My Secret Shame: Laminitus!

[candycar]

A heads up for unusual presentation with no usual warning signs.

I'm a baaaad mommy. I let my mare Lexy get laminitus and founder! The "ordeal" has been going on for 2 1/2 months now. Despite 2 farrier and 1 vet visit (plus phone consult), It wasn't diagnosed until about 10 days ago. I can't believe I let it happen!

It all started in June when the minis were getting their rabies shot....We did Jelly Bean first,( no problem, "where's my cookie?") had Lexy tied to a post/ring on the fence line. Coco Puff was tied to the hitch rail. After JB, we did Lexy. She HATES needles! We didn't give her enough love'ins and time before the Vet stuck her. I was holding her lead, keeping her steady, when she shot forward. Slammed my hand into the fence and split it open like a ripe peach. When I saw tendons and blood, I left the scene saying "it's time for the ER but do CocoPuff first". After Coco was done and everybody unhaltered the vet wrapped my hand up and away we went to the VA ER.

Lexy was lame (right front) the next day. I wasn't feeling too good either. (I couldn't use my hand very well with stitches and all wrapped up) Soooo I let it slide, thinking she was just sore from the shot. A Week later she was still lame. Had the Farrier out, called the Vet. They couldn't tell anything, we just thought maybe she pulled a muscle or something during the "ordeal".

10 Days of bute and ulcer meds (under vet supervision) and no improvement.

I found a Vet that had a mobile X Ray. That's when we found out what the problem was. She had laminitus and slight rotation in her right front foot. Perscribed: Limited turn out with grazing muzzle,

a couple of more days of bute, another farrier visit, special boots (Soft Ride) and no walking on gravel without the boots.... Lexy is now on the mend.

About 1/2 way through all this (before the Xrays) I did put Lexy on Remission supplement and get her a grazing muzzle. She had gotten a little fat and cresty over the winter, and since we moved and got an actual pasture.

I beat my self up every day over this! How could I let it happen??? I checked their feet and pulse every day! I was so careful to introduce pasture slowly. They didn't get more than 6-7 hours at the most, during "non sugar peak" hours. Their dry lot is BIG, pea gravel, with a large area of limestone that was here when we bought the place.

Now I have to get rid of all the gravel !!!, haul dirt in, and keep Lexy on dry lot w/ limited pasture time. I have come to the conclusion that I need another mini (or 2) that can hande pasture. That way Lexy and Coco Puff (she could loose a few lbs) can stay on drylot while Jelly Bean and another mini can play in the pasture.

Sorry! Just had to vent and give a "heads up"! Not all lamititus is easy to detect.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I don't understand why you want to get rid of the pea gravel. deep pea gravel is very helpful to support the sole after laminitis and founder and during the recovery time once you have the flare up stable, pea gravel moves when they walk on it.

I would keep it and make it deeper so it isn't abrupt to walk on but supportive, it allows the hoof to make its own soft spot and gives less pressure on the toe and supports the sole.

I use 4-6 inches of pea gravel in my loafing area

I hate founder, its so mean. Don't beat yourself up, it isn't your fault.. It just happens.

http://www.thelaminitissite.org/articles/movement-good-or-bad

here is an article that mentions padding the feet and then mentions using pea gravel after founder during recovery time. During active laminitis, they recommend deep sawdust or shavings and no exercise.

I feed remission or quiescence to my horses that tend to get fat and cresty... all my turnout on grass is with a muzzle on, no free grazing. Neither of my boys can handle any extended grazing. For some reason this must be a bad year for founder, I have heard of so many horses that have had this problem, you are not alone. Best wishes...Hope it turns out ok.

 

[lucky seven]

Don't beat yourself up, I thought Seven had pulled a muscle this winter after a fall but it turned out to be laminitis with rotation in two feet. After losing a ton of weight he is feeling much better.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

My little mare has been back out in the paddock for around 6 weeks now and doing much better.

2 Months locked in a Stable/Yard was her only hope. She was very sore. I also thought she was in foal at the time so was on a little too much grazing space and a little too much green grass.

The driest Grass hay was all I had her on when locked up over the 2 months. I soaked it at the start to ensure the Sugar levels decreased......

I cut up a friends Yoga mat and used it for padding on the bottoms of her front feet. Only hope they don't ask for it back now lol.

