Very upset - possible laminitis in my boy

[Scarlett 001]

This week has been a living hell. I feel like all my happy dreams are fading away. I am miserable and very very upset.

Skeeter has a troubled left fore that was an issue from the day I got him (it is the same foot that was flared/underrun when I bought him, that suffered a hoof wall infection soon after I bought him, and that is still not a very good shape - the heel still tends to underrun). He favours that leg a lot also, due to his conformation etc. The vet called me today and said that Skeeter may have some laminitis in that foot (left fore). There is some fairly minor coffin bone rotation (did not sound too bad luckily from what he said, although I've yet to see the pictures). It seems that he thinks it may stem from that compromised hoof wall.

Note: Please, no barefoot suggestions etc. I am very upset and have enough to deal with without getting into that debate on this thread. Thank you for respecting this.

 

[Yann]

I wouldn't say there is any need to panic either, since you have the full information on the situation it should be possible to progress from here with the help of your vet and farrier. Laminitis is basically where the bond between the wall and coffin bone becomes compromised, and can have various causes.
It is written from a barefoot perspective but there is a rather good in depth article at http://www.hoofrehab.com/end_of_white_line_disease.htm#laminitis update which you might find helpful.

 

[Scarlett 001]

Excellent. Thank you for the article. The more information I have, the more in control I will feel here. The word laminitis really caught me off guard.

 

[Cochise]

I found laminitis.org a good source of information. But most of all, apart from support on NR, I followed my vet and farrier's advice to a T. You know that Cheeky recovered very well, and he's now living a very full life. I hope he continues to do well even though turned out for a year. It'll always be something that plays at the back of my mind. We went through a complete lifestyle change in diet and exercise for him, but we've never looked back. I've warned his new minder of all the health things to look out for, but she's a good horsewoman, so will look after his needs well.
You've hopefully caught it early, it doesn't sound like Skeet is doing a lot of stressful work on his feet that will concuss them. Listen to your vet and farrier, one thing I've learnt about laminitis is that there isn't one overriding cause and cure, each horse is an individual, and I think you need the people who are there on hand to see Skeeter in the flesh so to speak.
Best of luck with him, he's very lucky to have a loving owner, and I know you'll both get through it a-ok.

 

[touchstone]

If it is laminitis, then it would be quite probable that the white line is diseased as it will have grown down without a good connection.
If there is gas on the x-rays then I would imagine it is probable that there IS an abscess brewing too.
One thing I found that helped mine was to remove the shoe, (I don't mean go barefoot - but it lets you get at all the nasties in the hoof wall) and give the hoof a good soak in Cleantrax. If his soles are sensitive then you could use a padded hoofboot or disposable diaper to protect his foot from the hard floor.

 

[MelanieD]

Toes getting long and underrun heels and flaring along with infection in the hoof wall is something that happens with laminitis quite often, sometimes that's the only sign of problems long before there's any laminitis bad enough for the classic rocking back laminitis stance. Abcesses are pretty common with laminitis as well. Even though laminitis is a scary word it isn't always total disaster bad and it's good you've caught before it gets really bad because that's a lot easier to deal with.

I've got two that have had mild laminitis and the associated flaring and infections in the last year, one far worse than the other. The worst one is now in full work and totally sound over everything, the other is totally sound but young so not doing much work. YO's horse has had laminitis a few years ago and while you can still tell she's had it she's been shod all the time and she's also sound and doing plenty of work with shoes on. His feet might not get back to being totally perfect but keeping him sound should be possible as long as you sort out diet etc and have a good farrier.

Most important thing is to get the diet right, once the diet is right then your farrier can work on getting the feet as good as possible as the new improved growth comes down. Supplementing magnesium oxide helps a lot of laminitics in the UK, don't know if deficiency in magnesium is a problem over there but worth looking into. Otherwise just cut out as much sugar as possible. Hay is usually better than haylage, cut out as much grain and mollasses as possible, some horses are sensitive to alfalfa (both of mine are) so could be worth trying cutting that out if he's having it.

Clean Trax is really good stuff, it's really good with hoof wall infections and can help with abcesses as well. You do have to have the shoes off to do it but if you have a cooperative farrier you can just have shoes off and have farrier come back later the same day to put them back on after you've soaked.

There's an interesting hoof dissection and info on http://www.hoofrehab.com/jessica.htm, it's a barefoot article but it shows what can be going in a long toe, underrun heel and thin soled foot quite nicely. It does talk about a barefoot approach but there is a lot a good farrier should be able to do to help a horse like that be sounder in shoes even if they can't totally reverse the problem.

 

[eml]

A diagnosis of laminitus is not a disaster, yes the horse needs special care but unless irreperable harm has been done by rotation of the pedal bone the prognosis is good.

I have one pony who was badly affected by laminitus at the age of five and is still going strong at 27 although we did retire her last year from ridden work.

Learn to monitor digital pulse and heat in feet, don't discount the value of 'old wifes remedies' such as soaking the feet in cold water. Make sure the horse is not stressed, keeps weight off and is kept fit.

 

[Tootsie4U]

I dont have any experience to share, but I do want to send a hug (for you) and some get well wishes (for Skeeter).

 

[Shadowlark]

Oh boy :T Reminds me of when the vet said the words "ring bone" to me..

Yann has already posted my fave article on the subject of laminitis.

This isn't then end of all things, Skeet isn't a young fellow any more, so things like this will crop up on you - Keeping him in work managing diet and read all you can on your options. No horse is ever in Perfect health, and given his history..

I will start to comb back thru some recent horse Canada/ horse and rider mags.. I know someone just wrote something really recently on living with a laminatic horse.

Horses are amazing creatures with an amazing ability to heal and manage through things that would cause a human break down. Never loose faith in teh spirit of a good horse.

 

[Scarlett 001]

Horses are amazing creatures with an amazing ability to heal and manage through things that would cause a human break down. Never loose faith in teh spirit of a good horse.

You said it. If Skeeter survived all he did and came through that as well as he managed, he has a true inner strength and dignity. No way is he going to let this stop him thriving like he has been.

I've been doing research, and really there is something going on here other than the usual variety of laminitis. My vet thinks it has to do with the conformation and related hoof balance issues and the wear and tear that hoof has seen (he is base narrow and toed out, which does make finding lateral balance an issue). Anyhow, I am calmer now as I think this will be a one-off type of deal once this is sorted out. When we get the balance optimized in the feet, I have a feeling he may come back better and stronger than ever. Just have to get him through the immediate crisis.

p.s. At least I now know what is up. Like no navicular issues. Phew. And apparently the coffin bone rotation is not that significant. The vet said this would be manageable without any hesitation in his voice when we were talking.

 

[Trio]

hope skeeter recovers soon- glad to read that prognosis is good for him .
being new don't know the history of your horse but sounds like he's been through alot- hope he gets through this quickly and he's back to frolicking soon.

 

[domane]

Scarlett, I'm the same as Tootsie4U above - not knowledgeable enough to help with any advice but just want to say BIG hugs to you and Skeeter.... if he's still sticking out his tongue you KNOW he's still a happy boy anyway

You know what a worry-wort you are too... totally unlike myself *cough* - so you are painting the worst possible picture in your head in CASE you have to deal with it.... but it's early days so you must try to keep an open mind... I know it's so difficult but we are all here to support you.

Big kisses from me to Skeety