some advice please- laminitis & barefoot

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howcrazyami

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My 6 year old mare was diagnosed with laminitis a month ago, after a mistake in her mix meant there was 40% of maize in it instead of 10% coupled with a long ride and an extremely hot day, which according to the vets provoked the laminitis
She has been barefoot all her life, although my farrier has tried consistently to convince me to shoe her since she was around 3 years old.
Yesterday he came to trim her to make sure her feet grow in the right direction because of the laminitis, and tried his hardest to get me to shoe her, although the vets said not to shoe her until 3 months have passed since the diagnosis of laminitis. Today she is quite lame after being trimmed
I have a pair of boa hoof boots and gaiters that I was planning on using to give her support (these- http://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/boa_horse_boot/boa_boots.aspx), but my farrier says they are useless!!
I´ve known my farrier for 20 years & he is quite good but he is very resistant to change and to barefoot trimming

What should I do? Should I shoe her, even though I wanted to keep her barefoot? Does anyone have any experience of barefoot horses with laminitis?

In my part of Spain it is very difficult to find a good farrier
 
Unless they require emergency shoeing usually with frogs supports or heartbars to help prevent/ correct rotation, which in your case seems unlikely as the vet has not suggested it, then most will be best unshod so they have their own support system in place at all times, they may need to be trimmed very frequently as they tend to grow very quickly after a bout of laminitis, as much as every 2 weeks to prevent the toe becoming too long so in my experience being bare will help.
One of mine did have a couple of weeks in hearbars to support him, my farrier took them off as soon as he could and prefers to deal with them unshod if at all possible but he is generally very helpful and supportive of all of my horses being unshod, normal shoes will not give support they will just make the horse appear better for a while, being bare will allow you to be much more aware of how her well her feet really are recovering.

Boots will allow her to be comfortable when you have to start walking her and will be better for her if in the long term you want to stay bare, it helps that you know why she got it so this should if you are careful be a one off and relatively easy to manage or prevent in the future.
 
She's your horse, so if, when well, she is happy unshod and coping with the level of work that you want her to do, then you don't have to shoe her.

RE the laminitis, the Vet doesn't want shoes on her at the moment, so follow their advice. I've never known anyone shoe a BF horse during a laminitic episode - you want to support the frog and sole, not suspend them in the air. So a deep bed, or sand surface is good. Boots can be useful, though you may need to put some pads in to keep her comfortable and supported. I hope that she recovers soon.
 
Your farrier sounds very old fashioned. I would listen to your vet. boa boots are good but you'll probably need some padding too.
Try posting on the EMS, PPID Cushings and laminitis group UK Facebook group. The lady that runs that is from France and understands and has helped people with the difficulties of awkward vets and farriers.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice. I tried the boots today (with the gaiters) and she seemed very happy in them although I will try to buy some extra padding as soon as possible!
 
Maybe Google Marc Ferrador? He is in Catalunya, but may have connections to other Spanish farriers who are a bit more progressive :) A Spanish farrier trimmed my horse in Scotland a few months back, fantastic guy called Yoann Brochard (also Catalunya I think). There's also Fundación Appaloosa Barefoot in Casares, I think. All would probably offer advice on who would be close to you :)
 
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