture or only having him turned out for a short time will help also. Many horses get mild laminitis without long term problems. Weight loss is crucial as well as changing from rich feeds. Your farrier will be able to give you an opinion about the lameness also particularly about the feet. If the lameness persists I recommend a veterinary exam and X-rays if indicated. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to get answers to your veterinary questions.

She may be very tired. I would check to see if there is heat in her feet and make sure she’s eating and drinking. You may want to get her up at some point and walk her around to check for lameness and enable the foal to nurse. If you pick up any abnormalities please have her checked right away. What a cutie! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Butter.

Hello, as the owner of several overweight minis, I share your pain. Your pictures do not show a particularly heavy horse, so you have a good place to start. If you have ever been to a mini show, you have to wonder how they get those horses into such amazing shape. Very careful diets are 1 component, exercise is the next & maybe the most important. Those minis are worked, either by hand, or treadmill, or automatic walker non-stop during the show season. You will also need to be very judicious with the hay. Feed no more than 1.5%-2% of his body weight. No grain or pellets, period. And when he goes out on pasture, place a grazing muzzle on him. He will still be able to pick up a bit of grass, & of course drink. Do this, & your mini will look great in a few months. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Ben could be starting to shed, or could have internal parasites, or external parasites like ringworm. I would deworm him for certain, and consider a vet visit to evaluate his haircoat and general health. Be careful with lush grass pasture as ponies become overweight very easily and if he is getting heavy he is at a huge risk for metabolic disease and laminitis.