I have a 21 year old TB mare, who has been on pasture all summer. 3 days ago I noticed she looked a little short-strided, and the next morning, she was definitely not sound. No strong bounding pulse, and heat in the feet is negligible. She doesn’t have that classic “rock back” positioning. I’ve given her bute for comfort and that gets her to 99%. Since I noticed this, I dry lotted her, just to be safe (and she is one annoyed mare!).
I will call the vet once they open, but I’m trying to educate myself a bit ahead of time-if this IS laminitis, is there a way to know definitively? Mostly I just want to be able to let her enjoy the last bits of grazing if it’s not a concern!
The other possibility is that she’s just footsore. We went for the first ride in a long time last Thursday, she is shod, and we went for a 20 min walk. She wasn’t tenderfoot at all during that time, but perhaps is after the fact?
Would love thoughts and more info on Laminitis if anyone has good resources. Everything I can find addresses acute attacks and aftercare, and this isn’t really fitting with either of those.
Thanks!
A 20 minute walk for an out of shape, but otherwise healthy horse, especially one who’s been on pasture all Summer, is nothing.
When was she last trimmed and shod? If she’s got thin soles, no pads, and the 20 minutes was on rocky ground, she could be bruised.
Any real pulse, combined with even minor heat, is cause for concern though, and would point more towards some low grade laminitis. I would ice her feet a few times a day for good measure, along with the bute.
Thanks, JB.
She is very thin soled, and we rode on our dirt road, so I’m sort of hoping that she’s just foot sore- certainly preferable to laminitis. I just thought that the fact that pain showed up 3-4 days later seemed a bit odd.
She was shod about 5 weeks ago.
The vet said to monitor her, and I’m picking up some Previcox to keep her comfy.
Guess I’ll keep the angry old lady drylotted and off her grain until i can figure out what’s going on. Poor mare.
This is the season that horses with Cushings are prone to laminitis. Have you run a ACTH blood test recently? She’s the right age to consider it a possibility
What is her body condition? any cresty neck?
How does she look when you turn her around at the walk, can she comfortably turn each way?
You could run an ACTH test and Insulin and thyroid. typically ACTH is high in October so it’s not that reliable, however your horse is symptomatic with the feet so would start there.
the dry lot and no grain are very good tactics - can you soak her hay also? Some grass hay can be very high in sugar/starch that does not help if they are already inflamed (not say the hay got her there, but it may need to have sugar reduced by soaking to help the current situation).
I have seen 2 horses that were ‘touchy’ and then got full blown laminitis. One was a gorgeous hunter than ended up being put down, even though every effort was made to help him recover. The other was my own that we treated but had to treat very aggressively as the ‘ouchy’ had been for a couple of days (mad at myself for this). And when I remember this it was jus this time of year that she had the issue.
Laminitis can cascade, the inflammation starts to take hold and then it is hard to stop so you are smart to take action now.
The previcox or Bute will help with inflammation, but if she is still ouchy you may want to increase dosage and limit her activity.
Alpha Mare- she is reluctant to heavily weight either foot, so not a big fan of turning, although she will perfectly happily with Bute on board.
She’s not cresty, she’s actually a pretty ideal weight. Her coat looks good, she shed out all, etc. I wouldn’t expect Cushings/thyroid stuff, but these horses do keep you guessing.
What sort of aggressive treatment did you do for your horse? I was kinda told to “wait and see” by my vet, and want to be sure I’m not missing anything.
Thanks for the hay soaking suggestion. I’m pretty sure she’ll just refuse to eat it (she’s already mad that she’s getting old first cut, instead of her nice pasture!), But I’ll give it a try.
Laminitis can be one of the first symptoms of Cushing’s. Not all Cushing’s horses have the typical hair coat problems. A horse with Cushing’s that is NOT IR can also be underweight and not have the cresty neck, etc.
