Barefoot- trimmed too short, or laminitis?

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Kazza777

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Hey! So, looking for advice please?

My mare was trimmed by our trimmer who has been trimming her for years at the weekend and straight afterwards, looked a bit footy on her RF. The trimmer looked at her and said don't worry as he has taken a fair bit off. I asked if it was probably laminitis (as everything is still quite green and we have had some frosty, sunny mornings last week and also, she was reacting to thumb pressure on her LF sole- strange as it was opposite to the one appearing footy). He said see how she is in a couple of days, but it was probably the trim.

So, she was still in the field, seeming more sore when she came in with feet full of mud and just a bit off when feet picked out and on solid ground. 2 days after her trim, she was still looking sore, so trimmer came out again, put hoof testers on and said it may be slight laminitis so keep her in the rest of the week, hand walk her and we'll see how she is at the weekend. So she stayed in yesterday and looked much better on her feet last night and this morning- not 100% still, but much better, at least on solid ground.

I'm aware that the general advice for lami is to not walk at all, but if it's a short trim then movement is key to stimulate growth. She's also had previous injuries and is much better when she's out and moving than standing in all day. I also felt terrible keeping her in today when she really wanted to go out and I can't explain to her why she can't go out!

I am still really hoping that it is just the trim, but am feeling a bit lost and very stressed about what to do! Does anyone have any advice, or experience of something similar? I've added photos of her LF- she doesn't seem to have pulses (but does have big legs), and has no abnormal growth lines- also no out of the ordinary heat in her feet.

Thank you in advance :)Foot.JPGFoot 2.JPG
 
ester

ester

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The trim doesn't look short to me but obviously from this we don't know the degree of change that the trim initiated.
I will also note that even just taking off bars was enough for mine to be off- we did it once and never touched it again!
I would not worry about walking to stimulate growth at this point, it took 3 months for mines' growth to slow down when he retired.

I'd absolutely be keeping her off the grass for the time being.

Does she have boots?
 
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Kazza777

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ester said:
The trim doesn't look short to me but obviously from this we don't know the degree of change that the trim initiated.
I will also note that even just taking off bars was enough for mine to be off- we did it once and never touched it again!
I would not worry about walking to stimulate growth at this point, it took 3 months for mines' growth to slow down when he retired.

I'd absolutely be keeping her off the grass for the time being.

Does she have boots?
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply. He just did his normal trim- it was just more like a summer trim than a winter one as her growth usually slows down in the winter, but hadn't much this time.

She does have boots, she doesn't often wear them, but I put them on last night to take her out to let her roll and she stomped across the stones!
 
Tiddlypom

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It's not a short trim at all. I've had horses made sore by over zealous trimming, but they had had much more hoof wall taken off than that.

The fact that she marched on so well with boots on does indicate that she is footsore without them. Lami has to be a prime suspect. She's responding well, though, so you have caught it before a full blown attack this time.

The grass is very green for the time of year here, too.

How old is she - has she been tested for Cushing's?
 
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Kazza777

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Tiddlypom said:
It's not a short trim at all. I've had horses made sore by over zealous trimming, but they had had much more hoof wall taken off than that.

The fact that she marched on so well with boots on does indicate that she is footsore without them. Lami has to be a prime suspect. She's responding well, though, so you have caught it before a full blown attack this time.

The grass is very green for the time of year here, too.

How old is she - has she been tested for Cushing's?
Click to expand...

I didn't think it looked any different from her usual trims, but wasn't really sure if something could have been nicked that would have made it sore.

I'm just not sure how long to keep her in and if it's ok to take her for walks. She loved being in the school for just a couple of mins yesterday, and I worry about her rolling in the stable and getting stuck if I don't get her out for her roll. She does get very itchy, especially at the moment as she's losing her winter coat bless her.

She's 17 this year. She hasn't been tested for cushings - it is something that I've thought about a few times, although she has never shown any signs.
 
Tiddlypom

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I think that it's ok for a trimmer to come back, look at the feet and say they suspect that it could laminitis.

What is not ok is for the trimmer to then suggest a plan of action to deal with the suggested laminitis that does not involve getting a vet out pronto. They should have immediately advised 'Get vet'.
 
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holeymoley

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You need a vet that can test with hoof testers. Her heels look quite high, it could be a very slight sensitivity and with heels so high, the weight’s going to the toe, making it painful. I would keep off grass just incase, better safe than sorry.
 
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I would ask the vet out to draw blood to test. You don't need a reason, testing at 17 for cushings is a normal, responsible and reasonable thing to ask for.
Whilst he is there ask about the sore feet.

ETA in the meantime treat as lami, better safe than sorry.
 
Sprogladite01

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If she's comfortable in boots walking around there's no reason she needs to stay in, as long as she's off grass. My boy goes out into a lunge pen and out for hand walks as long as he isn't obviously sore on his feet. My vet told me keeping them moving as much as possible is important to help circulation get down to their feet to aid healing so if you can turn her out in a school that could be an option for you.
As others have said, I'd recommend getting your vet out and getting her tested for Cushings/EMS. They may want to do xrays of her feet so be prepared for that possibility.
If you suspect she has lami I'd also start soaking her hay. How is her weight?
 
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