White-line seperation.....feet people please

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Carlosmum

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Farrier came out yesterday to replace horse's shoes.... he had bad lammi in Autumn but is mostly sound now. When he removed shoes & pads & paired back some sole there was a small whole at horse's toe about 2-3mm wide & maybe 5mm long, "hmm seperation!" he said. But the rest of his sole was firm no soft spots & no obvious sign of pedal bone appearing, though he does have some rotation. My question is, Does this repair? Can i still ride him ( at walk on soft ground) as long as he is sound? Should I worry about infection? Farrier replaced leather pads & shoes. Am begining to panic again! :confused:
 
Generally when you have a problem like this you have to look at your overall management, so have you changed his diet to one with no sugars, this includes grass, in some cases it means no grass, just a bare paddock.
To remove sugars from hay you need to soak it for up to twelve hours, and the total amount of grub should be limited to make sure your pony is not fat, anywhere on his body.
He needs fibre and minerals, so a little feed with his mineral supplement is needed. Most people use Fast Fibre as a forage replacer, and maybe another mineral supplement for laminitics/poor feet.
You can lead out in hand provided he is not in pain, to be honest you really need to inspect the feet for changes every day, heat and so on, it might be worth while asking your farrier to call every three weeks to check him over and advise you.
I would not ride him until he has been sound for several weeks, and this is difficult to judge as if he is lame in two feet [bi-laterally lame], it is difficult to tell, I don't think gentle exercise in hand on a smooth tarmac surface will do any damage, I would build this up to 20 mins per day.
You don't mention type and size of pony, and the general condition of his feet, it might be worth taking a broader approach, to increase your awareness of feet, laminitics, feed etc.
See Rockley Farm http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/ for information and pictures, the videos are good, as they show you how your pony should be walking, ie landing heel first not toe first.
Make sure he is on deep bedding, and ask vet for advice re rotation, degree of lameness etcetera.
Unfortunately laminitis tends to be a chronic condition so you will need to be careful, the spring grass is full of sugars [fructans] and so it is frosted grass, so be prepared to restrict his grazing.
 
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I agree with the diet advice, but it will be difficult for you to monitor any improvement with the shoes and pads covering the white line.

Is it strictly necessary for the farrier to pare the soles? I'd be a bit worried about paring sole on a foot already compromised by laminitis. The fact that your horse needs pads on his feet also suggests that he needs his soles left alone ;).
 
Thanks guys... atm he's on no grazing, soaked hay, Baileys lo-cal, spedibeet & hi-fi kite. He's a 15 yo 15hh NF gelding prone to lammi but this has been his worst attack. Definitely has a sugar problem. Vet will xray again soon have been putting it off cos I haven't finnished paying for the last lot of bills. will speak to her & let her know what we found. If I succeed with the management will the situation improve?
 
My laminitic with some rotation has been able to come sound without any shoes, my farrier prefers to do it this way so that the feet can tighten up and the frog supports the pedal bone as it should, the pads and shoes will be making your pony more comfortable but may be hiding any problem that is still there.
I would be worried about infection in this area, if covered up it cannot get air to it or any treatment that will help keep it clear.
 
My horse has a hole in his foot that hasn't closed up where the white line has separated. He's never been lame but he points and the foot has altered shape. Its taken a few months to figure out as nothing shows on x-ray for a while but now the pedal bone has started to change the vet can tell he either has an odd, deep tissue infection or a keratoma. He's going for MRI and surgery next week so I don't have the full story yet. He never had lami though AFAIK.

IMO you need to tell your vet about the hole developing and follow their advice regarding riding. I always think the safest bet is not to ride when you know something's going wrong.
 
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Baileys lo cal has mollasses in it according to their website, as does hi fi lite and speedibeat!

If he has a sugar issue you need to sort the diet out. Just because it says on the label its suitable for lamis DOESNT MEAN IT IS!!!!
 
TigerTail said:
Baileys lo cal has mollasses in it according to their website, as does hi fi lite and speedibeat!

If he has a sugar issue you need to sort the diet out. Just because it says on the label its suitable for lamis DOESNT MEAN IT IS!!!!
Click to expand...

Speedibeet had molasses in? News to me...
 
Carlosmum said:
Farrier came out yesterday to replace horse's shoes.... he had bad lammi in Autumn but is mostly sound now. When he removed shoes & pads & paired back some sole there was a small whole at horse's toe about 2-3mm wide & maybe 5mm long, "hmm seperation!" he said. But the rest of his sole was firm no soft spots & no obvious sign of pedal bone appearing, though he does have some rotation. My question is, Does this repair? Can i still ride him ( at walk on soft ground) as long as he is sound? Should I worry about infection? Farrier replaced leather pads & shoes. Am begining to panic again! :confused:
Click to expand...

Sounds a nightmare for this horse.
 
If your horse suffered laminitis then there is bound to be some separation as the damage grows down. The important thing is to keep any further laminitis at bay and diet monitored, then healthy laminae will eventually grow down and you'll get rid of the separation.
 
Thank you Touchstone, thats what I wanted to hear!

I admit I hadn't realised Baileys lo-cal had molasses, have just spotted it on the label but no info about sugar %. Speedibeet is unmolassed acording to its contents. I'll check the Hifi bag when I go out to the yard later. He's been on this ration for several years & last Autumn was the first time the lami had reoccurred in 3 years. I put it down to the hot weather at the end of september & therefore high grass sugar, which I missed until it was too late.
 
TigerTail said:
Sorry sugar content wouldve been more accurate - it doesnt have added mollasses :)
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Ah right, ok. Yes, it's 5% sugar I think, but no starch (so combined NSC would be lower than, say, fast fibre). The digestible energy is quite high, though, so prob not the best thing if weight is an issue.
 
Every horse I have known with white line disease has not ended so well... I would feed your horse VERY little. The chances of infection are high so beware and do all you can to prevent it- maybe get a special boot or something??
 
Seedy toe is infected (fungus, yeasts and or bacteria) stretched white line. Diet as has been said is crucial. Sugars in grazing and hay must be addressed as well as bucket feeds. I'd soak the hoof in an apple cider vinegar solution 5 water to 1 part vinegar. With a shoe on packing etc. is impossible.
 
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