A lot of vets now prefer to test in the fall, because the seasonal rise in horses with Cushing’s is higher than the seasonal rise in normal horses. So it is a reliable time to test, especially since so many of them get laminitis this time of year.
When we initially ran the test for my gelding, we ran ACTH as well as insulin/leptin. The 2nd came back normal and he has never shown any indication of developing IR, so now I just re-test the ACTH every year or two.
After going through what I have for the past 2 weeks with my 25 yo…I would err on the side of caution. A few weeks back he had a bit short stride (not totally unusual as he is a bit arthritic and stiff). I was berating myself for not being able to tell which foot…one moment it looked left, then right (turns out it was both and he was switching pressure side to side). No big pulse or major heat. Then he came out 3 legged lame, and I thought “yay, an abscess”…and commenced soaking/packing. It got worse…farrier was out and he hoof tested - left foot inner sole…but nothing dug out. We figured deep abscess…much worse the next day. Called vet…she was more worried about the swelling in his suspensories. X-rays to be certain…and imagine the shock when he had acute laminitis on both fronts, and a 5-7* rotation on the left. Plus suspensory desmitis. It’s been a nightmare…thought we were putting him down as he was in so much pain…but vet’s switch up in pain meds made a difference and he is improving. He did not have the rocked back stance of a founder horse (he’s a tough guy!)…and the hoof test results suggested abscess. My guy looks like Cushings…but all tests are negative. Tried the Prascend…but it made him stop eating and super depressed. I am icing him like crazy…plus pain meds (high dose bute…initially banamine), ulcer prevention, extra bedding, etc. Good luck…so hard with the older ones:(
Critter, I’m so sorry! I’m not at all ready for her to be “older”. 
jingles for your guy, i sure hope he stabilizes for you!
This is laminitis season and I’d treat for laminitis for any horse where there is no apparent injury. Do not wait until the horse actually founders. They usually don’t “rock back” until they are in so much pain they are trying to get the weight off their toes. Don’t wait for that. Ice, anti inflammatories and deep bedding will make your horse more comfortable. You’ll want to get xrays to see if there is any rotation and you’ll need to let your farrier know what is going on depending on how severe it gets.
OP, ‘aggressive’ treatment was higher doses of pain/anti-inflammatory meds so that she became comfortable. As long as the feet are tender the inflammation is still there and you want to knock it out.
I also thought my mare had an abscess, so treated for that for 2 days before we agreed it was laminitis - no rocking back on heels but reluctant to turn and appeared sore. She jogged sound at first, then went downhill to the point she did not want to move. Very much hoping you do not get to that state, but fyi we then went on the very aggressive pain meds and hoof casts (wet cloth over the hoof that dries like plaster) to stabilize the feet. Changed the hoof casts monthly but did not trim the feet or anything for 3 months.
Note also my mare had this happen after getting new shoes, (farrier is the same for over a decade), so it may have just been the little disturbance of the new nails that set it off after she was primed (rich grass, autumn, etc.) for the episode. If your horse has been 5 weeks you should talk to the farrier/vet about the situation before replacing the shoes (might be better barefoot or with hoof boots - not a recommendation from me but just saying you’re in a tricky situation now).
The other horse, the lovely hunter, had started to have unusual behavior with occasional stops in the ring, in hindsight they could see he had had some symptoms for 2 months, but once it got to being clearly uncomfortable it was too late, they did everything for him but the inflammation kept rolling along and got worse. This is why you don’t want it to linger, get the pain and inflammation under control asap.
My mare is on quiescence that has magnesium that is helpful for the metabolic issue, and now on Thyro-L and Prascend as she is officially Cushings after many years as IR.
Thanks for the jingles…can sure use them. My guy is a bit worse today…vet has been giving IV pain meds 2x day…we tried to switch to oral, with IV once a day. But he looked worse this am even before the meds. I am worried he might be starting to really stress his hind tendons. I’m not ready for him to be “old” yet either:( Hope your girl is improving!
