Laminitus :(

[Cate Ged]

Dan has laminitus again, last attack 4 years ago :( Managed to get it early before he was too sore on his feet and the vet came out quickly however by the time the vet came out he was stiffening up and starting to stand on his heels. The vet gave him an anti inflamitary injection and he has bute ( this is what worked best last time) so fingers crossed he will be ok. It's such a shame his coat looks good and he seems happy enough except when he moves. We were trying to find a common cause/trigger and all we could come up with was that in 16 years he has had lami 3 times and each time he has been on his own (his pony pals moved a few weeks ago) the vet didn't think that his weight was too bad and doesn't think it's over grazing as he is never out on rich/lots of grass. So fingers crossed for Dan he is 22 now and I hope he will be ok.

[eventerbabe]

Laminitis is triggered by such a multitude of things. Stress, concussion, cold legs, vaccinations....... the list goes on. Has he been tested for cushings? that is also a trigger.

Fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery :)

[coss]

fingers crossed. i know a pony who gets laminitus regularly. she is on anti-lam feed, next to no grass and is not fat.

it could well be stress related with your horse. sometimes there appears to be no trigger and you have to do the best to make your horse better witout knowing how to prevent it.

hope he is better soon.

[Cate Ged]

Thanks for the replies, the vet doesn't think that it is cushings so he hasn't been tested yet he is fed on laminitic feed in the winter and has half day turnout most of the year. He had little heat in his feet last night when the vet came out but there is heat there today. I feel so bad for him as he is in pain and he keeps going to the gate wanting to go out :( It's such a horrible thing.

[eventerbabe]

you caught it early, which is excellent :) my old loan pony came down with an attack of laminitis at about age 24, he bounced back and spent 3 years doing PC with me. They do recover :) keep us updated on his progress.

[martini55]

Really sorry to hear this. I unfortunately know all too well how horrible it is too. It sounds like you caught it early so fingers crossed he'll be right in no time. I wouldn't rule out the grass as the cause; the weather has been so good lately and I noticed that we had a little flush of grass over the last week.

[Cate Ged]

Thats what I said to the vet especially as he is on the grass on his own now. This weather is throwing everything out I don't think dan even knows what season it is meant to be anymore. I am just hoping that it all works out ok he is certainly less sore than he was last time, he was down on the ground by the time the vet came out, however his feet have grown suddenly and splayed a bit at the front in the last two weeks which is unusual for him :confused: the vet thinks it may be to do with the laminitus so once he can stand it's out with the farrier.

[martini55]

Yup, the flare is probably to do with the laminitis. Have a look at this article: http://www.unshod.co.uk/articles.php it is about LGL and it explains a bit about flaring

[Cate Ged]

Thanks for that link I wish I had read it years ago, it makes sense his feet suddenly flarred for no reason and you can see some change in angle of the foot showing some old flaring as well. :rolleyes: This is something that makes sense to me thinking about Dans feet in the past even back to when I first got him 16 years ago before he had had laminitus. Also the bruising on the hoof wall seems familiar not recently but in the past. Fingers crossed he will be ok and this article can help as it may be an early indicator. Again thanks.