Laminitis experiences?

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helenandbessie

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My 8yo has a severe case of laminitis. Xrays have came back that she has slight rotation but more sinking. Vet has given her a lam score of 3/4 4 being the worst they can be!! We are now going down the route of danillon and once shes a bit better to trim toe right back and shoe. What are your experiences with this horrible disease?
 
Whats she fed?

I would not shoe a lami horse, i would get the toe back to ease but i would start an immediate anti-sugar diet
 
This isnt her first lami case. Shes had heart bars on last time and she recovered well it supports the foot more. They only shoe when they are recovering and when the pain has settled. Her diet is fine on hifi light only a bit and soaked hay weighted. I am wondering about peoples success rate of a normalish life and their experiences
 
Its often brought on by something else I would get her tested for ems and cushings I know she is only 8 but its not unheard of horses having it that young, is she overweight at the moment? My mare came down with it but it was about 6 years ago before they linked laminitis to these conditions so it was not the done procedure to test, she was 23 and thinking back I think she may have had cushings, unfortunately I lost her to colic while she was on box rest recovering so my experience of it is not great, on a better note I know of a horse that had very severe laminitis and she was almost pts on a few occasions as they did not hold out much hope of recovery, after about a year recovering she was out competing last year so horses can recover from it and be managed.

While she is recovering I would soak al her hay overnight if you can and trickle feed little and often, stop any hard feed no carrots or apples and put her on a very deep shavings bed for comfort, some vets will fit hoof supports and some dont so I think it just depends on the vet, my horse had slight sinking but no rotation and she was sound after about 8 weeks then she had heart bar shoes fitted but things may have changed a bit now as it was some years back, I am sure you will get plenty of good advise here.
 
Agree with PVB. Get her tested for EMS & Cushings. My mare went down with lammi last Jan. tested positive for ems. Managed diet etc, sound for 6 months then bang, crippled again. Just spent 6 months getting her back right, on & off bouts of lammi, tested her a few weeks ago for Cushings and was positive. She's only 9!!!! It is now not uncommon for horses to test early.

I've been to hell & back this last 6 months, fingers crossed we are back on track. Cushings is a manageable disease but not a cure able one but it will never go away, believe me I buried my head in the sand thinking it wasn't cushings.

My mare also had slight rotations. She has had her shoes reset every 4 weeks as any slight imbalance sends her off again. She is currently growing little hoof at an even rate so is going to 5 week resets.
 
She is going to be tested for ems and cushings next week. The farrier and vet are going to come out at the same time so she can be sedated for her shoes and blood taken at same time. As she wasnt starved when the vets came out so far. Hopefully there is hope for her yet i cant forever keep her in a stable in pain. This is her 3rd bout since sept and i am overly cautious with her care since sept. The vet is stupt to how shes even got it this time.
 
helenandbessie said:
She is going to be tested for ems and cushings next week. The farrier and vet are going to come out at the same time so she can be sedated for her shoes and blood taken at same time. As she wasnt starved when the vets came out so far. Hopefully there is hope for her yet i cant forever keep her in a stable in pain. This is her 3rd bout since sept and i am overly cautious with her care since sept. The vet is stupt to how shes even got it this time.
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If this is the 3rd bout it really sounds like it could be ems or cushings and once you know the results and get the right medication you can manage her, does she look overweight? Does she have abnormal fat pads like an ems horse?

Also wanted to say is it not a bit early to be putting shoes on her, most cases I have known the feet are not touched until the horse is pretty much sound as any hammering and trauma would be really painfull if she is in the middle of an episode.
 
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I would test for EMS & Cushings if she is already on a low sugar diet and still has severe lami.
My horse was diagnosed with cushings @ 9 years old so no your horse is not too young to have it unfortunately.

My vet also told me not to shoe until he was sound as you dont want to be hammering an already unstable foot. I would pad and wrap if it provides any comfort. Either soft polystyrene or easy care do some soft pads meant for hoof boots but i'm sure you could wrap to the foot whilst the horse is box rested?

Having lami 3x since September really is screaming Cushings though - typical winter laminitis with no other explanation.

Hope you can get it under control. If it is cushings then prascend really does make a difference.
 
helenandbessie said:
My 8yo has a severe case of laminitis. Xrays have came back that she has slight rotation but more sinking. Vet has given her a lam score of 3/4 4 being the worst they can be!! We are now going down the route of danillon and once shes a bit better to trim toe right back and shoe. What are your experiences with this horrible disease?
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mine is a sad one as I lost my mare of a lifetime, we had to put imprints on her which did help her loads.

