About Laminitis

Part One

Laminitis is a terrible condition that afflicts many horses – particularly in spring. Some equine rehabilitation experts argue that all horses suffer from bouts of laminitis from time to time. It is incredibly painful for the horse and can have a long recovery time. If you don’t address the cause of laminitis then it doesn’t matter how you trim the horse, or what type of shoe you apply, it will get worse.

Traditional treatments for founder currently recommended by most vets and farriers tend to involve drugs and shoes. Barefoot practitioners usually recommend a different treatment. This is not new information. Barefoot practitioners have been treating laminitis this way for well over ten years now. The techniques have developed from somewhat crude, experimental methods on horses that were about to be euthanised, to a much less invasive techniques that can be used with the help of new pad and boot technology specifically designed for treating this type of lameness.

The following article, in two parts, outlines why we do it differently from vets and farriers.

Laminitis (or founder) is inflammation of the lamina. The lamina is the rubbery material that connects the inside structures of the hoof to the wall. You will recognise the lamina as the yellowy or grey-coloured ring just inside the wall when you look at the hoof from the bottom. It is also called the ‘white line’, although it is rarely white.

Put simply, when the lamina becomes inflamed it has nowhere to expand inside the hoof capsule and so it dies, which means the wall (hoof capsule) is no longer properly connected to the inside of the hoof. The inner structures of the hoof rotate downwards, and in particularly severe cases, may even penetrate the sole. Less frequently, the coffin bone can also sink from the front and the back.

When your vet takes x-rays, they will measure the degree to which the coffin bone has come away from the wall, and will show you the bone pointing down towards the sole instead of being ground-parallel.

You can recognise the ‘founder stance’. The horse leans backwards with its toes jutted out in front, trying to keep the weight on the back half of the hoof. This stance occurs in severe cases. All horses can suffer from mild laminitis – even underweight ones. You may have found that your horse is ‘lazy’, bad tempered, or a bit ouchy at certain times, for example, during spring, after a frost, after the paddock has been mowed or slashed, in a paddock that is very overgrazed, or very commonly, after rain. These are all times when the pasture is stressed and there is a spike in the sugar levels in the grass.

In a healthy hoof you should see a robust frog and heel bulbs. The lamina will be tight. The hoof wall will be an even thickness all the way around. The front hoof will be a nice even, round shape. The hind may be oval or even slightly arrow-shaped. The sole should be concave and the bars are straight and almost invisible at sole level (depending on the weather). It should smell fresh.

In a hoof that has suffered from founder you generally see separation between the wall and the sole, and black, dead lamina. When the wall is compromised you will almost always see the bars raise up to support the weight of the inner structures of the hoof. It usually smells sour or rotten.

Most cases of laminitis or founder are caused by diet. This is because most of the pastures we keep our horses on are designed for producing quality beef cattle. Horses’ have a completely different digestive system and are not designed to process these high volume, high sugar diets. This is frequently coupled with inadequate exercise. Horses that are cresty, or are what is described as a ‘good-doer’ are especially prone to episodes, but can be kept sound with attention to diet and regular exercise. It can be as easy as fitting your horse with a $30 grazing muzzle.

The lameness can also be what is described as ‘road founder’, which is essentially concussion (exacerbated by the application of metal to the horse’s hoof), or from toxins in water, from toxins in weeds, pesticides or chemicals washed over from nearby properties, or from vaccinations. Some horses are even sensitive to worming pastes, because it can cause a toxic dump in their system.

Remember, if you don’t address the cause of laminitis then it doesn’t matter how you trim the horse, or what type of shoe you apply, it will get worse.

Caught early horses can recover from mild laminitis quickly – even within days. One of the advantages of keeping a horse barefoot is that you instantly know when it is sore and you can investigate the cause and treat it before it becomes a major issue.

This article has described in plain English what founder is. Is the next issue, I will explain how the barefoot approach is different from the traditional treatment recommended by most vets and farriers and why.

Alyssa Brugman is a barefoot trimmer and runs Wallaby Gully Equine Rehabilitation in the Lower Hunter Valley.