Laminitis

[chubbypony]

What exactly is laminitis??
What are the symptoms?
How does it effect the horses ride or drivablility?
How long does it take them to recover?

These are all things that I do not know much about. My pony had laminitis this summer and other than tiny bit of sole soreness there were no symptoms. If anyone can explain a little bit about it that would be great.

[Pink's lady]

Laminitis is the inflamation of the lamina.

You need to understand a little about the hooves. The horses leg is suspended within the hoof capsule - unlike non-hooved animals, the bone does not apply direct pressure to the ground (in most animals the bone is cusioned but a pad of fat - i.e the paws)

So you have the last leg/foot bone, the wedge-shaped pedal bone, suspended within the cup of the hoof wall. The suspension in by tissue called the laminia. There are two layers - the layer that attatches to the hoof capsule/wall and the layer that attaches to the pedal bone.

Each layer is actually lot and lots (i.e thousands) of little 'leaves' (bit like pages in a book) The two layers face eash other and inter-lock, bit like lacing your fingers together. Each indiviual leaf isn't very strong, but together thay provide an extremely strong and resiliant bind. The entire weight of the horse is transefered to the ground by these layers, so they have to be ;)

When the pony has laminitis, the lamina gets imflammed. There is a big nerve supply and they swell. Because the entire weight of the horse goes though the lamina, it's unbelivably painful :( It's as sensitve as your nail quick :eek: Poor animals just can't get releife from the pain unless thay lie down :( If the laminitis is very servere the lamina can no longer hold the weight of the horse and the bone and hoof wall tear away from each other. The pedal bone drops and rotates down. At that point the poor animal probably wishes it was dead - there's in no disease as painful :( This rotation and dropping is called 'founders'

Signs of laminitis are foot pain. They stand with their weight on there back feet (as they are usually less affected), looking like they're stretching. They show signs of emmense pain. Some horse will lie down and refuse to get back up again. The feet will feel hot soometimes but a dead-give away is a pounding cornanary band pulse. If the horse has foundered the point of the pedal bone can often he seen bulging out at the point of the frog. Sometimes it can even come right through the sole.

Many horse recover, but mnay foundered horse are PTS - not becasue they will never recover but because their pain can not be controlled.

A mild laminitic pony will fully recover but care needs to be taken with work on hard ground - the lamina is weaked and isnt as good at suspending the weight. They should be given at least 3 months off for very mild laminitis and much more (i.e 6moths, a year+) if it's more severe. The laminia needs time to recover and become strong again.

It really is the most horrible disease and prevention is better than cure - once they've had it, they will probably get it again. :(

[chubbypony]

Okay what can I do to help her? The vet or farrier(can't remember who) said to give a hoof suppliment. I am doing that. She is in her own private paddock where she is off the lush pasture. She is given only grass hay in very small amounts at night.

Is there anything else?

[eventerbabe]

can't add to Pink's excellent scientific explanation of the causes of laminitis :) but i do have a laminitic mare so can help with the care side of things. don't expect miracles. my mare has been laminitis free for over a year and is still not being ridden. they can get very depressed if couped up in a stable, so turnout with a grazing muzzle is an excellent idea. you are limiting her hay intake which is good, but certainly don't starve her as that will make the situation worse. feed wise use chaff like hi-fi lite and maybe speedi-beet if you need to bulk her out. a probiotic is a very good idea coz laminitis originates in the gut and anything that will help the gut run smoothly will help. a hoof supplement is also a good idea, i use formula4feet and can't recomend it highly enough.

you've also got to be wary of turning out on frosted grass and even a minor thing like her legs getting cold can trigger an attack. my mare is turned out with wrap around competition boots in the winter to keep her legs warmer. i also do not turn out in snow, the pressure of compacted snow can be another laminitis trigger.

