Mystery illness - stiff hind legs, fast pulse

Lots of people getting caught out this year. The weather has caused havoc.

Hope he has a speedy recovery.
 
Oh dear, I wonder why more are presenting with hindlimb laminitis though? :confused:

Thank goodness you've caught it early, we've got heavy rain here today and I can see the grass greening up before my eyes.
 
touchstone said:
Oh dear, I wonder why more are presenting with hindlimb laminitis though? :confused:

Thank goodness you've caught it early, we've got heavy rain here today and I can see the grass greening up before my eyes.
Click to expand...

Yes, that was another thing that threw me. He was snatching up his hindlegs but putting all his weight on his front legs. But the hoof testers showed he was slightly sore in front too, just much worse behind. Vet said he has never had so many presenting in the hind feet. I remember we had a thread on here a few days ago about hind foot laminitis. Very strange. :confused:

I now wish I'd asked the vet to test him for IR and Cushings. I think I will urge his owner to arrange this as he has puffy bits above his eyes and is prone to weight gain (though he was dieted all winter and is a nice healthy weight ATM. That is why he was on the poorest bit of grazing I have!)
 
I'm sorry but not surprized I'm afraid. :( It can be worse in hind feet but if they are all sore he will struggle to put weight on any and if hinds are very sore it can look like a hind end weakness/wobblyness. Hope he picks up soon. x

ps.Don't forget the soaked hay drill...
 
amandap said:
I'm sorry but not surprized I'm afraid. :( It can be worse in hind feet but if they are all sore he will struggle to put weight on any and if hinds are very sore it can look like a hind end weakness/wobblyness. Hope he picks up soon. x

ps.Don't forget the soaked hay drill...
Click to expand...

No, don't worry. I have everything at hand since my mare came down with it at Christmas. It's amazing really. I have had horses all my life practically, and never had lami before my mare came down with it and now this gelding. They weren't even on grass when my mare got it. Hers was Cushings induced though and I do wonder about this gelding.
 
I thought you would have, I just can't stop myself just in case. :o You are right to be thinking about Cushings and I/R.

My laminitis prone pony was sent into an acute attack on hay. She has even become footy once on a batch of hay soaked. :( Just shows we really have no idea of sugar starch levels in forage. This year seems to be a bad one.
 
Just seen this. So sorry to hear he's off games. Good that the vet could get out though. What about pads on his soles if he needs to be out of the sandschool for any reason?

LL gets laminitis, but thankfully not had it for about four years now (I think! I've lost track of time...). He's proving sort of harder to manage though. Mild Cushings or similar metabolic issue, which has actually been better when we've left him alone to do his thing. We've tried a grazing muzzle, but he drops weight and when it's taken off he doesn't bring his head up for air. Tried having him in, but a) he's arthritic and is a stiff bobbo when he comes out (day and a night, or just a long day in), b) he can be a complete g!t when he's been stabled, which as we have to cross a road to get to the summer field can be a bit hairy, and c) if he's in a paddock/not with his friends he goes hedge hopping (got quite a pop for a little lad!).

Thinking about it, when we first got LL there were over the average number of laminitis cases then. We had no idea he was prone as the seller didn't advise - we'd have still bought him, but we'd have been prepared and not put him in a big field full of grass! :mad:

It's interesting about the hind hooves being the worst affected. I wonder why that is. It's such a complex issue. Fascinating, but horrible.
 
MrsMozart said:
Just seen this. So sorry to hear he's off games. Good that the vet could get out though. What about pads on his soles if he needs to be out of the sandschool for any reason?

LL gets laminitis, but thankfully not had it for about four years now (I think! I've lost track of time...). He's proving sort of harder to manage though. Mild Cushings or similar metabolic issue, which has actually been better when we've left him alone to do his thing. We've tried a grazing muzzle, but he drops weight and when it's taken off he doesn't bring his head up for air. Tried having him in, but a) he's arthritic and is a stiff bobbo when he comes out (day and a night, or just a long day in), b) he can be a complete g!t when he's been stabled, which as we have to cross a road to get to the summer field can be a bit hairy, and c) if he's in a paddock/not with his friends he goes hedge hopping (got quite a pop for a little lad!).

Thinking about it, when we first got LL there were over the average number of laminitis cases then. We had no idea he was prone as the seller didn't advise - we'd have still bought him, but we'd have been prepared and not put him in a big field full of grass! :mad:

It's interesting about the hind hooves being the worst affected. I wonder why that is. It's such a complex issue. Fascinating, but horrible.
Click to expand...

It is such a pain to manage a lami prone horse. Thankfully, I have my mare stabilized, being in a small grassless pen during the day with soaked hay and out to graze at night. I am dreading the time when this may no longer work for her. I hate to see their quality of life deteriorate. Obviously, if it deteriorates to the point when they have little quality time left, for me, it will be time to make that very hard decision. No way would I keep a horse in for months on end, unless the prognosis was a good one. :(
 
Wagtail said:
It is such a pain to manage a lami prone horse. Thankfully, I have my mare stabilized, being in a small grassless pen during the day with soaked hay and out to graze at night. I am dreading the time when this may no longer work for her. I hate to see their quality of life deteriorate. Obviously, if it deteriorates to the point when they have little quality time left, for me, it will be time to make that very hard decision. No way would I keep a horse in for months on end, unless the prognosis was a good one. :(
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have it right with her Wagtail. And you're being very good with the sandschool. Sadly too many people are told 'that's the facilities and No! to pens being put up, etc.'.