@Kaytaz86 ice water, and get some frog support going just in case in both affected feet.
@Critter so sorry you’re dealing with all that. I have the same question for you. What do you have on the feet?
Vet had farrier put heart bars on the fronts and we have a shoe on reverse on the hinds. I had the vet feel the hind tendon when she was out to give meds tonight…it does look like we might be starting with a slight bow. His LF is the worst one, so I am assuming he is shifting weight back to the RH. Been using standing bandages…added some poultice tonight. He looked better after some IV pain meds…been icing legs and feet several times a day.
For those of you who have dealt with this before…how long do they stay acutely painful?? My guy is at 2 weeks (1 week with aggressive meds and shoes). Vet says 2 weeks seems to be the key time period for some improvement and less pain/need for high dose pain meds. I wish I could do more for him…we’ve been letting him go outside a little (he’s alone and moves better when out…not that he moves much). He’s only laying down to snooze at night (normal pattern)…but he is so clearly uncomfortable at times.
@Critter I am so sorry you are going through this. Dex had pulses for two weeks and he paddled constantly. And laid down often. That’s a good thing as it rests the unaffected feet. I’m not sure how often you are taking the standing bandages off. My surgeon recommended 12 on 12 off to prevent bowing. Maybe some rim or pour pads along with the heart bars to help relieve concussion. If your farrier is not a therapeutic farrier on a regular basis, I would consult one who is. In the acute phase, styrofoam or EVA products help to alleviate pain more than a bar shoe IME.
When Dex’s sister was road foundered by her trainer, I put EVA pads on her and stood her in ice for six solid hours. She was out for one hour every six for the first 24, then I went to five hours for 24, 4 hours for 24 until the heat was gone. She has beautiful X-rays.
When my paso became laminitic, I found her standing in the creek. She stayed there. On her own for three days coming out to lie down for about 1 hour at 6 hour intervals. She was barefoot and the sandy creek was supporting P3. The vet suggested letting her do her thing with close monitoring. I pitched a tent (literally) and watched her. When she stopped standing in the creek, pulses and heat were gone. Farrier rolled her toe severely and did a pour pad. We moved her to a small turnout lot. She had zero rotation. So I do the best I can to mimic what that mare did for herself with any that become laminitic. Keeping the hooves at 40 degrees F or a little less is the goal with ice. If the feet aren’t hot or are able to heat back up for extended periods, icing probably isn’t doing any good and I read an article this summer suggesting it might make things worse. I’ll try to find it again.
Are the suspensory issues in the hinds? All four? I’m guessing that’s the reason for the reverse shoe on the rears. sending lots of good thoughts your way. And hoping the OP’s horse has an easier time of it.
He has polo and climatex wraps to go outside…I tried sports med boots, but he was getting a sore/rubs, so I went with the polos and wrapping with a figure 8 to support suspensory. When he comes in I take all wraps off…then just ice boots on and off through afternoon and evening. Then at late night I put the standing wraps on behind…we’ve not been wrapping the front as the pressure from the wraps seemed to make him more uncomfortable. Thank goodness he’s at home and I only need to walk out the back door to him! The suspensory issues are on the fronts…but the back end is starting to wear out too.
He looked better today…I didn’t ice the feet the one day, and they next day was when he was worse. I iced feet several times yesterday and he looked better today. The other good sign this morning is the poultice was still wet…which to me suggests he is not putting out as much heat…and the swelling looks to be going down. I think I will decrease his time out…let him get out but not as long (he doesn’t care).
Farrier is very good…but I am wondering if the heart bar is adding too much pressure…but I also don’t want to reshoe so soon and make him more painful from that. The reverse shoes on the back is to support as much as we can, to try to not have an issue…and he has an old high suspensory injury back there anyway.
Vet found a recent article about adding ace to improve blood flow to the foot. So we may try that.
OP - so sorry to highjack your thread…hope your mare is feeling better and you don’t have to go through this.
