Unexplained lameness - Some advice please

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Hungey

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I brought my pony in last night and was happy as a clam walking over to his stable on the grass however when we got to concrete he was rather lame walking just on concrete. I picked his hooves out and his frog felt rather soft and when I touched it he flinched a little bit so I thought he's perhaps bruised it or something. I popped some spray on and put him in for the night. As I got up this morning to turn him out he was very subdued in the stable and usually he's kicking the down down. I brought him back out and he was struggling to walk on the concrete again however was happy on the grass. I had another look at his frog and it had hardened up nicely and was no longer tender but he's still struggling to walk. I'm giving it a couple of hours to see how he goes however if doesn't improve then I will be calling the vet but I was just wondering if anybody had any advice as to what to do/look for and a possible why it might have happened? I have checked the field and there doesn't seem to be anything in it.
 
I would get him off the grass it sounds like it could be laminitis, do you know how to check for raised pulses? as he is struggling on the hard ground I wouldn't take any chances get him in its vital you catch laminitis early and give your vet a call today.
 
Pinkvboots said:
I would get him off the grass it sounds like it could be laminitis, do you know how to check for raised pulses? as he is struggling on the hard ground I wouldn't take any chances get him in its vital you catch laminitis early and give your vet a call today.
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I agree, get him off the grass now, it is often the first sign of laminitis when they seem fine on grass and obviously sore as soon as they step onto concrete.
 
Thank you for all the advice, we have just called the vet out and they shouldn't be too long but I'll get you all updated.
 
fraggle2 said:
How did you get on with the vet??
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Unfortunately it isn't the best outcome, he has been diagnosed with laminitis however the vet thinks he is extremely fair down the path of it. He was given an high dose of pain relief and the vet has said if he doesn't improve in 24 hours then we will have to put him to sleep. At the moment I'm just hoping and praying he's going to be alright but we've been given danilion (sp?) sachets to try and improve his pain but it's going to be a month box rest which I'm more worried about as he is an outdoors pony not a stable pony.
 
Sorry to hear this, but unless the pedal bone is poking through the sole, how can the vet know this without X rAying him?
Or, did he X Ray him?
Speak to your farrier too.
 
Spottyappy said:
Sorry to hear this, but unless the pedal bone is poking through the sole, how can the vet know this without X rAying him?
Or, did he X Ray him?
Speak to your farrier too.
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Yeah they have x-rayed him and took bloods aswell, my farrier was only out about 2-3 weeks ago and everything was fine it seems to have to just come on so suddenly which was the shock as it didn't even cross my mind about laminitis. But he's in so much pain and I would rather put him to sleep than have him live on pain killers the rest of his life as he rather crippled at the moment.
 
Sorry to hear that it is laminitis and that your vet has been rather full of doom and gloom. Unless this is long term, which is unlikely as yesterday you seemed quick to pick up on him struggling on the concrete and it sounds as if he has been fine until then, or if he has other issues which you have not mentioned I don't think it should be a case of 24 hours or pts without further investigations and xrays, some will be hopping with no pedal bone rotation other manage to cope with serious pain, we have no idea of the pain threshold of each individual so I would not give up too quickly.

As for managing to keep him in ask for some acp/ sedalin which will help relax him and keep him quiet as well as being beneficial for the laminitis, he will probably be fine while he is sore then start creating once he feels better so fingers crossed that is fairly soon.

I cross posted and see they have xrayed, is there rotation already? if not you may have caught it in time, the pain will be bad now but there is no reason to think he will need pain relief for the rest of his life.
 
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Do check out the link I gave you earlier
Laminitis shouldn't be a death sentence these days.
Once you have found th cause which,in most cases, is EMS, Cushing's or both, and correct trimming and diet, you should be able to bring him back to full health.
Has he had a realigning trim? If not,the will need one asap assuming that vet saw some rotation.
 
Try not to panic. He probably won't need painkillers long term, not for his feet anyway. Are his feet padded?
As above, a little sedation can help a horse thole box rest.
 
Some weeks ago One of my horses went out into the field at night absolutely fine be but came in the next morning crippled on the Tarmac. Suspected laminitis and put deep shaving bed down right up to the door. Vet was coming up that morning for another horse and confirmed laminitis so he was put onto one Danilon twice a day. Within 48 hours he was sound walking round his box but I kept him in for two weeks complete box rest and weaned him off the Danilon after 7 days. He was then slowly reintroduced to grass and has been absolutely fine since.

It does sound as though you have caught it very early and unless the x-Rays show significant rotation of the pedal bone it sounds as though your vet has been a bit doom and gloom. Many years ago I successfully got a horse through a serious laminitis attack where he had rotation in all four feet.

It is a very serious condition but it is possible to have a successful outcome.
 
Regandal said:
Try not to panic. He probably won't need painkillers long term, not for his feet anyway. Are his feet padded?
As above, a little sedation can help a horse thole box rest.
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Agree with this.
I know your diagnosis was a shock,but it seems very extreme to need to pts unless the bone has rotate through the sole?
How old is he, and do vet test for ems?
 
Hungey said:
Yeah they have x-rayed him and took bloods aswell, my farrier was only out about 2-3 weeks ago and everything was fine it seems to have to just come on so suddenly which was the shock as it didn't even cross my mind about laminitis. But he's in so much pain and I would rather put him to sleep than have him live on pain killers the rest of his life as he rather crippled at the moment.
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Sorry to hear this, what a rubbish outcome for you both :(

Is your pony older? I only ask because I've seen all but the oldest and those with pedal bones on the way through the sole given a chance on box rest. Soaked hay, shavings bed, bute and time, that's pretty much the lami treatment in a very basic nutshell.

