Laminitis

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Sshanix

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Hi everyone, my mare developed laminitis about a month ago and is in a lot of pain at the moment. We have had the vet out a couple of times and have had x-rays and she is on Bute and paracetamol as well as only getting soaked hay and having a really thick big bed but she is still in a lot of pain. Does anyone have any ideas how I could make her more comfortable or any tips on how to handle her laminitis?
Thanks😊
 
What did the xrays show? Are her feet balanced? Does she have frog supports on? Have you found out and removed the cause?

Lots of questions but all are paramount to the recovery stage.
 
I would ask the vet if she can have more bute if what she is having is not controlling the pain, have her feet been trimmed yet, have supportive pads been tried? has she been tested for metabolic issues as the meds can help get the condition under control.
There is not much else you can do yourself other than to keep her on the deep shavings bed, be tough about feeding if she needs to lose weight but do not starve her in an attempt to get it down, otherwise leave her to be quiet and to rest as much as possible and keep in contact with the vet about her lack of progress.
 
Laminitis is absolutely awful for the horse and also for the owner to witness. I agree with the above advice about giving your vet and farrier a call to see if there is anything else that can be done to help. When my horse had it years ago, the vet and farrier spoke to each other on the phone to coordinate treatment.

I bought huge bags of ice cubes which I put in a teatowel and wrapped around the hooves to help with the heat. However advice changes so check with your vet first before doing this.

I hope your mare gets better soon.
 
holeymoley said:
What did the xrays show? Are her feet balanced? Does she have frog supports on? Have you found out and removed the cause?

Lots of questions but all are paramount to the recovery stage.
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1.The xrays showed a slight rotation in the bone but nothing too much I’m not certain of exactly how much but the vet didn’t think it was anything to worry about too much 2.also her feet are a bit unbalanced and she needs shoes to correct it but I don’t want to get her shoed until she’s a bit more comfortable 3.She has frog supports on but keeps biting them off🙄 so I’m going to get her the boots 4. The cause was the very rich grass as our fields are fertilised and people feeding apples/ sugar cubes over the fence so she is now on full time box rest and is only having soaked hay and a bit of happy hoof with her medication
Thanks for the help😊
 
be positive said:
I would ask the vet if she can have more bute if what she is having is not controlling the pain, have her feet been trimmed yet, have supportive pads been tried? has she been tested for metabolic issues as the meds can help get the condition under control.
There is not much else you can do yourself other than to keep her on the deep shavings bed, be tough about feeding if she needs to lose weight but do not starve her in an attempt to get it down, otherwise leave her to be quiet and to rest as much as possible and keep in contact with the vet about her lack of progress.
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Thanks for your advice the vet doesn’t want to give her her too much more Bute as she has had a sensitive stomach before, she does have frog supports now but her feet haven’t been trimmed because I want to wait till she is abit more comfortable before I get the farrier out.
Thanks for the advice hopefully she’ll be better soon😊
 
My big horse (17.2) went down with it 6 weeks ago. He was not in a lot of pain, more uncomfortable. He has improved but only slightly whereas my neighbour's pony who went down with it at the same time and was crippled, is now back out cantering round the field. Mine is fine on the soft (including turning) but still a bit cautious on the concrete yard.

X-rays for my horse were fine, the farrier put a pad on him that had frog supports built into it as taping the rubber ones to his feet was a real chore. The vet was happy with that - would that work for yours?

I think the trigger for mine was the week he had off when I couldn't ride as I pulled my back big time (vet agreed this was probably the case).
 
I think at this stage getting her feet comfortable and relatively pain free is far more important than any concerns about her stomach, being in pain will be as likely to cause ulcers or other sensitivities, if not more so, than having a few extra sachets of bute, you can always give her some support for her stomach alongside the pain relief, I guess the vet should know what they are doing but sometimes I am not sure they really look at the whole picture.
 
Just seen your further reply, I agree that the pads I had put on my horse might not be possible for yours if she is in too much pain. The farrier was able to shoe mine without a problem and he didn't show any signs of pain, just fell asleep as normal.
 
Sshanix said:
1.The xrays showed a slight rotation in the bone but nothing too much I’m not certain of exactly how much but the vet didn’t think it was anything to worry about too much 2.also her feet are a bit unbalanced and she needs shoes to correct it but I don’t want to get her shoed until she’s a bit more comfortable 3.She has frog supports on but keeps biting them off🙄 so I’m going to get her the boots 4. The cause was the very rich grass as our fields are fertilised and people feeding apples/ sugar cubes over the fence so she is now on full time box rest and is only having soaked hay and a bit of happy hoof with her medication
Thanks for the help😊
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How frustrating. Nothing worse than folk meddling. The only thing from that- I know you don’t want her shod until she’s comfortable but even getting a trim to balance the hoof. They usually need the heels taken right down to offer support and release the pressure put on the toes.
 
