If you notice that your horse is behaving unusually and is walking in a somewhat odd manner, it's a good idea to get your horse checked for laminitis. This disease can affect horses at any age, and you should recognize the symptoms. If you don't know the signs and how to treat laminitis, this article will help you.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Recognizing Laminitis or Founders
Step 1. Understand what laminitis actually is
Laminitis is a disease that causes lameness in horses. Previously this disease was associated with overweight ponies. However, now the disease affects horses of all ages and sizes.
- As a result of this disease, the lamina attached to the pedal bone in the horse's hooves weakens. The horse's pedal bone is detached from the inside of its hoof. Because of this, the pedal bones can twist and sometimes even pierce the horseshoe. If the bone penetrates the poultice, this is called a "founder".
- This bond is formed from a dead layer and a sensitive living layer, such as the nail and nail bed. This release occurs when the bonding layer is broken.
Step 2. Look for early symptoms of laminitis
The initial symptoms of laminitis are called the acute stage. In this stage, the horse has developed laminitis, but the hooves have not fallen off.
- Pay attention to the horse's mood. Your horse may look lethargic, and have a reduced appetite.
- Horses will be reluctant to move because just walking is painful. The way the horse stands may also be different from usual because it tries to avoid pain in the legs. For example, a horse may push on its front paws to relieve pain.
- Watch for changes in gait, for example, the horse cannot turn easily, especially on hard surfaces. Even if the horse appears calm when walking on soft surfaces, its gait may change on hard surfaces. In addition, the horse can change its pedestal frequently.
Step 3. Check for changes in the horse's hooves
The growth of the horse's hooves may vary and create odd rings. In addition, the white part may grow larger than normal in the ring. You can see the horse's hooves peeling and brittle around the edges.
Also, feel the horse's hooves as they may feel warm to the touch. This indicates the early stages of laminitis
Step 4. Check the horse's increased heart rate and respiratory rate
When a horse enters the early stages of laminitis, its heart rate and respiratory rate will increase. The heart rate will rise to 60 to 120 beats per minute, while the horse's respiratory rate will rise to 80 to 100 breaths per minute.
Step 5. Check for subacute symptoms in the horse
The subacute stage of laminitis is when the disease has lasted more than three days, but the nail still hasn't fallen off. At this stage, the symptoms of the disease are not very obvious, but the signs are still the same as the symptoms in the acute stage, such as increased heart rate and changes in gait.
Step 6. Look for changes in the way the horse stands
The horse's legs will hurt so the horse will try to transfer its weight. For this reason, horses usually lean back and place all their weight on their heels. As a result, the horse looks like it is leaning backwards. In addition, we will have difficulty moving the horse because the horse is reluctant to move if it has found a comfortable standing position. The chronic stage begins when the horse's hooves fall off.
Watch for horses that want to rest. If the horse wants to lie down or rest more often than usual, it is possible that the horse has laminitis. In addition, if the horse refuses to leave its stable, or refuses to walk, it is likely that the disease has reached a chronic stage
Part 2 of 3: Treating Laminitis or Founders
Step 1. Call your veterinarian immediately
Explain in detail the results of your monitoring to the doctor. Take the horse's body temperature and respiratory rate, as well as the horse's heart rate. Every horse master should have a stethoscope and rectal thermometer and know how to use them.
Step 2. Do not force the horse to walk or move
If your horse shows signs of lameness, don't force it to move. If your house is far from the doctor, it's best to move the horse with a trailer. Place plenty of wood shavings (up to 5-7.5 cm thick) in the cage. These wood shavings will provide cushioning for the horse to relieve some of the pain.
Step 3. Do a few things to ease the pain your horse is experiencing while waiting for the vet
Do the following before the vet arrives to make the job easier and ease the pain the horse is experiencing.
- Use cold therapy. Cold therapy for horses is the same as for humans. Apply ice to a horse's leg like a injured knee or ankle in humans. You can use a manure tub with ice and water or use an ice bot to cool the horse's paws. Do not refrigerate the horse's paws for more than 30 minutes.