OP, your horse sounds exactly like mine was when his laminitis first struck. Not rocking back, just “mincing” steps. It wasn’t every really that bad but I knew immediately he wasn’t right.
I stuck him in a dry lot and soaked his hay for 6 months or so. that becomes unrealistic here in the winter, because it freezes. he didn’t like that, but dealt because there was nothing else to eat. I was careful with his NSCs and grass (none).
I kept mine in a stall until he was sound(ish) without meds. A horse comfortable on meds isn’t necessarily stable. once you can wean them off the meds and they are still stable, the inflammation is really gone. On meds you are just hiding it. during the acute phase I left mine in. Later he could go out with a sedate friend, and at night he had an in-and-out stall/paddock so he could choose.
I got my horse pasture sound for 18 months. Then one winter day he just…fell apart for no reason. No new feed, still in dry lot, everything monitored…he just relapsed. His blood tests came back negative again for Cushings but we gave him Prascend because why not try everything. In 2 weeks he was rotating heavily and the pain was not controllable on Banamine and Bute together (short term emergency, Hail Mary effort to use both). When that wasn’t enough I put him down – I swore to him when I lost my first pony, a decade before, I wouldn’t let him suffer. I still feel good about that because that was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. I had him for 20 years and we grew up together through everything.
I did try the ace. I may have started it too late to help.
Jingles that you and Critter both have better outcomes. Given OP’s description, sounds like you have reason to hope. Do the Xrays and blood tests so you can see exactly what is going on in there and know if there is anything to treat with other tactics. It’s a useful baseline. I was glad I had the first ones, so I could feel better about my decision when the actual rotation occurred. I took a second set right before I put my guy down and it was obvious immediately to me it was the right decision. Peace of mind is priceless.
Critter, I would ask if you should put yours back on Banamine. You can put it in orally if you don’t know how to do IV shots. It tastes horrible but seemed to me to be more effective by far than Bute on laminitis. Don’t do it IM, it can cause this thing where the neck abscesses badly. It has a long Latin name that starts with a C-M and I can’t recall how to spell it. Keep icing, though the period where it makes the most difference is long gone for you. and just keep in mind that drugs mask pain – it is still there so be careful with activity until you get the dosage down.
(hugs) to you both.
We initially had him on banamine…but the bute has been much more effective for his pain control.
The vet did some research…and is thinking that the founder is secondary…she is thinking suspensory and maybe vascular compromise that caused the founder. It is such an atypical presentation…she said the bute would be more effective for the suspensory…where the banamine was more for the founder. Vet’s been doing IV…though I do know how…and my guy is super easy to give paste too (and shots)…luckily. He’s so good he was actually nickering to the vet when she went in to check him tonight…that’s the kind of horse he is! We will probably repeat xrays at the end of the week to see if there are significant changes. He was looking better today and less painful, so I am hoping things are starting to settle.
@Critter I forgot to mention ACE. I’ve always used it at the beginning of laminitis. The reason I asked about your farrier was because if not properly applied, the bar shoes can cause pain. As he is still acute, I would opt for something softer myself. I have always been instructed not to turn out during the acute phase. With frog support in place we hand walked briefly to promote blood flow a few times a day but other than that we kept them on stall rest. The other benefit to that is they are more inclined to lie down in the stall usually.
Are they certain there is an abcess?
If they are concerned about about the rears becoming laminitic reversed shoes aren’t really the best alternative that’s an old method and Newer research shows elevating the heal puts too much pressure on the toe.
We actually started the ace a few days ago. Planning to re xray at the end of the week to see where we stand. Yesterday was a really good day…today his back end is looking weak again. I’ve been doing turnout…but have cut it way back, just enough time to let him get outside and graze a bit, then come back in. The heat also seems to make him much worse (even with being body clipped and a fan on). He doesn’t lay down much - just his usual night time naps…so that’s been reassuring that he’s not so painful that he’s down all the time.