Keep her on a deep bed preferably bedmax, laminator helps the blood flow in the restricted foot, there are many posters who have lost horses recently to this. Lots of info stored here some from my mares journey


+ many video links on laminitis
http://horse-care-and-advice.weebly.com/l.html
 
If you are on Facebook at all I would contact the laminitis site. The lady on there gave me excellent advice when my mare had laminitis a few months ago and she has gone on to make a fantastic recovery.
 
My gelding had lami on & off for several years, mostly caused by my bad management. He has rotation in both front feet and at one time both the vet & farrier stood shaking their heads & tutting.

Fast forward 4 years ... he is sound & competing, lami free, the farrier always comments how good his feet look and how surprised he is that we got him through. Yes his feet are a funny shape, he wears 'normal' shoes with plastic pads, and has the toeclips removed. But he is sound.

His diet is managed very carefully and if I am in the slightest doubt as to the grass or the pulses in his feet he stays in. He is now 18 has been check on & off for EMS/Cushings and is in the best of health. I consider him to be a 'recovering' member of Laminitcs anonymous and take each day as it comes.

It takes time, patience and care but they can recover.
 
With the first bout i had her on an expensiveish lami suppliment and she improved well although ill never know if that was the suppliment helping or just her usual recovery. The vet has advised to see how she is in a weeks time then shoe the following week if she is well enough. The vet had said cushing can be at any age and not show all the typical symptoms but then if she proves positive then ill know what it is. She was overweight with her first bout but i have got 50kg off her and now shes at ideal lam weight so the vet was happy with that. This disease is so emotionally draining! I dont think people see how stressful it is and how damaging to a horse it is
 
helenandbessie said:
With the first bout i had her on an expensiveish lami suppliment and she improved well although ill never know if that was the suppliment helping or just her usual recovery. The vet has advised to see how she is in a weeks time then shoe the following week if she is well enough. The vet had said cushing can be at any age and not show all the typical symptoms but then if she proves positive then ill know what it is. She was overweight with her first bout but i have got 50kg off her and now shes at ideal lam weight so the vet was happy with that. This disease is so emotionally draining! I dont think people see how stressful it is and how damaging to a horse it is
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It is a terrible condition I have a retired mare that tested positive to ems and cushings and its a constant worry as my first horse had laminitis I get quite paranoid about it, I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it and that she makes a good recovery.
 
how is your mare doing now? I no last night you mentioned she is still on boxrest, what was the outcome of EMS & cushings?

My mare is on her 6th day of box rest due to lami also
 
Mines had three bouts since sept. Shes not in a good way but she has had a nasty abcess too that wasnt seen on xrays. Xrays shown sinking and rotation of the pedal bone. Venagram shown all her foot is dead. Negative with cushings and ems! She had to go into hospital an she couldnt walk at all literally wouldn't put her foot down. She has her toes cut right back to expose some of the inside to allow the abcess to drain. She also has some nice glue on shoes on. her feet are getting hot again so vet is awaiting another lame bout. Endless battle but shes not in pain now so it seems. Shes been in a month on danillon. Not all cases are like hers though. U may be able to keep urs in for just over a month then be fine with management
 
Sorry to hear your poor mare is having such a hard time. :(

My mare finishes her first course of danilon tomorrow, she is only on 1 sachet now. She is walking around her stable pretty well at the minute and has been for a good few days now.
The vet doesnt want to see her until next Monday, so she is stabled until then

I haven't had any xrays done yet, ill discuss this with the vet when she comes out next week
 
Shes only 8 so at the prime of her life. She cant ever be jumped again thats if she can be ridden as dont know what her foot can take.
Its such a horrible disease and it makes you panic about everything! It sounds like your mare is making a good recovery thank god. She will be out grazing before you know it. You will probs only be able to turn out for an hour or so at first and gradually increase turnout time
 
You need to find out what is causing the laminitis and treat accordingly . In most cases it's EMS/insulin resistance which is treated with diet and exercise (if poss).
The rotation needs to be corrected asap with regular trims using xrays. Shoes will make this harder to do obviously.
Please look up The Laminitis Site and perhaps join their Facebook group. They are doing a fantastic job and have a huge success rate with rehabbing .
Laminitis is certainly NOT a death sentence
 
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