Re being an outside pony, my little lad got concussive lami a few years back coupled with navicular changes so had 6 months box rest after previously being out 24/7, he coped suprisingly well. I had exactly the same panic as you beforehand.

Lami when fixed doesn't mean painkillers for the rest of their lives. Once the inflammation is gone, and the horse is sound, you don't need painkillers anymore.

I lost my oldest one recently to sudden onset lami, no X-rays were done, no treatment administered other than huge doses of painkillers over night until the next day when he got pts. He never got the chance at box rest, he was 30+ and to keep him for any length of time would have been cruel to him at his stage in life.

Hope it's a more positive outcome for you.
 
Also think its a bit of a weird vet decision, unless there's smething you haven't mentioned! Danilon at this stage is like paracetomol for a broken leg. He should have been given IV pain relief, and styrofoam pads taped onto his feet to get him comfortble at the very least.

I know how horrible it is to witness - we're 6 months down the line from a horrible acute laminitis - the mare was in such pain that she had to be sedated to bring her 4 steps out of the stable to xray her, and we're still plugging away at getting her right. It's not an easy ride, but at least we can say, hand on heart, that we've done absolutely everything we can to give ouir girl a chance.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice and kind words. Luckily my boy lives at home so I'm able to see him and check on him when I want too. He had bloods today to test for cushings so those results should be coming back in a couple a days. He's only 18 years old but the vet seems to think that this has been brewing for some time and suddenly come out. He's had x-rays and will be having them re-done in two weeks time but at the moment the vet is most concerned about getting him comfortable with pain relief. After 2 weeks he's then going to be taken off the pain relief and kept in for another 2 weeks to see how well he copes without it. Unfortunately at the moment it just seems to be a waiting game.
 
What did the xrays show?
If he has any rotation then your priority should be to begin correcting that asap.
Also, be aware that stress and pain can increase ATCH levels and so may affect the Cushing's test
 
_HP_ said:
What did the xrays show?
If he has any rotation then your priority should be to begin correcting that asap.
Also, be aware that stress and pain can increase ATCH levels and so may affect the Cushing's test
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There was some rotation to the bone and the vet is coming back on Monday to give us some foot pads to help with the rotation but he wanted to stabilise the pain as he was just so sore. Yeah he did explain that however he does think that he has cushings anyway due to the fact he's still struggling to loose all his winter coat on his belly.
 
If he's not padded up yet, he must be on a deep shavings bed. This will make him so much more comfortable and help support his feet.
How much Danilon is he getting?
 
Regandal said:
If he's not padded up yet, he must be on a deep shavings bed. This will make him so much more comfortable and help support his feet.
How much Danilon is he getting?
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He's on a really thick shavings bed at the moment that goes all the way up to the door so that's all sorted with the bed being on top of rubber mats so there's not a bit in the stable where he's standing on concrete. Tomorrow he's on 2 sachets twice a day and then from everyday after that for two weeks he's on 1 sachet twice a day.
 
OP- when our mare first went down with lami, we didn't pad her, but we did use a thick layer of kaolin poultice, then two nappies over the top and duct tape, to give her bit of support. If the vet can't come out and pad yours til Monday, is this something you could do?
 
Auslander said:
OP- when our mare first went down with lami, we didn't pad her, but we did use a thick layer of kaolin poultice, then two nappies over the top and duct tape, to give her bit of support. If the vet can't come out and pad yours til Monday, is this something you could do?
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Possibly I never even thought of doing that, it was such a shock yesterday that I could have lost my boy I was an emotional wreck! I have sorted him out this morning and he looks a bit brighter so hopefully he's feeling a bit better.
 
My farrier told me if my mare ever comes down with laminitis the first thing I must do, before I even call him or a vet, is roll up a thick woolly sock as tightly as I can and duct tape that under her frogs as support. He said if you can get support under asap it really helps minimise the damage so am surprised at your vet waiting two days to do this?
 
Hungey said:
There was some rotation to the bone and the vet is coming back on Monday to give us some foot pads to help with the rotation but he wanted to stabilise the pain as he was just so sore. Yeah he did explain that however he does think that he has cushings anyway due to the fact he's still struggling to loose all his winter coat on his belly.
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Painkillers will just mask the pain....the rotation needs correcting asap before it does more damage. Your pony will feel instant relief when this is done.
You need your farriers help.
Foot pads won't help with rotation but they will help support the hoof until the trim is done and should be on already.
Please read the link ...these people are experts in laminitis and anything related...it's all they do

http://www.thelaminitissite.org/laminitis.html

Get the early treatment right and there's no reason at all why your pony shouldn't make a full recovery.
I'm not saying ignore your vet but some still take a very old fashioned view of laminitis....we've come a long, long way from laminitis being the end of the world.
Find the cause...grass, EMS, Cushing's being the most likely, remove the cause and treat, xrays and realigning trim asap, box rest until pain free . if it's takes months on end then the cause hasn't been found and removed or treated.
Good luck
 
Procrastination said:
My farrier told me if my mare ever comes down with laminitis the first thing I must do, before I even call him or a vet, is roll up a thick woolly sock as tightly as I can and duct tape that under her frogs as support. He said if you can get support under asap it really helps minimise the damage so am surprised at your vet waiting two days to do this?
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I was taught this to .
BUt have a box of frog supports always at the ready .
You can use a solid pad of vet wrap .
This is not the only thread were we have seen posters descriding a very laid back approach by the vets to horses with laminitis
When one of mine had a stress induced laminitis the vet and the farrier worked right through a Saturday/ Sunday. to stabilise her and get her shod .
The shoes corrected the rotation and I am sure it was urgency that it was dealt with that meant she went back to a completely normal life .
 
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