warm feet

[ThomasTank]

The lami pony I have been given keeps getting very slightly warm feet, mainly hinds. She isnt lame and the farrier says her feet are good and doesnt appear to have had lami since my friend and I have had her.
One day they are a little warm , the next day they are cool and the next they are quite warm, then all four feet are warm and the next, they are cold.

Any ideas??

 

[brightmount]

I would be a bit cautious with the autumn grass coming through. I would be supplementing with magnesium, either as CalMag (calcined magnesite available from feed merchants) or magnesium oxide (available on ebay). It helps to counteract the effects of rich grass in LGL (low grade laminitis).

Check for raised digital pulses each day, and take off the grass if necessary.

Unshod feet are usually warmer than shod as they have increased blood flow. You have to get to know what's normal for your pony.

 

[ThomasTank]

Perhaps it is her un shodness that is the thing then.
She is not on grass atm, just a bare paddock and last years hay.
She is completely sound

The warm feet were puzzeling me

Thankyou for your reply

 

[mrsbloggett]

My pony suffered a pretty bad attack of lami last summer & it has been touch & go for a year. I'm absolutely obsessed with checking heat / pulses in the feet. I've found the heat in particular flucuates(sp) alot through the day.

If you take a look at the Laminitis Trust website and their recommendations for spotting lami they suggest you shouldn't take too much notice of heat alone, its heat with a bounding pulse that you need to keep a look out for.

Keep up the regime of bare paddock and old hay - even better if you soak it for 12hrs and supplement the loss of minerals & vits with a broad spectrum supplement or low calorie feed balancer.

 

[vhf]

For a test we once went round a stables of 30+ horses and ponies of all ages and stages - 2 had cold feet. None had any significant illnesses or problems at the time.
Mine varies widely and has feet the farrier drools over...
It's a case of know your neddy...

 

[ThomasTank]

Thankyou for your replies everyone

Perhaps I am being a little obsessive about it

Perhaps it is just 'her' !!

She wont be allowed out of her patch until we have had a good few frosts and my OH says he cant mow his customers grass anymore as its stopped growing

 

[TGM]

Feet vary in temperature from day to day for a whole host of different reasons. I would pay more attention to the digital pulses than to the temperature of the foot.

 

[ThomasTank]

I was going to text you but didnt want to harass you

Can you give me a step by step guide and a map to her digital pulse

 

[TGM]

You need to locate the digital arteries, which are on the inside and outside of each leg at the level of the fetlock and pastern (diagram above shows where to feel but worth asking farrier to demonstrate at next visit). Use your fingers (not thumb) to feel on the inside and outside of each leg, toward the back of the midpastern or fetlock at the level of the sesamoid bones.

A normal horse should have a pulse that is very slight or difficult to feel.

A strong digital pulse doesn't necessarily mean it is laminitis, but indicates some trauma in the foot whether it is laminitis, abscess, bruise or whatever.

 

[ThomasTank]

Perfect, thankyou

Tom is coming on 30th Oct, so I will pick his brains too

I am going to print you off and put it in our feed room