White limes disease?

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potty_4_piebalds

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The farrier came today and said my mini shetland has white limes disease in her feet and he will have to come back to dremmel her feet and pack them with antiseptic putty he couldnt do this today as he didnt have the putty with him.

Does anyone know anything about white limes disease?

What is it and what causes it?
 
It is white line, not white lime.

Try googling, there is plenty of info out there.
It is usually associated with laminitis but it doesn't always lead to it, so don't panic too much.
 
Im so stupid at times i wasnt really listening to him my little boy was running off with his dog chasing rabbits at the time so i just said yeah ok do what you got to do and just thought he said limes instead of line. dopey cow
 
I think he'll have meant white line disease often also called seedy toe. This is a problem with the white line of the hoof - the white line is the insensitive part of the lamellae that you can see lying between the hoof wall and the sole if you look at the underneath of your pony's feet.

My approach to treating white line disease is different to your farriers - white line disease only occurs in horses with unhealthy feet... where the lamellae have become inflamed, most commonly from too much sugar in the diet usually from grass (the spring grass is coming through so 'white line' disease is being seen more frequently now). When the lamellae inflame they can seperate from the hoof wall, creating a gap which allows dirt/debris and infecton/bacteria/fungus to get up inside the hoof wall. This is what is called white line disease.

The first thing you have to do is address diet - white line disease can be a precursor to a full blown laminitic attack later down the line. It's an early warning, if you like, that the feet are struggling. You need to reduce the sugar in the diet - by moving onto a starvation paddock or using grazing muzzles or restricting grazing by stabling or yarding during the day and also by stopping feeding any hard feeds that are high in sugar. Also cut out carrots and any Likit type things he might be getting. Without addressing diet you might get on top of this bout of white line disease but it will return.

Once you've got the diet sorted his feet will work to heal themselves. To clear the bacteria/infection already in the white line flush out with 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide daily. It is then a good idea to keep the area as clean as you can so turning out on a yard is preferable rather than a muddy field. I personally wouldn't let anyone take a dremel near any of my horses feet but it's pretty standard farrier practice - the idea being you open the area up to the air to aid in getting rid of the bacteria/fungus but in my mind you are just destabilising the foot and opening up into live tissue giving more opportunity for bacteria to invade the foot even deeper. Sorting the diet will solve the white line problem now and in the future.
 
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Just over a week ago she was showing signs of lami so she has been off the grass completely since then i had the farrier booked to come today so was just watching what she was eating and thought i would let him have a look and tell me what i should do which he has done and also found the white line disease.

she isnt having any feed apart from 1 carrot once a day just so i dont feel bad when i feed my old boy! and all through the winter she just had a small handfull of happy hoof. I never give treats or likkits to either of mine!!! she has half a big haynet of hay soaked which will last her all night and all the next day.

What can i give her instead of her 1 carrot at tea time? are apples better?
 
I wouldn't feed apples or carrots to any pony that has had laminitis, espectially one that was showing clinical signs of it just a few days ago.
 
Agreed - carrots and apples are a no no for laminitic horses. If you feel bad about feeding your other horse and not her then offer her something like a small amount of Fast Fibre but she won't hold it against you if you don't give her anything, as long as she's got her soaked hay she'll be happy.
 
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