[chubbypony]

I believe my mare got her's from being out on rich grass. Does their weight make a difference? She was already overweight when she got the laminitis. You said an "attack" I didn't even know my mare had it until someone said something. I believe it wasn't my vet or my farrier now that I think about it. I think it was the saddle fitter. He said, "Looks like she's had founder." I was like, "She has?" That was in July. My mare never had a lot of symtoms, just a little sore in the back legs. No real soreness in the front. However, when I clean out her hooves she was a little sensative, but she also had a little thrush this summer too.

Also we live in Minnesota and we have snow most of our 5 months of winter. Should I plan to keep her indoors that long?

[Pondrider]

Try and get hold of a copy of the Jaime Jackson book 'Founder' - it should be readily available in the USA ; there are even copies in the UK now!

It'll answer all your questions and show you how to manage this disease for the future.

Hope this helps!

[chubbypony]

So is founder another name for laminitis? Because everyone just says, "Oh, your pony has rings around her hoofs. Did she founder?" I thought laminitis was the general word and founder was like when laminitis was becoming more extreme. My pony barely showed signs of anything. How could she have "foundered"? I thought she just had a slight case of laminitis. :(

Oh, and thanks I will see if the library has that book.

[Lucy J]

in my experience founder and laminitis are the same - although some people refer to "has foundered" when there has actually been rotation of the pedal bone. when my oldhorse first had it i ddin't notice till it was quite severe, i then kept him on restricted grazing every year between easter and october, don't scimp on what you feed though, laminitic ponies need protein to help the laminae recover. get the vet to give you a special diet also, depending on the severity exercise can be a good thing ie walking on the road (in hand if not rideable) helps increase blood flow to the hoof.

[chubbypony]

I believe it was the saddle fitter that told me that she "foundered".

How can I tell she has foundered?

How do I know she is currently being effected by it?

Here is a picture of her with her feet in full view. Tell me about the rings. Can you tell from this picture that she has foundered?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/JessicaBe/pony3.jpg

[Pink's lady]

Her feet show mutilple cases of laminitis. From that photo it's hard to tell if she's foundered or not. You'd need a close up of her feet.

Lamintis is not the same as founders - laminitis is the CAUSE of founders. Laminitis is just the inflamation (itis) of the laminia. Founders is the rotation of the pedal bone. If you say 'they've foundered' then they will have laminitis, but not all laminitics founder.

[eventerbabe]

you can tell a foundered horse by the dent in the coronary band, but this isn't a good indication of how much founder has taken place. Pinks Lady is right, not all laminitics founder. Founder is where the bone column (i.e. the bones in the leg!) drop, so the pedal bone is then much closer to the sole of the foot. then you get rotation, where the pedal bone rotates and the point of the bone moves closer to the sole. its this that causes the horses excrutiating pain. if i were you i'd get the vet out to do x-rays, its the only way you will find out exactly whats gone on in your pony's feet.

[chubbypony]

So a dent indicates it has gone to "founder"?

[eventerbabe]

yes, a foundered horse will have a distinct dent just above the coronary band. but as i said this is not an indication of how much and does not tell us if pedal bone rotation has taken place. x-rays would be the best thing to consider next.

[chubbypony]

I do think I will need to ask a vet to check her out. Also, my parents are the one's who are keeping her at their place right now. I don't think they understand the seriousness of this condition. I'll bet having a vet come and talk about it with them would be a great idea!! I can ask him to let them know just how serious it is. There is a vet near our house that has a mobile business he has all the modern x-ray stuff and does it cheaper than other vets. Also I could take her to the university. They do it inexpensively too. I just gotta do my homework on this thing make sure I can afford it. X-rays are expensive!!

[Clipperchuck]

...

[chubbypony]

http://www.topspec.com/TopSpec05/images/product05/AntiLam-Sack.jpg

Has anyone heard of this stuff? I was searching liminitis on-line and found this. Does anyone know of a comparable product in the US?

Someone said light exercise is good to get blood flowing. Is it actually good to ride a lamintic (sp?) horse? Not that I am going to ride my pony, but in general.

