Prevent laminitis or founder – beat it too!
What is laminitis? What is founder? They are almost the same thing. Laminitis is the inflammation in the feet that causes the problem of founder where the hoof wall separates from the inside of the foot.
It can be a life threatening condition affecting either just the front feet of the horse or pony or in bad cases affecting all four feet. In simple words, the bone of the foot is attached to the outer wall of the hoof by the laminae. I think of the laminae as being like velcro, sticking the bone to the outer hoof wall. In laminitis/founder, the velcro of the laminae collapses and in extreme cases the outer wall of the hoof can even come off altogether – excruciatingly painful. Even a mild case is extremely painful.
How do you know if your horse or pony has laminitis? They usually stand with their front feet further out in front than normal, leaning backwards. If you check the pulse in their feet, it is “bounding” – much bigger than normal, you can usually even see it.
With overweight ponies, their crest (the top arch of the neck) goes hard and stiff. If you try to wobble it form side to side and you can’t get much of a wobble, then they are at risk of laminitis – a diet is indicated!
Laminitis or founder is most commonly caused by sudden feed changes, including over rich grass or feeds, overweight ponies or horses and stress which can come from other lameness, travel sickness, retained afterbirth in recently foaled mares, drugs, confined spaces and general emotional stress. The drought here in Australia and the sudden end of that drought in most areas has increased the number of cases of laminitis.
Sudden Feed changes. Horses have digestive bacteria that are specific to the feed that they are eating. If we suddenly change that feed, whether it be a grass change (i.e. sudden grass growth or changing districts) or a change in the type of hay (i.e. grass hay to lucerne hay) then some horses and ponies are at risk of laminitis. These bacteria that aid digestion are why horses who change districts almost always lose weight. That’s also why we don’t change horse’s hard feeds suddenly – we add new ingredients in small amounts and increase slowly, ideally over a period of about three weeks.
I found during the drought that it took a bit of planning to keep my horses’ feed consistent. For example, oaten hay was readily available, so I kept that constant all the time. The grass hay was quite variable in quality and type and beggars couldn’t be choosers – so I fed out the grass hay at the same time as the oaten, so that the horses had some consistency. That was the best I could do under the circumstances.
Overweight. Overweight is a major cause of laminitis/ founder in horses. However, we need to consider a number of issues when we are putting them on a diet. First is that the horse’s system is designed for them to constantly graze. So starving them in a yard with no food is not the answer. Not being able to graze has been identified as the major cause of stomach ulcers in horses. So starving can just change one set of problems for another! One year old, plain grass hay (not clover!) that is not so nutritious as this year’s hay, is one answer. Soaking the grass hay in water for a little while is another answer. I would cheerfully use oaten hay for dieting ponies, after shaking a little to get any oats out! I would not use lucerne hay or chaff at all.
On the one hand we need to restrict the amount they can eat, on the other hand locking them in a small space decreases their circulation, which in itself can cause physical problems and emotional stress. I’ve found the most practical place for my dieting ponies has been a long, narrow lane way. Plenty of room to get up a gallop and a play, without too much grass. Someone to play with is also important and promotes them running around, which is good for them! Fencing off a long narrow strip of grass with an electric fence also works, but you have to be careful if you’re adding new grass that you are not suddenly changing their feed!
Travel sickness/ stress. I’m sure that some people think that I’m a little over the top, but I travel no longer than 6 hours in any one day and unload my horses every two hours and take them for a pick of grass – even on the side of the road or at the back of a service station. I can get away with that because my horses are good float loaders, happy travellers and have excellent manners on the end of a lead rope. The exception to the 6 hours rule would be in one of those fabulous trucks with the new you-beaut suspension. Although I had my beautiful race horse arrive from Darwin in one of those good trucks travel sick and with severe laminitis. I have noticed that even 6 and 1/2 hours seems to take them over the limit of an easy recovery when travelling in a horse float (trailer).
Stress is a major factor in laminitis/founder. So where is the stress coming from? One source can be the human horse relationship. I personally had no idea how much stress our relationship was causing and I considered myself a progressive horseman! The beautiful new book “Bobby’s Diaries – Straight from the Horse’s Mouth to You” shows you how you can hear your horse in an extraordinary way and how you can use that for the sort of relationship that you probably only dreamt about (if you were like me, that is). If you use the philosophy and techniques in this book and it doesn’t reduce your horse’s stress, then I’ll personally give you your money back!
So what can you do if your horse has laminitis/founder?
- Get a good hoof trimmer immediately. Click here for information about feet trimming that will dramatically decrease your horse’s or pony’s pain and maybe even save his or her life. Click on the founder heading on the left hand side and print out and take it to your vet or farrier. I’ve had a horse crippled from founder who could move around relatively easily as soon as their feet were trimmed properly.
- Get them into a laneway, with little or no grass (mow it if you have to), with another horse to help them run around.
- Feed them simple year old, grass hay or soak the grass hay in water before feeding out. They need food to keep their stomach operating properly, but it can’t be too rich.
- Treat their normal paddock with lime and dolomite. According to Pat Coleby, properly balanced grass/paddocks can’t give a horse founder. I’ve personally never been game to test that out, I watch the pony’s weights carefully! Never fertilise a horse’s paddock with super phosphate!
- In my area of Australia I would be adding these minerals to some oaten chaff -seaweed meal, sulphur powder, dolomite, apple cider vinegar and copper pipe into their water. And maybe a little Vitamin C because although they normally manufacture their own, at times of stress they can do with a bit extra.
- You know, I’ve been trying to figure out how to express this next bit so that you buy this book and don’t miss out on the sheer wonder of such an amazing connection with your horse. Like other readers, this will probably be a book that you will read over and over again. There’s so much information in here that you can’t take it all in at once, because it contains the secrets of the great horsemen and women (even if they don’t know it!)
- While your horse is recovering from founder, you could make beautiful use of the down time to create a relationship so beautiful that it will bring tears to your eyes. Click here to get the amazing electronic book Bobby’s Diaries – Straight From the Horse’s Mouth to You
- In a really bad case, this is my area of expertise, so contact me for a hair analysis/healing to help with options.
