Possible Laminitis? Help!

[Bibi]

Urghh, I'm stressing myself out here.

So this is my first ever horse, he's a full loan and is moving to my yard. He's a 14.2 and gorgeous, perfect for me. But I am slightly concerned. The day we were supposed to be riding him, he went footsore. Owner was pregnant and hadn't been riding regularly. He is also slightly overweight. No problem or worries for us there, we understood that he was a bit podgy and hadn't been ridden too often, so going footsore didn't set of any alarm bells. So he was shod, and we arranged another time. Went to ride him and fell in love and decided to get him.

He's arriving next Friday. So we looked over the contract, and he is to have his hay soaked for a minimum of 6 hours, he wears a muzzle to graze in the spring and summer and he eats happy hoof. He is only shod on his two front feet with regular shoes. The owner is very very kind and she seemed very genuine but you never know. Dad was doing insurance and he needed to ask her some questions. One of them was about any previous illnesses he may have had, and she said that he has never had any previous illnesses, the only time they've needed the vet out was when he was born (she had his mum and he is 9) and when he went footsore. My yard is lovely and everyone there is very experienced. But I'm worried. We can give him back but we wil be stuck with him for 60 days before hand as the owner is short on money after having another baby. We have her address and car reg so we can locate her if necessary. I'm just so worried, this is my first horse and I'm not super experienced. My dad knows a fair bit but again, we haven't grown up around horses. He wasn't at all reluctant to pick his feet up when I looked him over, he didn't seem lame, he is very very forward going, and wanted to canter but was always in one corner so I assume this is habit and not pain etc. Anyway, do you think he is a laminitic? I understand soaking hay and happy hoof are given to laminitics, but also used to control weight on podgy ponies. Any advice would be great thanks x

 

[Jessey]

Mild lami sounds a possibility but so are about 100 other things, I really wouldn't be focusing on lami exclusively. If you are worried arrange to have your vet give him a quick mot or farrier to look at his feet

He does sound the type to be at risk from lami, over weight and out of work, more so if he's a native type too? The fact the owner is very particular about his hay being soaked could be because she recognises the lami risk, or perhaps he gets a cough on dry hay? (my point is there are other possible reasons not just lami) and happy hoof she might have picked because its sold as being a complete feed aimed at those with waist line challenges most people with lamanitics wouldn't feed it as it isn't ideal.

 

[Star the Fell]

What did the vet say when he was called out to look at the footsore horse?
You can ask her for a printout of the vet report.
From my experience.........I always soaked hay for my pony as she coughs badly on dry hay.
She was recently diagnosed with laminitis due to cushings. Only sign was being slightly footsore, but x-rays show bi lateral rotation and sinkage. She is perfectly happy to have her feet picked up and will fully weight support on the other.
So your new horse COULD have laminitis........
,or a bruised sole, or an abscess brewing........ have you actually asked the owner if he has ever had any of the above?

 

[Trewsers]

Mild lami sounds a possibility but so are about 100 other things, I really wouldn't be focusing on lami exclusively. If you are worried arrange to have your vet give him a quick mot or farrier to look at his feet

He does sound the type to be at risk from lami, over weight and out of work, more so if he's a native type too? The fact the owner is very particular about his hay being soaked could be because she recognises the lami risk, or perhaps he gets a cough on dry hay? (my point is there are other possible reasons not just lami) and happy hoof she might have picked because its sold as being a complete feed aimed at those with waist line challenges most people with lamanitics wouldn't feed it as it isn't ideal.

Yeah I'd ask your vet to have a look at him. And agree, the Happy Hoof is not necessarily an indication he has had lammi - I used to feed it as part of a weight loss regime.

 

[Kite_Rider]

The only person who can tell you for certain is your vet, if you are worried though ask an experienced person on your yard, you YO maybe? Or a knowledgeable livery, are his feet warm to the touch? Does he have a strong digital pulse, to be honest I wouldn't see a problem with the soaked hay, lots of people soak for weight loss and or dusty hay, the grazing muzzle wouldn't worry me either as that's also a weight loss method again with the Happy Hoof.
Try not to worry too much but please get someone more experienced to check him over just as a precaution.

 

[Mary Poppins]

The soaking hay/muzzle etc. wouldn't worry me at all. This is what I do to prevent laminitis even though he has never had it. The footsoreness would worry me significantly and I wouldn't want to take on a horse that was lame before I even got it. The only person to advise would be a vet. I know it is expensive to get a vet out and I appreciate that this isn't your own horse. I would be having a discussion with the owner about this. Ideally the owner would call out and pay for the vet to ensure the horse is given a clean bill of health before you take him on. Don't be fooled by stories about her having no money for 60 days and make sure that it is clear in your loan agreement about who pays for what (i.e. vets and treatment) and how much notice you need to give to hand the horse back. A cynical person may think that she is passing on a horse that she knows is lame so that she doesn't have to pay the vets bills!! The vet will be the only person to give any clarity on this.

 

[lshort5]

Hi I'm a 3rd year BSc student at the Royal Veterinary College completing research in to 'Owners perceptions of laminitis: the role of diet in cause and management'. This will hopefully bridge the gap between what owners believe and what the current research says. This will help better direct future research and improve educational resources for owners to help our beloved horses and ponies. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take 10 minutes to complete this questionnaire.

Many thanks in advance!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...9rvcc2bjfLyoUgzJX4hMNggw/viewform?usp=sf_link