is this low grade laminitis?

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hairypony09

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I have a 13 year old cob gelding. he has always been barefoot and never been lame before. I havent done an awful lot with him, just hacking on and off. normally he is out in the fields all summer and stabled at night in winter, no extra feed summer, but haylage through winter and handful of hi fi lite and sugarbeet, plus carrots apples etc.
Last spring i brought him back into work after being off for a year due to work commitments etc.
I was long reining him nicely for a few weeks then i decided to get him shod on his front feet, he had never been shod before, but i had the intentions to do more with him.
After a week or so he went lame, it seemed to be his front feet, one more than the other although when i picked them out he seemed to be ok again, no heat in them and no visible signs of anything. i kept riding him in field for a while. this went on for a few months until i decided to have the shoes taken off as i thought this was the problem. He seemed that he has small frogs and clefts close to the shoes, i thought that when compacted that it pinched him.
But he has continued to be lame on and off, i stopped working him, this winter he hasnt had any hard feed and all horses have been kept in a large yard with a hayrack( our haylage this year been more like dry hay)
My friend had farrier to shoe their horse and told him mine was lame, he had a look and scraped away bit of hoof underneath and said the white line was orange and there was heat in foot and he had laminitis, he is overweight and he said i should walk him loads,needs lots exercise, or i will have a big problem later on.

Everytime farrier came in past they always asked if i rode on roads loads and i said i didnt, they hardly ever trimmed much off his feet and never inside, and said he had strong hooves which never seemed to grow, but to me the toes always looked really long i did once ask if they were ok, and they always said yes.

So sorry my explanation is so long but.. is this laminitis? and what is the correct treatment? i have read that lots of exercise is an old cure and can actually make it worse as it separates the laminae, what should i feed him? And if you need to increase blood supply does anyone think garlic may help at all? many thanks:)
 
i got the vet at first, and when he turned up the horse was walking fine! typical, said it was either a nail prick or maybe he had been kicked, ( all boys, always play fighting) he checked feet, no heat or anything.
 
hairypony09 said:
i got the vet at first, and when he turned up the horse was walking fine! typical, said it was either a nail prick or maybe he had been kicked, ( all boys, always play fighting) he checked feet, no heat or anything.
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so the vet saw the horse last spring?

and could not find anything but the horse continued to be on and off lame but you did not get vet again/

if its low grade laminitis and it is just left it WILL put your horse in an early grave and it will be a painful journey for the horse
 
When the horse is lame do you stable it or get it off the grass for a few days and if so does the horse go sound again?.Is the horse lame at the moment?.Does it have a digital pulse when it's lame?.Is it sensitive when touched around the Coronet band?.
 
There is a lot of info about lgl out there. This article is quite helpful.

http://www.balancedequine.com.au/nutrition/grass_lam.html


My own horses signs are:

Footiness on hard ground and stones (normally she isnt so I see a change straight away)
Short stridedness
Reluctance to canter
Heat in the affected feet
Standing with her front legs underneath her
Flaring in hoof wall the after an attack
Rings / ridges on the hoof wall after an attack
White line seperation after an attack

The best way to 'diagnose' (obviously you should speak to your vet. first) is to remove the horse from grass and feed only soaked hay and water they usually recover pretty fast.

You need to take a close look at your horses diet and lgl horses need plenty exercise.

Hope that helps.
 
I'd totally ignore any so-called farrier who said it was laminitis and then advised walking the horse "lots". If laminitis is even a remote suspicion, you should immediately treat it as if it is a definite diagnosis. Stable immediately. Deep soft bedding right up to the door. No walking outside the stable. Soaked hay, no hard feed. Vet pronto. Saying that, doesn't sound like typical lami to me. More like an abscess caused by nail bind that hasn't been drained so has gone deep and difficult! Either way, vet!
 
Definitely sounds like laminitis from the symptoms and not low grade if you are seeing blood in the white line. Box rest on a deep bed immediately and get a vet! Exercise and turnout in the early stages is bad as there is so much weight on the pedal bone and the support structure is inflamed and damaged and not always able to support it so you get more inflammation and longer term damage, but once the foot has started to heal again and regrow you can build the work back up again - think 3-6 months -you need to get the horses weight down and circulation moving in legs and feet. Use heart bar shoes to support the foot for the next 6 months. Reassess what you are feeding and limit access to grass. Good luck x
 
Although the direct causes of laminitis have yet to be determined, one factor that repeatedly turns up as a trigger for laminitis is a high sugar diet. It sounds like your horse has rather a lot! Oligofructose in the grass and the concentrate in the winter could have caused it?

It does sound like chronic laminitis to me, I am currently researching it for uni. The cures for it are rather controversial, as are the triggers!

I concur with everyone else's answers saying put your horse and a deep bed! I do STRESS however, that you should NOT SUDDENLY change your horses feed. Do NOT suddenly take out concentrate feed/ suddenly switch the horses forage! Sudden changes in a horses diet cause an imbalance of micro-organisms and bacteria in their hind gut. This causes toxins to be produced which can possibly cause laminitis!!!!!!!

Sorry your horse is suffering, it is a very painful condition as the horses pedal bone rotates away from the hoof wall.
 
if there is the slightest possibility that horses has laminitis it should NOT be walked . box rest on a deep supportive bed and vet ASAP as it will need pain relief and sedation .Hope your horse is ok .
 
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It is possible that it is a deep bruise, or small deep abscess. Had similar with my lad after he jumped into my yard. Just wasnt right, mainly on turns, nothing much. Vet said its probably a touch of arthritus. Feet were done, nothing found. vet again, farrier again.....nothing. Eventually they blew up, two front abscesses. So much abuse (It was feb) for having mud in fields so softened feet (Personally I wonder if this softening is what allowed it to out) vets did usual and opened feet too much, so then in that weather 6 weeks box rest. Lack of movement didnt help feet regrow, and having to wrap them meant feet stayed soft. Now he is sound. But if toes too long, change farrier, or at least get your vets to say feet too long.
 
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