Laminitis Vs. Founder - Part 2 - Ask a Farrinarian

Dr. Brian Eitelman, DVM CJF, and Aggie Vet and Farrier Services provide veterinarian and farrier services in Parker, Elizabeth, Franktown, Castle Rock, Sedalia, CO, and Larkspur, CO. To learn more, please visit us at www.vetandfarrier.com
In this series, Dr. Brian discusses laminitis and founder in horses.
In part 2, we go over diagnosis of laminitis and founder, presentation (signs/symptoms) of laminitis and founder, treatment of laminitis, treatment of founder, causes of laminitis and founder, prevention of laminitis, prevention of founder.
These can include: lame horses, foundered stance, ice boots, cold therapy, equine metabolic disease, EMS, cushing's disease, grain overload, therapeutic shoeing, support limb laminitis.


Diagnosis
Laminitis is diagnosed by using hoof testers to locate pain along the hoof wall. It can also be detected by watching the horse move and stand in certain unnatural positions. Acute founder is, in general, a diagnosis made using xrays to see the downward rotation of the coffin bone. Horses with chronic founder will have visible changes to the hoof wall cause by the abnormal growth of that wall because of the separation of the lamina. This usually look like a hoof wall that if flare out like an elf shoe.

Treatment
As previously mentioned, laminitis “itis” refers to inflammation. So addressing laminitis in horses primarily involves reducing inflammation. Ice is great for reducing inflammation. Use ice boots or buckets to achieve prolonged icing. The key is TIME – icing for only a few minutes will not help. Use these treatments for as many HOURS as possible per day. This is one of the best things you can do!
Another treatment for laminitis is NSAIDs, like bute or banamine.
Deep bedding - sand or shavings - is VERY important in a horse with laminitis – at least above the fetlock joint. This disperses the pressure across the entire foot and allows the horse does lay down more comfortably for longer.
Lastly but no less important, is getting the veterinarian involved to address and begin correction of underlying metabolic conditions that may be at the heart of the problem. Correcting these conditions take time so please don’t wait.
Being a farrier, of course I have to mention hoof balance, but this is very important as well! Make sure that you have a competent, qualified farrier understands how to correctly balance your horse's feet. This if critical and not the time for the bargain farrier.
In the long-term, your horse will need more frequent hoof trimming, or said another way, shorter cycles.
Prevention
One big cause of laminitis and founder is a metabolic condition, such as EMS or PPID. Another is acute grain overload. These conditions all boil down to too many carbohydrates, or sugars, circulating in the body, and the horse’s body can’t process them all. As a result, this causes disruption in the bloodflow to the foot. When that bloodflow is disrupted, the lamina becomes inflamed (laminitis) or dies and starts to separate (founder). Weight plays a huge role in this. Many overweight horses have metabolic conditions that can lead to laminitis or founder, so it is critical to keep your horse at a healthy weight. Also, if your horse does have laminitis, its excess weight will put more pressure on the feet – making it worse! If your horse has one bad or injured leg, then it will naturally shift more weight to all the other legs. This can increase this risk of laminitis in its other legs. Take Barabaro as an example. His fractured leg was successfully fixed, however the time he spent putting more weight on the other back leg caused that leg to founder, which is eventually why he was put down.
So, what are the take away points?
- If your horse gets into too much grain, it can become a VERY big problem VERY quickly. You should always call your vet right away if this happens – you now know that colic isn’t the only risk from this.
- Don’t ignore possible metabolic disease in a horse. Address this before you have a major problem. Additionally, this is a critical step in managing laminitis/founder in both the short term and long term.
- Don’t let your horse get overweight.
- If your horse has one injured leg, put your horse in proper shoes or bedding that will help it to support all its legs evenly.

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