Laminitis & Founder

   An episode of laminitis is a very serious occurrence that can strike without warning and cause devastation for your Horse. Sadly, by the time your Horse is showing symptoms of pain, the damage has already started to unfold and may worsen without timely and proper treatment. Laminitis is a true emergency and requires immediate Veterinary and Farrier attention.

   If your horse seems hesitant to bear weight properly and is walking in very short steps, please call your Veterinarian and Farrier. Other warning signs may include an increased digital pulse and/or increased hoof temperature signaling inflammation within the hoof capsule. The laminitic stance is identifiable when the front legs are affected because the horse will try to relieve pain by placing his hind legs well forward, under the belly to unload his weight. Knowing these symptoms is critical during an emergency situation and can help you seek treatment while time is on your side. An acute case usually requires pressurized support to the coffin bone and relieving of stress and leverage on the hoofwall and internal laminae.

   Laminitis is named for the inflammation and loss of blood flow that occurs within the interdigitating laminae of the hoof. The laminae collectively form a network of blood vessels, nerve bundles, and keratin that acts to anchor the coffin bone to the hoof wall. This arrangement gives vascularization and attachment to the coffin bone. Unfortunately, when inflammation occurs, the laminae become damaged by a process that still remains unknown. What is known is that the damage can be severe and deadly, and can occur with or result in systemic and metabolic failures beyond the mechanics of the hoof. Many people know someone who had a Horse that was euthanized during an acute laminitis episode. Fortunately, horses can survive laminitis and have greater success when given immediate Veterinary Treatment and Farrier shoeing. The people whom you call upon during an emergency should be experienced in the modern treatment of laminitis.

   The complications of this sudden onset disease can occur rather fast and render the hoof in a state of chronic laminitis. This is accompanied by severe changes in hoof appearance. It occurs when ground reactive forces put excessive pressure on the toes and frayed lamina. This causes abnormal widening and severe distortion at the toe and white line. This is why many Laminitic Horses abscess or require that the decayed hoofwall be removed, resectioned, and later rebuilt. Using therapeutic shoeing and hoof rebuilding is integral to the Horse's recovery and prevention of Founder.

   Founder is the crippling condition that results when the laminae begin to weaken and lose hold of the coffin bone. This causes the coffin bone to rotate, the bony column to sink, or sometimes both. If caught in early stages, Veterinary intervention, therapeutic shoeing, and metabolic balance can help prevent severe problems. The damage worsens when the hoof capsule rotates away from its correct position. There are a variety of highly specialized therapeutic applications to make your horse more comfortable and to treat and many times, reverse the mechanical damage of Laminitis and Founder. We support the use of positive pressure heart bar shoes, liquid gel insoles and custom frog molds, shock absorbing urethane shoes, aluminum therapeutic shoes, hoof casting on barefoot hooves, and custom Steward Clogs. Each method is unique in the benefits they provide and the needs they address. I will recommend what is best suited to your Horse's X-rays and/or case history. Allow me to discuss these options with you at our consultation. I will gladly work alongside your Veterinarian when asked.

   I firmly believe in shoeing with precise methods to support the soft tissues and coffin bone, especially for very progressed cases. For Founder and Sinker cases, I use Dr. Esco Buff's Radiographic X-ray Collection Form to evaluate your Horse's needs and track his progress so we can make the greatest impact with cutting edge treatment.