Lame pony, Feet cut too short?

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Sherbie

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Hi,

Im looking for some advice, my sheland pony came in lame last night. He didnt seem all that pleased about coming in from the field and leaving his pony friends behind (as usual) but when I got him to the stable went to brush, pick his feet ect, noticed that his front right had a pulce. Normally try as I will cannot find it in him. Picked up the foot and it looked, the only way I can describe it without pics is as though his sole was popping out. I asked for some advice from someone at the yard and was told that the farrier ( who came last Thursday??) had cut his feet too short. He seems a little better tonight but still lame and sore. He has also been lying down a little more but bright and usual self although he is sore. Im thinking vet out to him tomorrow as I know the farrier will never come out at the weekend. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. He is in good condition otherwise.
Thanks x
 
Hmmm, I'd treat him as if he has laminitis until you know otherwise. It could be the trim, but the sole popping description and lying down a lot is what makes me think laminitis + the time of year.
 
It sounds like your pony has laminitus. This is an emergancy.

He should be in off the grass and on a thick shavings bed to support his feet. Feed only hay that has been well soaked and get a vet out asap. If his sole is bulging out then it is a bad case and I would have had the vet yesterday!

Sorry if this is not what you want to here but it IS VERY serious.
 
I will eat my hat if your little man hasnt got lami :( Have you got him on a nice deep bed? If he has got haylage you really need to change it for soaked hay and definately definately call your vet in the morning.
If you do a search on NL, vets and in stable yard there are lots of posts about lami and a vast amount of good advice.

Good luck x
 
mini-eventer said:
It sounds like your pony has laminitus. This is an emergancy.

He should be in off the grass and on a thick shavings bed to support his feet. Feed only hay that has been well soaked and get a vet out asap. If his sole is bulging out then it is a bad case and I would have had the vet yesterday!

Sorry if this is not what you want to here but it IS VERY serious.
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Thank you both for replying! He is on deep shavings bed, off grass and getting hay (not soaked, but will do). I wondered as everyone was saying 'no,not lami, he not fat' this is why im asking here get honest opinions without anyone having seen pony as far as I know. I will have a Vet out first thing. x
 
They dont have to be fat to get lami :( If he is a good weight, or even a little on the lean side, it would be worth having him tested for cushings, as this a metabolicly lead laminitis episode...would also be a good idea to have his bloods run for Equine Metabolic Syndrome, which is like horsey diabeties. x
 
Rosehip said:
I will eat my hat if your little man hasnt got lami :( Have you got him on a nice deep bed? If he has got haylage you really need to change it for soaked hay and definately definately call your vet in the morning.
If you do a search on NL, vets and in stable yard there are lots of posts about lami and a vast amount of good advice.

Good luck x
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Thanks Rosehip, I will do a search for some more info on laminitis. I have had him for 1 1/2 year and not a probblem last year atall, I think thats why it had been ruled out as he had been out in field most of the year and a paddock set up for summer for him and his 2 pony friends. I try to manage his weight as much as poss too. x
 
Not read all replys but id say treat as laminitis.

The trim was too long ago to make him sore now.
The pulse, sole "issues" and laying down all sound suspect.

Get vet out asap.
 
I would agree that it sounds like a serious case of lami, the bulging sole would really worry me. He probably should have frog supports in place and be on some pain relief. There is a supplement you can get, Lamitox I think it is called, that can relieve symptoms very quickly, within hours and whilst no good right now is worth thinking about having in if pony will be prone to further attacks as can also be used to stave off the lami. If I were you I would want a vet out as soon as possible in the morning.
 
Gosh, I thought your first post was a joke, but it obviously isn't.

Those are absolute classic signs of laminitis. You need the vet. Keep him in on deep shavings, give him small nets of soaked hay. Don't feed him any hard feed and keep him in until the vet sees him (hopefully tomorrow).
 
Honey08 said:
Gosh, I thought your first post was a joke, but it obviously isn't.

Those are absolute classic signs of laminitis. You need the vet. Keep him in on deep shavings, give him small nets of soaked hay. Don't feed him any hard feed and keep him in until the vet sees him (hopefully tomorrow).
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No Honey08, it is not a joke atall. Although looking back now I can se why you would think it is. I have been given advice, Im a novice and clearly crap not to use my gut instead of listening to others. Bad farrier pfft! I have looked up some advice given on here, although to start with had no idea what equine metabolic syndrome was. Pony will have a vet out first thing, I can assure you that will also be tested for. x
 
Sherbie said:
No Honey08, it is not a joke atall. Although looking back now I can se why you would think it is. I have been given advice, Im a novice and clearly crap not to use my gut instead of listening to others. Bad farrier pfft! I have looked up some advice given on here, although to start with had no idea what equine metabolic syndrome was. Pony will have a vet out first thing, I can assure you that will also be tested for. x
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Oh no, I didn't mean to make you feel like a crap owner, its just you had described they symptoms in almost text book detail.. One of my old ponies got it and I didn't realise for a day or two - and I'm an instructor. Sometimes theres a red herring that throws you off the scent (not being fat is a good red herring - our pony turned out to have EMS when she got lami again a year later in a new home..)
 
no you didnt its just how it feels just now. I should have worded that better. Im feeling awful as a vet wasnt called earlier for him. While I was looking into some things I looked though a couple of pics of him the most recent 'fits' the cushings make sense, esp in neck and his love of water (he came to me like this). I can pm u my facebook page, i can temp allow my pics if you want a look. Any thoughts would be helpful x
 
Hi if ur pony is barefoot I would recommend buying sum pads (boots too if u can.afford them at mo, or get small enough ones for pony). U can get pads for boots off eBay or from equine podiatry supplies. Co.UK for £5-10 ish. Cut round the pads so they t slightly bigger than the hoof. Then cut out a crescent shape at the front where the pedal bone would b(where the buldge is). U can bandage this on and cover with duct tape. Also feed magnesium. This should help him feel a lot mire comfortable within a few days. But def get vet out too. X
 
Sherbie, the deep bed and soaked hay is the right and best thing to do. See what the vet says but it is always better to be safe than sorry and soaked hay etc. wont do any harm. :)

Here's some info to read later. http://ecirhorse.com/
If laminitis is diagnosed I recommend the emergency diet described on the laminitis page initially as opposed to the 'laminitis' feeds often recommended.

One important lesson many of us have had to learn is trust your instinct especially when you feel something isn't right. x Hope he feels better soon.
 
Don't beat yourself up hunny, just keep him comfy tonight and ring the vet in the morning. No point looking back, just work on getting him better..xx

ps. I would gladly look at your photos if you like, but your vet is a better bet.x
 
Thank you for the advice, and also the link from amandap, will defo have a read. What really gets me is how fast it can come on, it really makes you think and realise how serious it is. x
 
Definatly don't beat yourself up it can happen even when your horse is a good weight and on restricted grazing as my mare got it last year acutely so it was very sudden :( I ended up blaming myself constantly and feeling terrible but the vet said sometimes its unavoidable and that she had already been to 2 other cases that day because of the sudden flush of grass!
My mare has made 100% recovery but now can hardly tolerate grass at all so is out for a maximum of 4 hours a day and I'm getting a woodchip pen sorted for her.
Good luck!
 
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