- Give pain relievers NSAIDs (nonsteroidal) These pain relievers will also help reduce inflammation. You can give horses Equioxx, Danilon, or Phenylbutazone ("Bute"). These drugs should not be given if the horse is on steroids. The combination of drugs and steroids will be dangerous for the horse. Always consult a doctor before giving prescription drugs to horses.
- Treatment for laminitis varies, depending on the severity of the condition, but horses will usually start treatment with Phenylbutazone, which is a strong anti-inflammatory. If accompanied by appropriate leg support, the pain in the horse can be alleviated.
Step 4. Let the vet diagnose your condition
Your veterinarian will still check for the symptoms listed above even if they are trained to recognize the symptoms of the disease. The vet will also take X-rays to examine the interior of the horse's hooves.
Ask how long you have to give your horse anti-inflammatory drugs. When giving a horse medication, such as Bute, you may need to skip a day after a week has passed
Step 5. Ask about acepromazine
This medication can increase blood flow to the lamina, which helps the horse's condition in some cases. This medication can also anesthetize the horse to a certain degree to help calm the horse and prevent the horse from injuring himself further.
Step 6. Get an orthopedic farrier (a person who has additional qualifications to treat conditions such as laminitis by correcting horseshoes) to assess the horse's condition
They can relieve the pressure from the horse's feet by wearing special shoes. They can also judge the suitability of the horse's shoes. You have to be careful when doing this yourself because if done carelessly, the angle of the horse's toenails can be skewed and even make the pedal bone pop up the horse's paw more quickly.
You can cut thick foam to the size of the horse's hooves. The foam should be thick enough to provide cushioning for the horse's legs
Step 7. Investigate the possible cause of the disease to prevent it from reoccurring
Laminitis is sometimes caused by horses being overweight and eating fresh grass. However, other factors can also cause laminitis, for example other diseases. This disease is still being studied by scientists because the mechanism and the best mode to treat this disease are still not fully understood.
One important test when looking for the cause of this disease is to test the horse's blood sugar levels because one of the risk factors for this disease is too much sugar in the blood
Part 3 of 3: Preventing Laminitis
Step 1. Don't overfeed your horse with starch or sugar
Certain grasses are too sugary for horses, which are unable to digest starch. Weeds in spring and fall are often too sugary. In addition, the grass that grows on the farm is too sugary. Although experts still don't know the cause, excess starch in the horse's body can cause laminitis.
Avoid feeding horses grass on farms, and also avoid leaving horses in pasture immediately after frost. In addition, grass trimmed too short is too sugary for your horse
Step 2. Limit cereal consumption
Although horses can eat some cereals, don't give too much. You should limit the supply of cereals that are rich in sugar syrup. In addition, wheat can cause excess starch in the body so that horses develop laminitis.
Do not feed more than 1.4-1.8 kg of cereal at a time
Step 3. Watch for symptoms of laminitis after infection
Infections in other parts of the body can also cause horses to develop laminitis. For example, a horse that does not expel all the placenta after delivery may develop an infection. As a result, horses can develop laminitis.
Other diseases can also cause laminitis, for example Cushing's disease. Watch for symptoms of laminitis if your horse has Cushing's
Step 4. Look for laminitis after administering corticosteroids
If the horse has recently been given steroids, make sure you look for symptoms of laminitis. You should look more carefully if the dose of steroid given is quite large.
It should be noted that steroids and bute should not be given together as this can be life threatening. If your horse has poststeroidal laminitis, always consult your veterinarian before administering bute for pain relief
Step 5. Prevent horses from racing on hard ground
Another factor that can cause laminitis is forcing the horse on hard ground, such as concrete. In addition, horses that are overweight can suffer from laminitis because the extra weight puts a strain on the horse's tread.
Step 6. Keep the horse's hooves short
If you don't keep the horse's hooves long, the legs will be too heavy. This load can injure the lamina, which then causes laminitis.
Use a farrier to keep your horse's hooves short. In addition to keeping the horse's hooves short, the farrier will be more competent in determining whether the horse has laminitis
Warning
- While you may hear opinions from other employers or horse trainers, don't delay treatment until you have to call a doctor. The sooner the problem is resolved, the greater the horse's chances of getting a positive result.
- If your horse is unable to stand or if a coffin's bone falls through the tread, your horse will be forced to live.
