Has anybody ever had a laminitic Thoroughbred?

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DaisyMae

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A few weeks ago my ex-racehorse had sore feet, the vet thought that it was lami because of the way she was walking even though there was no pulse or heat in her feet. She was ok after a couple of days on boxrest and now is completely sound and back in work with heartbar shoes. The vet was suprised at how quickly she'd recovered and said it must have been the early stages of lami, if thats what it was. I've been wondering whether she just had sore feet as she was not overweight, however i can see a ring around her foot which i presume confirms that it was in fact laminitis.

I was just wondering whether anyone else has had a Thoroughbred with laminitis? its just that when i google it all i get are articles that talk about overweight horses suffering from lami and they only briefly mention that any type and weight of horse can suffer from it. She has not been unduly stressed recently and she was in work 4/5 days a week at the time. (just hacking) Her feet have been growing super fast recently and the blacksmith said that the shoes had come forward with the toe even though it had only been 5weeks, don't know if that can cause it? My blacksmith and vet just keep saying that shes not a typical laminitic so i thought i'd ask on here and see if anyone else has had a similar problem.
 
humm common misconception with laminitis is that only obese ponies get it.. If there are two types of animals which get lami it will be the typical obese pony or the thoroughbred.

There are many triggers to laminitis including obesity, concussion, shock, stress, constriction, cushings and some horses get it for no reason at all.

It is common in racers as they are fed a high protien diet and subject to a lot of concussion on the little feet.

However it is also possible to be a side effect of a reaction from a bite, a wound or other stressful experiences.

Sounds pretty plausable to me if i am honest.

It may also be an idea to speak with your vet about having a blood test to rule out cushings, as you say her hooves are growing extremely fast plus a mild bought of laminitis which are both signs of cushings.

Lou x
 
My 7/8 TB had it. Twice!!!
Was out on loan and the loaner was feeding her cr**. Lots of bread and sweeties, like 12 rolls a night and 2 packets of Polos!!!
Now NOT on loan and is fed Baileys No 4 and D&H Safe & Sound. The Safe & Sound is great stuff as I was able to cut out all her suppliments.
although the loaner was an experienced horsewoman she refused to believe the horse had Laminitis despite being told several times by the farrier, just thought she was "footie".
Now horse is a decent weight and fit as a fiddle!!
 
I've treated one who was a full blown laminitic .They can be difficult because TBs here in America tend to have VERY thin soles .The vet who did the initial work had a heart bar pad device installed and by the next day both soles had began to split due to the pressure applied [which genius vet said was remedial] .It was touch and go for many months but the client followed all instructions and Kobi was saved , living to be 25 and sound when he died . His owner had fed him nearly 30 lbs of high protein grain mix daily to up his weight ! Many TBs develop laminitis from too hard a work surface [concussion] in this country .
 
So sorry to hear about your horse, do they know why it happened? was (s)he overweight? Mine was fit and in lovely condition but not fat, she was also only grass and a bit of hifi to mix a calmer into so its a bit puzzling.

Really hope your horse makes a full recovery
 
Although my vets respect me, they hate coming out as I always question them. Now, are you ABSOLUTELY sure that its laminitis? From what you say, it wouldnt be my first thought.

As far as TB's and laminitis go, 4 years ago the top 4 TB stallion's were all put down due to laminitis.
 
Well the vet said that it looked like lami because of how she was walking and she couldn't turn in a circle but there was no heat or a pulse so he has said all along that he wasn't 100%. I was wondering whether she had sore heals but i can now see a ring around her foot so thats making me think that it must have been laminitis.

Was kind of feeling like i had the only laminitic Thoroughbred so at least i know i'm not the only one now, it wouldn't have surprised if she was the only one, she's such a demic
tongue.gif
 
A ring around the hoof doesnt necessarily mean laminitis, it just suggests 'changes' of some kind, whether you have moved yards, changed grazing, stress, illness - the list is endless. It will normally take around 12 months for a ring to grow out, so if her hoof ring is a quarter of the way down, that would indicate changes around 3 months ago. Hope this helps.
 
How old is your horse? I sadly lost my TBxID a few years ago through laminitis brought on by cushings. It was really really sudden and she looked so happy and healthy before hand, literally in the space of a couple of months her coat became very thick even though it was summer and then the laminitis came on and off in bouts. Theonly other symptom she showed was that she drunk alot more than usual - worth monitoring that perhaps?
 
I always though TB were more prone due to their tendancy to have flat feet, if they get even mild lami it could be very serious as there is no room for rotation of the pedal bone what so ever.

I loaned an Arab (same difference really
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) that was prone to lami she had separation of the hoof and mild rotation of the pedal bone when I got her, I worried myself sick about what would happen if it came back :S
 
yes my thoroughbred x had laminitis a few weeks ago then as he had it bad he got Seedy Toe which made hes shoes fall of and now the farrier has told us that he has bad arthritis in hes back legs but then he was over weight
 
my ish (tbx) got it last year due to fertilised grass
she was 17 and never had it and wasnt over weight.her feet were trimmed every 6 weeks.and ive had her since she was 4.
there are many causes of lami tbh alot of the time its not that clear why some horses get it.
 
I don't think its cushing because shes not drinking excessively and her coat is thin. Think i'll just have to carry on managing her as a laminitic as a precaution and i'll mention the rings to the blacksmith when he comes back in a week or so.

Thanks for the replys everyone
 
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