[eventerbabe]

you may want to look at founderguard, a feed supplement that can help ward off a laminitis attack, also a probiotic will help aswell.

please, please, please DO NOT exercise a laminitic horse without the vets say so, you may well end up doing more harm than good. and i really don't think you can avoid having x-rays done. its the only way you will be able to find out the extent of the damage. we've spent over £10,000 in the last five years on x-rays and treatment for my laminitic pony, so don't expect treatment to be cheap. you may want to check out www.laminitis.org aswell. Robert Eustace is a leading expert in laminitis research.

[chubbypony]

X-rays are going to come as soon as I have saved enough money. In the mean time she is in her own paddock with almost no grass at all and a strict grass hay diet with a hoof supplement fed once a day.

With this ring around the hooves I was reading on that once website you just recommended. Is the ring around the hooves something that is pushed in or sticking out? They mention a depression in the hoof.

Here is a chart they gave.

Grade 0; No lameness at walk nor at a straight trot on a hard surface.

Grade 1; No lameness observable at walk, the animal moves freely. Shows lameness at trot in a straight line on a hard surface. Turns carefully.

Grade 2; The animal does not move freely at walk but moves with a "stiff" gait. Animal may show overt lameness on one leg at walk. It is reluctant to trot on a hard surface and turns with great difficulty.

Grade 3; The animal is reluctant to move at walk on any surface. It is very difficult to lift a limb. The animal may be virtually non-weight bearing on one limb.

Grade 4; The animal will not move without coercion, and is particularly reluctant to move from a soft to hard surface. It is impossible to lift a limb.

Grade 5; The animal spends most of the time recumbent, and cannot stand for more than a few minutes.

I think my pony is right inbetween grade 0 and grade 1. She can turn fine, but the only lameness visible is she drags her feet slightly and her bares more weight on the outsides of her feet.

[eventerbabe]

the depression will be inwards (i.e. not sticking up) :) that chart is quite deceptive. was it attatched to the paper on the site? my mare (at the moment) would be classed as a grade 0 but at her worst (during an attack) would be a 2-3. i'm so glad you are going to get x-rays. have you thought any more about a suitable feeding plan?

[chubbypony]

By feeding plan what do you mean? She gets a small handful of grain when I grain the big horse and nothing but grass hay other than that. Also her paddock is almost bare of any grass. However, we had to take her off the hoof supplement because she had a reaction called...big head syndrome. Have you heard of that? I guess she was getting to much of one vitamin and not enough calcium. Anyway we took her off of the supplement. Also we are going to have a vet out next week. I am researching local vets to make sure we get one that knows a lot about laminitis. We are going to ask him about x-rays and get him to give her a good going over.

[Pink's lady]

She shouldn't be getting any grain AT ALL. In a laminitic pony, even a handfull of starchy food can trigger laminitis. If you need to give her a token feed, give her a hand full of chaff or a bit of hay.

Hopefully your vet will be able to help you

[chubbypony]

Okay. I will relay the msg to my parents and have them take her off of the grain.

[Pickles]

Just a few points to add to the advice you have had;

Do you know how to take a digital pulse? This is often the first sign of an attack, or being prone to an attack, before the horse shows any sign of being lame or foot sore. It helped me prevent an attack this spring, as she has had lami in the past I was checking her pulse each time I went to the field and as soon as I noticed a raise I took the preventative measures.

On the subject of X rays, you should talk to your vet about whether they are needed and when to have them done, they may want the inflamation to settle down first. I had my mare X rayed at home and the bill including call out was £100, so not too expensive. If your vet says it is the right time to do them try to find the money rather than waiting.

You have mentioned weight and looking at your piccie I would advise a long term diet aiming to get some of the weight off. Once a horse has had lami it is best to keep them at a weight that would otherwise be considered to be slightly underweight.

As far as feed goes I would agree that he should not have any grain, if you are feeding another horse you can always put a few handfulls of hay in a bowl, perhaps with a carrot or two and he won't know the other horse has something nicer :)

The other thing to mention is that during the growing season grass can shoot up, and if the horses are cropping it down you won't notice the growth increase. At these times of year I keep my mare in for at least 6 hours a day, with a little hay. It keeps her weight in check and reduces the amount of lush grass she eats.