One of my two mini jacks I strongly suspect had some kind of metabolic/laminitic/founder episode prior to my owning him. He’s about 3, I’ve had him for about a year. When I got him, his feet were in pretty terrible shape (but with good trimming have turned out very nicely and look good now) and he has a hard, cresty neck. We had no issues last winter and he went through the grazing season fine with no problems whatsoever. I have not been concerned about him until now. With this arctic front that’s come through, we haven’t gotten above 0F in close to four days. He’s foot sore and very and very noticeably body sore probably due to his feet. He does not want to be touched anywhere on his body, whereas he is normally very social, cuddly and loves being petted and groomed. I am 99% sure he is having a cold-induced bout of foot soreness related to his questionable metabolic issues.
I called the vet, obviously without seeing him they can’t say anything for sure, but her recommendation was Bute, find him some boots or some other covering to protect his feet and to ice his feet/legs…
The last bit is what caught me. Icing? If this is cold-induced, that LAST thing I want to do is ice his feet. He’s never had a single problem with cold weather before now that I know of, but this is only my second winter with him and we did not have this type of nasty cold stretch last winter. I am very, very hesitant to ice him - he’s already so uncomfortable and Iogistically speaking, if he’s standing around in the snow (which he is, for good chunks of the day), it amounts to the same thing. I feel like I should be WARMING his feet and legs, getting them wrapped up and cushioning his feet to keep him a bit off the frozen ground, bedding down their shed more than normal, etc.
I am not normally one to question vet advice but my gut instinct is so strong on this one. To the vet’s credit, she has not seen the donkey and so is just advising the best she can, but I feel like when one says “cold-induced foot pain”, the logic answer is not “add more cold”. This is an associate of the practice I use and not a vet I have ever met in person, so I don’t know her well at all. My only experience with metabolic issues personally was my old TB gelding who was Cushing-oid but not the weird fat patterns, cresty neck, laminitis kind, he was the loses condition/weight, long haircoat that doesn’t shed, pees all the time/increased water intake kind. This jack would be the former if I had to categorize him.
What would you do in this situation? My regular vet is out, this associate is the only one working today and is on call this weekend.