Hey all,
For those of you who’ve had a laminitis case - are there any good endings out there? Or is it pretty much the “beginning of the end” for your previously good, sound, sane horses?
thanks
J
It really really depends on the individual case. Some are mild and recover quickly with no rotation. Some are much worse. Your vet should be able to guide you over the next few days. Jingles
I have heard of some good endings but it depends on so many things and a lot of luck…
I just went through this so if you need to chat, feel free to PM me
Hoping for a good outcome for your horse.
My friend’s older mare foundered last spring with 15-20 degree rotation in both fronts. The vet had her use these boots that you put inserts in to support the sole. I don’t recall the name of the boots. Anyway, the horse went through a period where she was pretty sore but with frequent trimmings and use of those boots her coffin bones have returned to a normal position and the horse is rideable again. She’s an older girl and had some limitations due to arthritis prior to the laminitis episode but she’s returned to where she was prior to the episode. Took a while, though.
I think research and treatment has come a long way in the last few years.
My pony had a bad case - he was surrendered to a rescue, and they almost put him down but felt he wasn’t ready to go. I got him about a year after that. He became sound again, remained barefoot, my son learned to ride on him, and did low jumps and Pony Club games until he was 30 (I got him when he was 19). He never had laminitis again, but did have a few hoof abscesses. My farrier was always happy with his feet. He died at 33 of unrelated causes.
I have a horse who belonged to my ex-husband and was foundered twice while in his care. I had him to rehab after his first bout of laminitis and sent him back sound after about 8-9 months of intensive care. When he became laminitic the second time, he did not receive care immediately, so the process of rehab was much longer and slower.
This horse developed metabolic issues due to multiple reasons- being over fed, underworked, and hitting his teens, which seems to be the age where issues start in Quarter Horses in my experience. Plus an owner who paid absolutely no attention to what was going on with this horse even though he fed him himself twice a day!
At the moment he is somewhere between 95-100% sound. We watch him like a hawk with grass and use a dry lot and muzzle when necessary. He is on a low NSC feed- Triple Crown 30%- fed at the recommended amount and supplemented by either Triple Crown Senior in the winter or alfalfa pellets and rice bran. He also gets free choice hay in the winter. He also gets a hoof supplement.
We moved from PA to TN last year and have much more pasture than we did previously. This horse was my biggest concern in the move, but he is actually doing better in TN than he ever did in PA. He is turned out 24/7, and my 4 horses move around through about 20 acres of hillside pasture that is not considered lush, but good enough that hay supplementation is not necessary March-December.
I firmly believe the biggest difference in this horse’s life is the farrier I am using in TN. She has worked very hard with the horse to make him comfortable and make break over as easy for him as possible. He is barefoot and does really well this way. We also make it a priority to have him trimmed every 5 weeks religiously.
Another thing that made a huge difference for him this year was my horses came through winter this year a little thinner than they had ever before. In PA, my horses never lost condition over winter and would be a very solid 6 + BCS in the spring. This year they were more about a 5 and seemed to handle the transition to grass much better.
He is a finished cutting horse with NCHA earnings and I could probably put him back into work and show him, but I do not want to do anything to cause him any pain. We gave been out raking walks around the pasture and may use him for some trail rides this fall. I just want him to live out his days comfortable and happy. The other day my husband called me to the window so we could watch him walk down a steep hill soundly and pain free, which tickles us to death!
Sure, you can read my story here: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?366350-Responsibility-Sucks-Speak-to-me-of-Founder-Treatments-(Two-Year-Update-Post-62)&highlight=founder
I fully rehabbed my younger sister’s mare…she sold her in highschool, and five years later I got a call from the owner saying “horse is always lame all summer and this year she can’t walk at all” :rolleyes:
Three years later, she’s more or less 100% sound. She’s a bit of a conformational nightmare (swayback, etc…was bought as a child safe packer, not a beauty contest winner! :lol:) at 24, but she could probably be put back into some light work if anyone cared enough to do so.
