Serious Laminitis - Experiences?

R

rachier

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 September 2007
Messages
184
Visit site
My friends mare has just been for xrays to confirm suspected laminitis, as her lameness had been disguised due to already having DJD in her knees really badly.

I encouraged her to get the vet as she was leaning back on her fronts, and her farrier had suggested a polutice as he thought an abcess was on its way.

When vet came he confirmed laminitis - stuff had been drawing from around her frog in the poultice - which was due to the pressure from inside her hoof from the laminitis - not good. Also her hoof wall was separating.... xrays have confirmed that her pedal bone is almost vertical and millimetres from a main artery.

The vet has suggested discussing with the farrier what can be done.... if nothing then PTS
frown.gif
. Even if they can relieve her pain (she is buted up constantly while being in) with remedial shoeing and pads she is only allowed one hour turnout per day for the rest of her life.

SHe has advanced DJD in her knees due to overjumping at a not very respectable riding school and her bones are crumbling together with distention of the knee due to fluid build up.

Its such a sad no win situation and i was wondering if anybody has any personal experience or advice i can give her as i have never had a horse with lami before.

Champagne and truffles if you got this far!
 
If I was in this situation, due to the other ailments she suffers, and the prospect of one hour a day outside for the rest of her life... I would PTS.

We have had two with life threatening Laminitis. One, 14.1hh cob type had it seriously and we considered putting down. She was otherwise entirely healthy and fighting fit. We gave her a chance and four years on she has no side effects from laminitis (though does now have other problems) but it happy as larry.

The other, contracted laminitis and already suffered with Navicular. He was intermittently lame with the Navicular anyway and after 2 months of fighting for him, with small successes and major setbacks (think 2 steps forward, 4 back), we came to the decision to have him put to sleep. He would never have been field sound again, and he would've lived his days buted up, stabled and generally not living. IMO a horse that can not live like a horse (to the extent which the owner can offer), does not have a quality of life.
After he was PTS the vet investigated his feet and there was not a chance he could have recovered.

It is such an awful disease and it was the reason we lost the aforementioned horse, the horse of a lifetime due to it, but I know that it was the only decision we could have made.

In view of her DJD, crumbling bones, distension etc, along with the seperation of the hoofwall, vertical pedal bone, in my honest opinion there is nothing else that can/should be done and it would be kindest to put to sleep.

It is a very sad story.

Kindest regards to you, your friend and the horse.
x
 
God how awful, i really feel for your friend. Its a tough decision to make and i would have to say i agree with the above i think i would have her PTS. If she is suffering already with this other problem.. it seems like having Lammi will only make her life even more harder.
I know that DJD is a gradual process - if im correct in saying it erodes the cartiledge and eventually ends up with bone on bone grinding. From seeing my pony have acute Lammi i saw how much pain he was in, and i have always said to myself that if he gets it that bad again i would not put him through it. He had given up the ghost but i carried on fighting for him as he was still young and could pull through and hes now living proof.

I really hope your friend finds a solution best for the horse. Wish her luck from me.
 
My 1st horse had lami severly and his pedal bones had also rotated. I spent a fortune on trying to get him right (not insured) and he was also sent to the Royal Veterinary College at potters bar. They wanted to remove his hooves and try and turn the pedal bones, but for this to happen he would have to be confined in a stable for 1 year or more.

I loved him very much, but was not prepared for him to go through so much pain and still have no guarantees that his quality of life would be any better at the end of it.

I brought him home with a black bag full of drugs but painfully had to make the decision after 3 days of him being home with me he had to be PTS.

Quality of life is everything to a horse/animal with out that they have nothing, it is a terrible decision but i would let her go and stop her suffering.
frown.gif
 
I have one who had acute laminitis two and a half years ago, and was then tested for Cushings, which was positive and he is now on Pergolide. He has rotation of the pedal bones and has stick on shoes. He has not had another attack and is out all day with his friends so has a good quality of life. I lost a pony earlier this year - he came to us with laminitis and in spite of everything the vet, farrier and I did - he just got worse and worse. After 5 months he was PTS.
In your friend's horse's case, I would have her PTS. She has so many other problems and with that degree of pedal bone rotation, she must be in a lot of pain.
 
My pony got laminitis almost 20 years ago when he was 8, that he was almost put to sleep it took almost a year to get him right. his bones had also rotated, sorry spelling not strongest point. although he has had few mild cases over the years. he is now sound with help with careful shoeing and is now still lightly ridden at 26 years of age.
 
One of our rescued shetlands has been suffering from very bad lami but is now off the danilon (sp?) and sound after serveral months of box rest/very limited turnout in tiny paddock. The only time she has problems is on stony ground as its a bit uncomfortable for her.

We could not have done it without our fab farrier! he has stuck with us all through and we owe her soundness to him!
grin.gif
 
Oh dear. I'm ever so sorry but any horses I've ever heard with that much rotation have all had to be ultimately PTS. Quite seriously this isn't what I ever want to think about or suggest and if someone said I would have to do this for Brandy I would be inconsolable, but horses aren't meant to be cooped up 23 hours per day and if she already has other issues that need attention it's hard to see how the DJD could be managed without aggravating the feet, and vice versa, and in the long-term, bute isn't kind on horse tummies either. I can't see any kinder alternative than letting her be free from what could be many years of pain.
 
so sorry for your friend and her horse - what a horrible situation to be in. i must agree though, if it was me, i would give serious thought to ending the suffering and PTS as it looks like even if successfully treated for the lammi the poor horse will never again have a normal life.
 
My welsh sec d who is 20 got lami, it was not noticed at first as she was on bute for athritis. She had none of the usual symptons she just started to walk funny on her front feet. We tried lily pads but they didnt make much difference. My first vet wanted to put her to sleep but I wanted to give her a chance.

I got a new vet and he said he had seen much worse recover. At the time she was on 2 bute a day which was the dose I thought I could give her. I discussed options with the new vet and we decided to increase her bute. This is not advisable but we thought it is better than her being in pain or pts immediatly. So at her worst my 14.2 welsh was on 2 sachet bute in a morning and 2 at night and sedalin gel. we had her x rayed and pedal bones had rotated with only a couple of mm to go. My farrier came next day and we had imprint shoes put on. These were really good. She moved quite funny in these for first wk but then got used to them. I gradually reduce the bute by about half a sachet a wk. I then kept her on half a sachet in a morning and half a sachet at night with acp tablets instead of sedalin as acp is a cheaper option. I kept her like this for about 4 or 5 months and had new imprints on every 4 wk.

The vet was always calling in if he was in the area and was always at the end of the phone to chat if I was worried about days when she wasnt as good as the day before. He explained that I needed to be really patient. I then dropped her bute altogether after about 5 or 6 months and 4 wk ago she had metal shoes on and I am hacking her out just walking. All in all it has taken about 9 months to get her back in work. It has been really hard and I thought i would never get on her again but she is so happy and loving going out riding but I really could not have done it without my vet!!! Oh forgot to mention I fed her small amounts of hay and hi fi lite. Nothing else. And after the first 2 months in a daytime i moved her into a barn in the daytime just with straw on the floor and hay to eat so she could walk around when she felt comfortable to do so!!!!! Good Luck to everyone out there it really is depressing to see your horse ill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top