Is this laminitis?

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Esperanza

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Hi,

I would appreciate any advise on the following. 12 weeks ago my gelding became slightly lame on his off fore. He had acute laminitis 3 years ago as he was overweight but since then has lived in paddocks that are strip grazes. We called to vet who took x-rays which showed slight rotation but this had not changed since he had laminitis originally. The vet said that our farrier had to change how he was trimming our horse and that once this was done, we would see an instant improvement. We called out our farrier and gave him the x-ray. 2 days later he was very lame but this time in his near fore. We called the vet out 3 times who said that all we could do was give him bute and " starve him" which I thankfully no better than to do. My gut instinct was that this lameness and laminitis was not becaused by his weight, he is thinner than ever before but that there was another issue. Also he is only lame in 1 foot which I know is unusual with Laminiti.Also the farrier had trimmed his feet right back to the white line in one go! We did some further research on line and found that when he was sore, styraphome pads and vet wrap gave him instant relief. We got a new farrier who said that his feet were completely unbalanced and that because of the way that his feet were being trimmed he was getting no support and that the issue was not his weight.
The problem is he has been on 2 bute for the last 12 weeks, after the new farrier came he became almost 100% sound so I cut back on 1 bute and 3 days later he was showing lameness. I now have a vet bill of £300 pounds for a vet that only comes and tells me that he is too fat and offers no other supprt. I am concerned that the continual bute will give him ulcers although he shows no signs of it and is a very happy horse. Also why is he not getting sound, should we be looking at another cause? He lives in barren paddock with a friend and has HI fi lite and soaked hay.

I am sorry that this is so long, but this has been going on so long! Any advise would be more than appreciated?
 
What a stressful time for you!
Poor pony. Firstly, don't worry about using bute. Yes, sometimes things can go wrong but relieving pain is a priority. I know of a 35 year plus gelding that has been on borrowed time and lots of bute for years. Old age and a knackered body will do for him, not the doses of bute and ulcers.
Secondly, change your vet. Being 'fat' doesn't cause laminitis. Ask my 'fat' welshie who doesn't suffer, or my friends' TB that is thin but does. You deserve support, advice and proper care of your horse. The kind of weather we have had has caused a lot of incidences of laminitis as we've had sun, rain and growing grass. It may or may not be what is causing your pony to be lame, although as your new farrier has mentioned a hoof imbalance i'd be looking there. You don't say how long it's been since his feet were corrected, it may take a few months for the pony to be able to happily walk without pain. Imagine having a bad blister on your sole from one pair of shoes, the pain is still there when you walk barefoot.
There could be so many reasons why he is lame and so many causes, you may need a lot of time to eliminate each one.
 
This sounds just like my story! I can't type long replies on here, I get timed out, but please pm if you want. To cut a very long story short, our boy didn't start to pick up until 2 weeks after having his feet trimmed and being reshod by a remedial farrier. I've been told it will take a year (6 to 8 shoeings) to get him completely right. So far he's been reshod twice, and improves a bit more about a fortnight after each shoeing. Best of all, he's not had a Danilon since 1st July! I used Danilon because I was told it's a bit kinder to the stomach than bute, and more palatable. Don't despair!
 
We had a similar situation with our 26 year old gelding and our farrier could not find any reason it was laminitis and on his advice we had him x-rayed. You don't mention if there is any pedal bone rotation or whether the vet looked for anything else?

We also have his mum who is in her 40's and she has been on bute for a long period of time, but shows nothing side effect wise - we don't use danion as it is too expensive and the actual research on the use of danilon does not prove that the stomach is better with the sugar coating, therefore the use of a cheap brand, however some horses won't take it in their feed so easily.

Get another opinion and if your vet isn't offering support - make them or change them, but also consider that he may be prone to laminitis and fatness may be caused by an insulin resistance or something else - our chap is now doing ok, we have to watch his weight for the laminitis but we also accept he is getting old and much as soreness is part of his problem exercise is helpful.

There is hope, its just down to having the right people with the right advice at the right time - patience is also important!
 
Thanks everyone, the support on this forum is great!

Unfortunately as I live in the south of Ireland I am limited with regards to equine vets. My gut feeling is that the lameness is s a result of what we now know was poor level of trimming over the last couple of years.


Iconique, he has a small amount of rotation as when we took x-rays we were able to compare with the originals and it hasnt changed and there is no demineralisation.


My vet now wants to come nerve block him tomorrow? Any opinions on this? I know the value of nerve blocking but I am concerned that we have to take him off bute for 2 days.
 
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Ehmmm, personally I would be suspecting an absess in the foot? Or something going on certainly.

Gosh, I'm so sorry you're having problems getting a good horse vet, I thought you folks over in Ireland had a surplus of them! Obviously not - rural areas are very difficult when it comes to choice.

I do hope your situation gets sorted soon, as he's had lammi in the past I would suspect something is happening there, but its so worrying for you. Some vets recommend "starvation" diets, others don't, as it puts the metabolic system under stress and laminitis is a malfunction of the metabolic system anyway.
 
I've had my mare for 7years and in March she was diagnosed with laminitis, I caught it quick and she was lame first on her off fore. She had numerous x-rays and had Imprint Shoes fitted, about a month on she was weight bearing on her near fore so it all started again on her near fore.

I think maybe looking into the foot further as the last 5 weeks my mare had a build up of serum in her off fore foot which made her so ill she was rushed to the vets. Once this was sorted she had metal heartbars fitted and came home and I had to tub her foot in epson salts 3 times a day for 2weeks. On Friday I got the all clear from the vet I could ride her again. Oh my mare had been on sedalin and bute for 5months and she seems fine.

I wish you all the luck as it can be so draining, look after yourself x
 
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