She’s relatively low-maintenance. She is on a five week trim cycle because due to the poor conformation, her legs have extra stress on them so keeping them balanced is super important. Her rehab time was actually done mostly barefoot, but she wears just plain front shoes now. We test her hay, and are lucky enough to have a hay field of our own that comes in low enough every year to be fed without soaking. She gets her Peroglide, and a low-carb grain, and hay is fed in nets to give her something to chew on all day since because of the past founder and the poor conformation, we run her on the lean side.
She is upset she can’t go graze on the pastures with her buddies, since she rips her muzzle off. Tough luck, buttercup.
My horse had a mild case three years ago. After about 6 months lay-up, he made a full recovery. He is sound and after the first year, was allowed back on pasture. He is doing fine on grass pasture 6-8 hours a day.
My horse developed a mechanical laminitis suddenly 2 years ago, showing 65% rotation in his RF. A great barefoot trimmer, patience, Soft ride boots, grass hay, (though he tested neg for IR/Cushings) a lot of acupressure and massage and major love brought him slowly through it.
I was able to finally hop on him again in April, no problems since. He’ll always be booted when I ride him, which is fine.
I had him X-rayed 4-5 times though out the ordeal. Am happy to send you pics if you want.
BTW he was 24 when dx, now 25.
Don’t give up hope!
PM if you want more info!
My AO hunter had a bout with laminitis about 9 months ago while out on lease. Mechanical founder with ~10 degrees rotation in one foot only. It was not identified right away, and initially she was treated for an abscess and then a stone bruise before it got to the point where the vet ID’d founder.
She was put in a softride boot, and on stall rest initially, and then in very small round pen. After 2 months she was stable enough to trailer back to me, and we’ve been very conservative with her but so far she looks great. She’s in heartbars, with a pour in pad on the affected foot, and for the first 6 months we did radiographs immediately prior to every farrier appointment, so the farrier could see what was going on inside before trimming her. After she was clearly w/t/c sound in the pasture (about 2 months after the episode) I did a few walking trail rides (short, maybe 10-15 mins, with some small hills) and after another month or two, worked up to some small trots. Mare felt and seemed 100% sound throughout. She’s out of work entirely right now, as I’m deployed, but we’ll see how she feels when I get home. I expect she’s never be a 3’6 horse again. However I’m hopeful that with correct shoeing, conservative management, and slow-build up of fitness, she will at best be able to jump a little in the future, and at worst will dabble in dressage for a few years while doubling as a broodmare.
Depends on the severity, how quick you start treatment and how disciplined you are in that treatment.
6 years ago, my mare had a mild case after a long move. I caught it immediately, called the vet out and she was right as rain a few days later. She has never had another episode ( even after a longer move last year) and is out on pasture 12 hours w/o a muzzle and doing fine.
My elder WB came to me after partial recovery of a 14 and 19 rotation in front. He was tested for Cushings with the dex test, and it was believed that this was the cause of the founder. BUT, they had tested him with the dex because he was often too lame to work (high level dressage) & they couldn’t figure out why (this was maybe 9 or 10 yrs ago).
After he “recovered”, he was still not right. He was passed on to me because I knew a little bit about foundered horses, and the woman who owned him couldn’t afford to keep two horses in training.
I had him tested (blood work), found that his laminitis/founder was caused by his diet, so fed him according to the Yahoo Cushings group’s directions. Good results. I’ve watched his diet carefully over the years I’ve had him and he hasn’t had a relapse. BUT, he is prone to abscesses, especially on the 19 degree foot. I think the farrier care he was receiving in the past wasn’t helping either. His feet looked like shoe boxes when I picked him up.
He’s sound, but at his age, all we do is light riding. (OK for my age, too.:winkgrin:)
NANRIC shoes
PM me if you need any NANRIC shoes (special laminitis footwear). My guy unfortunately didn’t make it so I have a pair of size 9s that were only used for a week, and an unopened box of Advanced Cushion Support.
Thinking about your and your horse tonight. Hoping things are going the right way
It really depends on a lot of things.