Get her off anything that has sugar in it. Grasses, sweet feeds ect.

When my little one was well enough to return to the paddock I just introduced her slowly back to it.

You have to be cruel to be kind as they say....

 

[AngC]

I'd like to thank you for having the balls to post this, candycar.

My dirty little secret:

We gifted Baby--our young filly--with laminitis earlier this year, primarily because we made her massively fat....most of which was our fault, but some was somewhat due to me reading here on this forum and not exercising critical thinking. At the time, I sure would have liked some advice, but I just didn't have the nerve to put up with the crap you can sometimes get here. I think we got really lucky. Maybe sometime when I feel like I won't get slaughtered, I may type about it.

 

[AngC]

aww... what the heck. Slaughter me. This is what we did to Baby's feet:

http://www.horseyhouse.com/0BABY.jpg

http://www.horseyhouse.com/1BABY.jpg

Not sure what those mean; they were done by the vet to be used by our farrier.

 

[wingnut]

I agree, don't beat yourself up! Last year, I didn't even recognize my horse had come up lame until a horse friend came to visit. I just didn't notice she was walking more "stiff" in her step. We quickly stalled her in deep bedding, consulted with our vet, stalled her for a week, gave her banamine (vet approved, we keep paste on hand). I also had the vet come out to check her over and pull blood. The blood work came back showing insulin resistant.

So she's off-pasture 98% of the time with her full-blood sister while our other three get to go on the pasture most of the time. We've also allowed are pasture to go sparse by not reseeding and fertilizing the last couple of years (we will need to do so this year though). I have muzzles but both girls are experts at pulling them off. This girl has hers off in about 3 minutes flat. Her sister takes a little longer. I put the sister on the same "plan" even though she shows no symptoms, but because their genes are the same, I figure it would be best to do so.

Good luck! It can be managed, thank goodness.

 

[AngC]

I feel like a crumb-bag, and I would like to say I'm sorry. There's some really nice people here, and I sounded rude.

When something happens to one of ours, I beat myself up more than you all could imagine. I'm the human; I'm supposed to be smarter than the horse and take care of them. With Baby, I did not.

Baby is such a sweet little thing, and I made her fat and screwed her feet up. At the time, I didn't even want to ask the (non-internet) people I trust. Actually I didn't know who to trust; for example, if anyone was going to have laminitis, I would have expected it of Coco; I followed vet directions, (for the most part) but the stuff they told me to feed Coco looked like something we would have fed to pigs when I was growing up. I did sift out all the corn, but God help me I fed Coco pig-looking food just because it had a name brand on the bag and somebody told me to do it.

Anyway. sorry if I came across as rude.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I didn't think you sounded rude AngC. Just thought you were relating personally to the posting.

 

[wingnut]

AngC - can you tell me what I'm seeing in those xrays? The more we know, the better choices we can make.

Good luck with Baby!

 

[Marty]

Please don't feel so guilty. This happens to the most well taken care of horses. The grass here has been growing crazy this summer and its been very wet. I can't believe we have been out there mowing the fields every single weekend so mine couldn't go out on the grass more than 3 hours a day this summer, so I can see where 6-7 hours would have been too much in some parts of the county. You also aren't the first person that said their horse foundered right after a shot either. As far as the gravel, you don't need to get rid of it. Use it to Lexy's advantage. Keep in mind this can still turn around for you because you caught it right away which was great. Safe choice special care is really good and add that to no grass things should settle down for Lexy. Soak her, let her wear her boots and sending big hugs.

 

[AngC]

AngC - can you tell me what I'm seeing in those xrays? The more we know, the better choices we can make.

uhh-no I can't. ...other than they are Baby's front feet, which were apparently the most affected. I do not understand laminitis. I understand that there can be separation and rotation (sort of understand.) I posted those photos because the OP mentioned that she had found someone to take x-rays on-site, which is what we did. I didn't want to hi-jack her thread. So, I left out most of how it happened. The x-rays were shared between the vet and the farrier. We had insulation duct-taped to Baby's feet--changed every other day. And early on, the farrier, squirted some sort of dental impression material in her hooves, which lasted awhile. (The only side effect we had was thrush, which none of ours had before.)

To this day, I do not know if we screwed up Baby's hooves. She seems to run around ok, but? I don't know what I'm looking at on those x-rays.