lame horse...laminitis or not

[jaynedoc]

Hi all

wondered if anyone has come across this before

I have a 15h cob who has had undiagnosed lameness (is going for xrays and nerve block once the insurance has agreed it)

She is overweight as I have been unable to exercise her (due to lameness).

My thoughts are could this lameness be laminitis?
She has been lame in front near fore since the start on the spring (and she is turned out 24x7)

I thought and the vet thougtbh that it is an injury though i did not notice it on a the last ride we did.

she presents as a solid crest (i think) hobbles when turning tight circles, but ok when turning on her good foot.

hobbles and trips badly on stoney or uneven ground...seems fine on a flat even surface.

Now here is the clincher.

In an effort to stop the weight gain I turned her out in a paddock with very little grazing.. like you would have over the winter.. for 2 days, when i walkedc over the stoney ground to bring her onto the yard, I noticed she seemed to be walking alot better not hobbling as much.

so I thought I would pop her in a normal field for 2 days and alternate it, but after 2 days in a paddock of lush grass she was really hobbling on both front feet, she nearly fell over when I turned to shut the gate and looked like she was on hot coals on stoney ground.

immediately I though laminitis and called the vet. Vet said to put her back in the starvation paddock for a few days and see what happens, and after 1 day low and behold she is walking much better,

does this sound like mild laminitis and can it change this rapidly?

others at my yard think it is not and she is being sluggish and not picking her feet up properly, but I know her and she did look in difficulty it was definately not how she normally walks but today is fine...

strangely is happy when standing though to weight bear normally.

I knwo this is long one but if anyone has any ideas that help her... I am doing the xray/nerve block thing as a last resort as she dosen't box or stable so the whole thing is going to be a massive ordeal that I really want to avoid.

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

Does definitely sound a strong possibility.
Was she overweight when the lameness first started?

 

[MrsMozart]

Check with your vet (did vet not think of lammi at the time?), but when our LL has a lammi attack (or suspected one) he goes straight onto box rest.

He has a deep shavings bed, in a small stable. Bute to break the pain/stress cycle. Ad lib hay (soaked if good quality) - no haylage.

If bad, shoes come off.

No sugar at all! No Polos, carrots or anything not recommended for lammis.

Vet out to sole test. X-rays if necessary to check the pedal bones. Heartbar shoes if necessary.

 

[jaynedoc]

Yes.. i bought her in january 09 and she was overweight then, I tried to get her to loose weight before the spring but I did not have enough time to do it safely, spring came too quickly.. normally I would start controlling the weight from turn in in october.

I am convinced it is mild laminitis but everyone I talk to is telling me that it is not,

I admit she is not presenting all the signs/symptoms as she still trots and canters round her field.

But when you look up the symptoms of laminitis she matches with the problems she has got.

 

[lauzbeefy]

Everything Mrs Mozart said!!

A few years ago my pony came down with laminitis however i hadnt noticed for ages as she could walk fine on the grass, it was only when it really hit her hard we realised.

Not a nice thing to watch a poor pony go through, prevention is much better than cure and following the steps above Lady lived a much happier healthy lifr.

She was also petrified of the stable but soon realised it was a lot better than being crippled.

I also had the benefit of having a crew yard to turn her out in so she could stretch her legs without eating grass.

 

[f_s_]

I would treat as laminitis. Laminitis doesn't always follow the text book, and it won't do any harm to your horse if given box rest, bute, and less food.

I hope that it's not, and hope that your horse is better soon

 

[jaynedoc]

her big problem is she does not stable so soft bed and box rest is not an option..

vet tested hoof but did not suspect laminitis....originally lame only on left reign circle...sound in straight line.

It is just I noticed the other day when I brought her out of the lush field that it looked like she was hobbling on both front legs, which is what is making me think laminitis as she hasn;e been ridden to cause injury.

 

[f_s_]

If she doesn't stable well (my small grey one doesn't either) give her ACP.

ACP is good for laminitics as it gets the blood flowing to the laminae. Also, you will need some bute for the inflammation.

Your vet will advise on the dosage, and with ACP it will keep her more settled. If it is laminitis, she won't be able to move around too much anyway.

 

[jaynedoc]

Thanks for all the advice...

really appreciate it,,, will treat as laminitis and see what happen....

only will have to be field rest in starvation paddock.

fingers crossed.