Also if you were to up the meds, I’d feed a probiotic for her gut just to keep things balanced. I like gut balancer and I also used zeolite powder to remove any toxins initially. Laminitis does after all start in the stomach for the majority of cases.
 
Get the farrier out immediately. I understand you not wanting to get the farrier to shoe her cause you think it will cause her pain, but he doesn't have to shoe her. He can just trim her in a way that will alleviate some of the pressure on parts of her hoof, easing her pain a little. He if trained to can also apply glue on shoes/pads that can really make such a world of difference. Pain creates pain and the more pain she is in in her feet the more pain she will make in her body etc which makes a vicious circle.
 
My horse had laminitis in May. I had farrier out first then vet to confirm on the same day. Farrier took front shoes off and trimmed on the first visit. It helps to have feet as well balanced as possible. Horse made a, good recovery ans has been back in work for a few weeks.
 
Hi, I have a post going about laminitis too. Just about the pain relief - my mare is on bute and paracetamol combined. It wasn't something I had ever come across, paracetamol for horses, but it seems to be doing the job - not sure if it would be worth looking at.
 
The vet and the farrier absolutely must work together - once pain relief has been established, both are equally as important when dealing with laminitis.
 
I've rehabbed a few laminitis ponies successfully
The first thing g you need to find is the cause and remove it. If the pony is on a lot of pain then box rest.
If the pony is overweight then straight onto a sensible diet. Check the sugar levels in your forage. Some haylage is lower on sugar than some hay.
Support the hooves....I see there is a bit of rotation. It's every important that this is corrected asap as the is what is causing the pain. Support the whole of the hoof, not just the frog. The sole will need supporting too. Keep movement to a minimum while still in pain and until the rotation is fully corrected.
There is no reason , once these two things are done(removing the cause and supporting the hooves), that the horse should still be in alot of pain. If it is, then one of those two things probably hasn't been done properly.
Then it's time...keep trimming the hooves regularly to keep rotation correct until a new hoof has been grown (9 month'ish). In the meantime, as long as there is no pain (with no painkillers),you can reintroduce work/grazing gradually to see how much he can tolerate.
 
_HP_ said:
I've rehabbed a few laminitis ponies successfully
The first thing g you need to find is the cause and remove it. If the pony is on a lot of pain then box rest.
If the pony is overweight then straight onto a sensible diet. Check the sugar levels in your forage. Some haylage is lower on sugar than some hay.
Support the hooves....I see there is a bit of rotation. It's every important that this is corrected asap as the is what is causing the pain. Support the whole of the hoof, not just the frog. The sole will need supporting too. Keep movement to a minimum while still in pain and until the rotation is fully corrected.
There is no reason , once these two things are done(removing the cause and supporting the hooves), that the horse should still be in alot of pain. If it is, then one of those two things probably hasn't been done properly.
Then it's time...keep trimming the hooves regularly to keep rotation correct until a new hoof has been grown (9 month'ish). In the meantime, as long as there is no pain (with no painkillers),you can reintroduce work/grazing gradually to see how much he can tolerate.
Click to expand...
You can remove the cause and support the hooves but it often still takes a fair amount of time for the pain to go completely, you should see a decent improvement on doing those 2 things but it is rarely a quick fix.
 
Sometimes the pain can ‘re appear’ too with the build up of gas pockets/seromas. As I and my poor horse had the displeasure of dealing with. What a rollercoaster it was. We are now happily hacking and building up fitness, have 0 rotation(he had 13 & 11•) and he is grazing on a small area for 4-7 hours a day.
 
Thanks so much for your help everyone she’s been looking much better over the last few days still lame but it’s definitely progress. She is still rocking the colourful frog supports but the farrier will be coming out soon
Thanks again everyone 😊
(excuse the dirt problems of having a gray pony on box rest😂)145CCA70-5FAC-4F9D-9311-822EC4D05804.jpeg
 
what i dont understand is why is your horse out of the stable and not on the soft bed. i was under the impression that a laminitic should be kept in until it is pain free and on no medication especially if there has been rotation..please be careful
 
splashgirl45 said:
what i dont understand is why is your horse out of the stable and not on the soft bed. i was under the impression that a laminitic should be kept in until it is pain free and on no medication especially if there has been rotation..please be careful
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Yes box rest for laminitis usually means confined to the stable not coming out even for a walk or to be out of the way to muck out, it is detrimental to be walking on a hard surface even with the feet well padded.
 
Yes she was only out of the stable because I needed to apply a little bit more vet wrap to the frog supports it’s almost impossible to do it in her stable as bits of straw get caught in it and it doesn’t stay on aswell if that happens she was barely a step outside her stable and was only outside for a minute she is on complete box rest and on a very thick bed just she try’s to get the frog supports off anyway so they have to be on probably or she can end up moving them and if they are in the wrong place it could make it much more sore 😊
 
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