- the individual horse and how it handles layup, a horse that won’t lay down and paces, won’t tolerate ice boots, etc, will not do as well
- the severarty of the laminitis. If mild to moderate, a horse can recover quite well and be riding sound within a year. There are happy endings with severe cases too, but it requires proactive care and strict management
- how early it is caught. The early the better, if you notice your horse is “off” for days or weeks before a diagnosis, full recovery will be more difficult
- how proactively it is treated. It is so important to have a qualified, competent farrier out ASAP. Also, medications, deeply bedded stall, icing, soft ride boots, and stall rest are very important. The same goes with changing the horse’s diet, working on getting the horse to a healthy weight (if overweight) and making sure nutrition is top notch
- the farrier. I cannot stress enough how important a good farrier is. Do your research and don’t go for your regular farrier simply because he says he knows what he’s doing. Ask for case studies, success stories, and treatment plans. You ideally want someone who specializes in laminitis recovery. Look into Daisy Bicking, she might be able to give you some recommendations and is a fantastic resource for all things laminitis.
Good luck with your horse! Chances are your horse will recover fully and with correct management will be happy and sound for years to come!
I know of 3 different horses that have foundered and were able to be brought back to riding sound.
Horse #1 Missouri Foxtrotter teenaged mare, easy keeper, kept in dry lot that was shaded by an oak tree. She hoovered the acorns and foundered. Took one year of corrective shoeing and then a long slow bringing back to fitness. I did not ride her prior to the founder episode, but she doesn’t like hard footing, and she doesn’t like deep footing…she is a princess or Goldilocks, it has to be just right. But she is sound to W,T,G, and C.
Horse #2 TWH early 20’s arthritic gelding. He had EPM and he foundered during treatment. He foundered on all four. He had6-8 months of corrective shoeing and rehabilitation (Many abscesses). She was very concerned he wouldn’t be riding sound again. I encouraged her to be patient and to remember she would be bringing and older, arthritic horse back into fitness that it may take a year or more and that as long as they were making progress to keep moving forward. He is still riding sound 4 years post founder. He is kept on a dry lot and gets peroglide to control his cushings.
Horse #3 late teens Arab (Crabbet) gelding. He is IR and has had 3 different episodes of founder, 2 of which were very bad. The fist happened when he was around 5 or 6 due to his IR. The second happened when the owner had been going on 2-3 hour trail rides 2-4 times a week covering 5-15 miles a ride and then took a 3 week due to heat and didn’t change his diet. The last episode was caught VERY early due to his showing a reluctance to move forward on firmer footing. It happened the last time due to the similar (reduced exercise due to heaves) reasons as the second, although she had adjusted his feed down some, it wasn’t enough. He is riding sound (WTC). His arthritic stifle and hocks hold him back more than his hooves in his 20’s.
Best of luck with your horse.
Double post
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Wow. Thank you all for the “good news” results. My boy is coming along well, but I just needed to hear some positive outcomes for the benefit of my over-reactive brain cells! His is only in 1 foot, was caught fairly early, & he is confined to stall rest & Bute now. There is rotation of the P3, & the farrier will be putting bar shoes & an Impact pad on him next week… He is considered grade 2, chronic. Possibly caused by IR… we dont know for sure. He is on Timothy & beetpulp only now, so just keeping my fingers crossed. Hoping he will go the “Good Outcome” route, & I will have my riding/driving horse back. Thank you all for your positive thoughts, I was needing the re-assurance that some really do bounce back. (I have too much of my heart invested in my horses sometimes)
J
Good question and one I have answered positively before (2010 had a mare mechanically develop laminitis, she is fine now and even had a foal 2014 no issues) and am hoping myself again for good ending with another mare going through it now. She is 20 this year, Han/TB developed laminitis after undergoing dex treatment (3 days decreasing dosage) for cellulitis/lymphangitis unresponsive to bute and antibiotics. Initially mare was not too bad and middle of this week (yesterday was 2 weeks from initial onset) she developed severe limb edema in all four legs and started getting way more foot sore especially left front, started DMSO by NG tube which is helping have no idea why she is having limb edema at this point, head scratcher. Blood work totally normal. Vet and farrier are not agreeing with course of hoof support and I am stuck in the middle (leaning following farrier after his explanation, Journeyman farrier).
Good luck with your guy, I hope you have a good out come as I hope my mare can come out of this too.