 

[rosie fronfelen]

i'd say definitely laminitis- we got our welshy back today from a loan(local thank god) he has laminitis for the second time in the last year. we warned the people who had him to not have him on lush grass( welsh ponies don't need it and he's only ever been on scrub and rushes,)but they didn't listen. we now have him in the cattle shed on a good bed and on bute! that's where he'll be for maybe a month, poor thing!!! he's never had this in his 17 years and we've had him all this time, trouble free and i'm plain mad. could you not have your horse in a yard if he can't stable, only he has to come off the grass, somehow! by the way, our vets say that this is a bad year for laminitis so beware all!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Agree with the others

- treat as laminitis - whatever you do do not lunge her as a form of excercise - it puts to much strain on the damaged laminae in the hoof capsule and can make any rotation worse.

Look at the Laminitis Clinic website and if necessary call their helpline. They will give you loads of good advice re a diet to help her loose weight and a rehab programme etc to get her back into work.

Good luck with her - hope she is better soon.

 

[mazziek]

Yes i agree with the others too, the minute my hippo goes above a certain weight he goes lame in front, in trot. out muzzle on him or put him in tiny paddock and once he looses bit weight he fine, in fact i rode him out on hack last night with very small trot and he was great. i had same as you x-rays all the blocks. at first they thought he had damaged his ddft but it was lami all along. if u need any more advice or help or someone t talk t, feel free t pm me. i been having this with mine for a while

 

[Annie&Amy]

My mare showed alot of the symtoms that your's is doing and beacuse she'd never had laminitis in 24yrs i assumed it wasn't. Unfortunately it was and both pedal bones dropped in her front feet, she was on box rest for three months and i unfortunately had her put down in september as she then got it in her back feet. Please don't risk it like i did, put her on box rest asap and tx as though it is laminitis. Please PM me if i can be of more help xxxxx

 

[Annie&Amy]

Also amy showed no reaction to hoof testers, she was a very stoic mare as i think most cobs are and although her laminitis was bad she hardly lay down whilst on box rest. She definately did not show typical signs of lami, even the vets where convinced till she was xrayed that is was abscess's. Fingers crossed with yours xxxx

 

[pottamus]

My lad showed similar signs too in 2007 but in his hinds and it was difficult to tell what was wrong as the lameness was mild and not clear in one foot or the other. I got the vet who suspected an abcess and she was right as she soon found one and all seemed well with the normal treatment. It was not until the farrier came out to re-shoe that we realised he had had a mild touch of laminitis in both hinds! And this had not been picked up by the vet as it was masked by the abcess. Luckily i had restricted his grazing right down and put him on more hay in order to keep the poltice on, so in effect i had managed the laminitis too without realising.

 

[MrsMozart]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for all the advice...

really appreciate it,,, will treat as laminitis and see what happen....

only will have to be field rest in starvation paddock.

fingers crossed.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's the movement as well, not just the lack of grass. If you're going to keep her out, make a small pen (stable sized). Make pads for her feet (see the Laminitis Trust). You want to keep the sole and the frog (and therefore the pedal bone) supported. That's why box rest on a deep bed of shavings is the usual route.

 

[PeterNatt]

I would find another vet for a second opinion without any delay.

You need to determine exactly what the problem.

If your horse has Lamninitis then this condition can be life threatening and also cause permanent damage to your horses feet.

 

[Tnavas]

Sounds very like laminitis - is your vet an equine specialist or one that does a mix of small and the odd large animal.

May be wise to have a specialist Equine vet have a look.

TBH I would leave her in the starvation paddock, feed her only soaked hay and nothing else while you find out what is the problem. If she is overweight this won't hurt her at all.

 

[Tallante]

This sounds just like my pony. He doesn't display all the classic symptoms ie no raging pulses, no bruising, no flinching on day 3 etc. He also wouldn't turn easily and was uncomfortable on stones. He has improved since being on starvation paddock.

Both my vet and farrier recommended turnout into a bare paddock asap to improve circulation. Luckily for him he was only in his box for 48 hours before going out. And there he will remain for some time. I was also told to work him gently on grass so long as he appeared sound, partly for weight loss and partly to improve circulation. He wasn't a serious case but, of course, I'm sure he could easily been worse.