LL had three months on box rest. The pedal bones had rotated in two I think. Again, rubbish memory, but it's on his x-rays. I wouldn't put him through any of it now. He's old. He's had a good life for the last six years since we've owned him (this month I believe!). He's learnt that humans aren't all out to get him, as in he's happy to be cuddled and groomed and generallly pampered. If he gets it again to any degree, then we'll have to say goodbye. Will worry about that later though - whatever is going on in his body seems to be holding all at bay and he's doing well these days :)

Fingers crossed for your lass and for the lad.
 
Sorry to hear about the Laminitis in your friends/clients horse.
Sadly Laminitis can be triggered off by so many different things and it is always usefull to attempt to determine what has caused it. In many cases it is good practice to immediately fit rubber frog supports to a horse with Laminitis. These are available from the Laminitis Trust Web Site (Robert Eustace). They may help to prevent rotation of the pedal bone and reducethe pain.
http://www.laminitis.org/fitting frog supports.html
Laminitis may be caused by Equine Metabolic Syndrome, Cushings Disease, Stress, concusion on the feet, an infection, emerging encysted small red worms etc. so it is usefull to have tests done to determine what caused it.
For pain relief vets may prescribe Finadyne for the first week and then bute.
The horse is best of on a thick bed (such as wood chips) in a stable although I believe in this case the horse has a respiratory disorder.
 
MrsMozart said:
Sounds like you have it right with her Wagtail. And you're being very good with the sandschool. Sadly too many people are told 'that's the facilities and No! to pens being put up, etc.'.

LL had three months on box rest. The pedal bones had rotated in two I think. Again, rubbish memory, but it's on his x-rays. I wouldn't put him through any of it now. He's old. He's had a good life for the last six years since we've owned him (this month I believe!). He's learnt that humans aren't all out to get him, as in he's happy to be cuddled and groomed and generallly pampered. If he gets it again to any degree, then we'll have to say goodbye. Will worry about that later though - whatever is going on in his body seems to be holding all at bay and he's doing well these days :)

Fingers crossed for your lass and for the lad.
Click to expand...

Thank you. And fingers crossed for your boy too! It really is a nasty disease.

OWLIE185 said:
Sorry to hear about the Laminitis in your friends/clients horse.
Sadly Laminitis can be triggered off by so many different things and it is always usefull to attempt to determine what has caused it. In many cases it is good practice to immediately fit rubber frog supports to a horse with Laminitis. These are available from the Laminitis Trust Web Site (Robert Eustace). They may help to prevent rotation of the pedal bone and reducethe pain.
http://www.laminitis.org/fitting frog supports.html
Laminitis may be caused by Equine Metabolic Syndrome, Cushings Disease, Stress, concusion on the feet, an infection, emerging encysted small red worms etc. so it is usefull to have tests done to determine what caused it.
For pain relief vets may prescribe Finadyne for the first week and then bute.
The horse is best of on a thick bed (such as wood chips) in a stable although I believe in this case the horse has a respiratory disorder.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Owlie. Yes he has COPD and so is best out as much as possible. The vet said that sand was even better than shavings as it gives a firmer support to the foot.
 
My horse had it in his hinds and he was exactly the same as you have described. He was back in work after 2 and a half months. He was really stiff behind and kept holding them up. He had it in his fronts too but much worse in the hinds.
 
Hope he's feeling a bit better today.

Wagtail said:
The vet said that sand was even better than shavings as it gives a firmer support to the foot.
Click to expand...
I believe the jury is out on this one and it depends on the sand. I'm not sure if you can fit these if he's shod but just in case you haven't seen them the EPS pads are often a big help for supporting the bony column and comfort.
http://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/Pads
 
Thanks. Already the horse is loads more comfortable and no longer looking like he's walking on hot coals. He is shod in front but not behind, which is maybe why he showed as being more sore behind. I have some styrofoam pads should he need them, but thankfully, the difference in him in only 24 hours is amazing.
 
Have just gone back on line and read this thread,realising this presentation was identical to my mare's(i put a thread in about hind limb laminitis at the weekend.Treated as laminitis initially but after blood tests and re examination it transpired she had tie up,so the opposite of your experience.Good luck with yours and hope he gets better soon.
 
That's interesting, wundahorse. Hope your boy is okay now. The gelding with lami here is so much better today, bless him. So hopefully we caught it early enough for him to have minimum recovery time.
 
No expert, but I was thinking virus, would cause tying up a bit, mucous, funny pulse and temp, and achy limbs. Positive that he has a good appetite still. Hope you find out what it is hun, fingers crossed its nothing serious x
 
Queenbee said:
No expert, but I was thinking virus, would cause tying up a bit, mucous, funny pulse and temp, and achy limbs. Positive that he has a good appetite still. Hope you find out what it is hun, fingers crossed its nothing serious x
Click to expand...

Thanks, QB. We have found out it is laminitis. Very atypical presentation, but laminitis none the less.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top