Ongoing laminitis - no change for 5 weeks, wtd?

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shellyhardwick

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Hello everybody!
My 12yo mare went lame overnight 5 weeks ago. Vet came out that morning and diagnosed laminitis, heat and pulses in all 4 feet, worse in front. Thevet returned the same afternoon and put frog supports on and took xrays which showed no rotation of the bones.
A specialist farrier came out the next day with the vet and she had plastic imprint shoes put on her front feet. The pulse and heat was much less on her back feet so the hind shoes were removed.
She has been on box rest since then, deep bed of shavings and having bute/acp daily.
The vet took more xrays on friday and there is still no rotating or moving of the bones but she is still no better thanshe was at the start. Some days the heat and pulse feel like they have reduced but a day or so later they go back up again. She does not stand with her feet out like a laminitis horse but struggles to move around in the stable and finds it very hard to get up when she lies down.
I feel like I should be doing more to help her but don't know what I should be doing next? Should she be improving by now?
 
Has the vet tested for cushings/EMS? Have you got her on a sugar free, soaked hay diet? I had my mare on detoxing herbs for weeks - had I known about the detoxing properties of turmeric I would have put her on that to rid her body of toxins.
Is your horse overweight? Do you know the cause of the attack?

My mare was also on 20 paracetomol a day to control the pain. Ask you vet about that.
One would expect some sort of improvement after 5 weeks - I know that my vet did.
 
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Diet is crucial. If you aren't soaking the hay in fresh water each time then do. If you are, along with rinsing, then try soaking again in a clean batch of water and possibly find a different supply if that helps. Have a look at the emergency diet on this link. http://ecirhorse.org/index.php/ddt-overview/ddt-diet

Have bloods been taken for PPID (Cushings)? Here's another link that will be useful.
http://www.thelaminitissite.org/

ps. I would not feed any compound feeds and certainly no treats at all. Feed lots of soaked hay and supplement as per emergency diet at this stage. Don't restrict hay but use measures to slow down intake if she is overweight. Make sure no one is sneaking her feed or treats.
 
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OP I meant to also add - sorry to hear that your mare has laminitis - it's a horrible condition.

It's good that there is no rotation or sinking which my poor mare had and the bigger they are the less chance of recovery when that happens. Laminitis is very painful though so the spaced out pain meds and the deep supportive bedding are quite vital imo. I wonder if cold tubbing may help as it is suggested that standing laminitics in a cold stream or river if you happen to have one on your land is beneficial. I expect this would constrict the blood supply in the first instance and maybe help with pain management.
 
as others have said diet is key but I suspect as the vet and farrier are involved that you are aware of that.

imprint shoes don't suit all horses I have seen 3 that were worse or no better with them on and when they were removed there were instant improvements. my cousins pony had them put on one afternoon and was so much worse he had them taken off the next day-it may be worth discussing with vet and farrier taking the imprint shoes off.

good luck it is a horrible condition
 
Second the getting her tested for cushings.

Tips from past experience with lami...
- Soak hay for 12/24 hours in fresh water each time. If using haylage, get the blue (or if poss purple as it's even better) horsehage.
- Check ALL feed for molasses, and alfalfa (some horses are affected by alfalfa, making them more sensitive to sugars). Mine improved once we took her off Hi-fi lite (with alfalfa in) and popped her on a tiny bit of speedibeet for her supplements instead.
- Ask around on your yard - has anyone been feeding your horse treats? Pop a sign on the door requesting no treats, no leftover hay/haylage/other horse's dinners please.
- What condition score is your horse? If overweight, aim to reduce that gradually as it'll help.

Best of luck, hope you see an improvement soon.
 
Tbh, with a horse that isn't responding I wouldn't feed haylage at all, it can be too acidic and ? high in protein for some. Removing the shoes is something to bring up with the vet but support the hoof (sole and pedal bone) with the deep shavings bed (covering the whole stable)as you have been doing.

Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks everyone!
She is not overweight at all, the farrier gave me the link to the emergency diet as posted above. He also thinks (from looking at the xrays) that she has had it before but some time ago before I got her.
I am soaking hay as wt. She is on a very big livery yard with a lot of children about so I will make sure everyone knows not to feed her any thing else and I will ring the farrier and ask about the shoes and the vet is coming to the yard later today anyway
 
Sorry to hear about your horse its a horrible condition my old mare came down with lami when she was 22, I agree with what the others have said, get the cushings and ems test done, any horse that goes down with Lami I would insist on this they dont have to be overweight to suffer from cushings, is she not getting any pain control? My horse was on bute and acp for quite some weeks, I am going back about 5 years so things may have changed some what but would have thought she would need something to make her comfortable.
 
She is on bute and acp. The vet took a blood test on the first day which was clear. I am not sure if that was for cushions or ems but I will find out today
 
It should have been for PPID ( Cushings) as EMS test is more specialised ( fasting, glucose etc before and after bloods).... Diet as amandap said, is vital, check out the laminitis site for diet requirements and I put a note outside my stable door saying please do not feed or treat this horse, lamintic and on drugs! Polite but to the point :)
Dont worry if tests come back positive, it is all manageable, the website had plenty of good info to help you.
 
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