Are Your Horses at Risk for Foundering

Are your horses at risk for foundering?
By Tonya Ouellette

For those of you who are looking to put that extra weight onto your horse coming into winter, you may want to ask yourself this question, Is my horse at risk for foundering?

The terms laminitis and founder are often used together, and this is not correct. Laminitis more often than not, leads to founder. Laminitis is an infection or inflammation of the lamina, or tissue that connects the coffin bone to the hoof wall. As the layers of the hoof wall separate, this causes pain in the tissues underneath the hoof wall.

Founder occurs when the bond between the tissue separates as the lamina die. This causes the attachment of the coffin bone to the hoof to break down, sink, and even rotate;  This damages the arteries and veins and destroys the tissues around the bone. In extreme cases the coffin bone will rotate downwards and penetrate the sole of the hoof.

We usually find the front feet to be affected due to the fact that they support more than half of their body weight.

What are signs of laminitis and founder?

It is far easier to prevent laminitis and founder than to treat the occurrence. Even aggressive treatment can fail and require the horse to be euthanized. Early symptoms are often subtle. The horse may be stiff in the forelegs. Many times you will find them standing in the “founder stance” with their hind legs well up beneath their body to take as much of the weight possible, while the front legs are forward with the weight resting on the heel. Your horse will be reluctant to walk, due to the pain. If all four feet are affected, your horse may try to lie down and NOT want to get back up.

Other symptoms can include heavy breathing, hot feet, and a pounding pulse over the fetlock joint.

Each attack of acute laminitis can leave a ring formation on the hoof, if you notice a horse with multiple rings; it’s very likely they have suffered a chronic foundering. You may also notice a “seedy toe”, which is a separation of the hoof wall from the lamina, if this is left untrimmed, the hoof wall will overgrow to form a protective covering. In advanced stages you may also see the coronary band ooze blood or serum. 

So this is all some scary stuff huh! There are numerous causes for this condition to happen and it’s important to be aware of these to keep your horses SAFE!

Eating too much grain! Specifically those that are rich in carbohydrates. Lush pasture ( even lawn clippings) These changes release bacterial toxins into the bloodstream, which disrupt normal blood flow to the hoof. This is the most common cause we see in laminitis.

Drinking large amounts of water when overheated.

Having insulin resistance. Horses with this condition are prone to laminitis.

Exposure to black walnut shavings

Prolonged use of corticosteroids

Stress, including colic

High fever or illness. Any time they have a metabolic disturbance, we find the potential for this to cause laminitis.

Risk factors would be seen in heavier breeds of horses, such as drafts, horses that are overweight, horses that are on a high grain diet.

If you suspect that your horse is developing laminitis, it is important to act right away! Those few hours can make a significant difference in the outcome of your treatment. Call your vet and follow his/her instructions. Take your horse off the pasture immediately and make sure that they have no access to ANY grass. Feel for heat in your horse’s feet. If possible, direct spray of cold water of the affected feet will help to reduce inflammation. Once the vet arrives, he/she will be able to assess and start treatment to relieve pain and reduce swelling.

Treatment for laminitis will vary according to the severity of the condition but it can include: encouraging the horse to lie down to relieve pressure.  Imposing dietary restrictions to prevent overeating and obesity.  Administration of pain killers and/or anti-inflammatory. Opening and draining any abcesses that may develop.

Diet, Diet, Diet!! Don’t make changes overnight! Stay away from those carbohydrates, and monitor the amounts of grain you are feeding. If you horse is on the heavy side to begin with, you are not doing him a favor giving him that extra feeding. It’s a hard thing for us to do, but in the long run, well worth it to keep our equine friends safe and healthy!

Comments

[Suzanne Moore]

I know all this only too well. I had a horse founder almost this badly 14 years ago. She recovered, but I remember the horror we all went through as though it were yesterday.

[Mrs Mom]

We have a tip we pass along to our clients who have at risk horses- have a "Founder Emergency Kit" on hand. The Kit contains:
-Duct tape (of course,)
-High density styrafoam insulation (A good alternative is the paddle boards kids use when swimming- the material is perfect for support,)
-A marker
-Sharp knife

While you are waiting for the vet, and IF you can not utilize a continuos spray of cold water (what Dr. Chris Pollit reccomends,) fashion a "hoof boot" and strap on securely with the duct tape. Stand your horse on the kick board or styrafoam- outline the hoof with your marker, and cut out the foam. Tape the foam pads to your horse's feet as securely as possible. The foam acts as a support for the internal structures of the hoof, and has prevented many instances of rotation in our practice. It has also been used in chronic cases to aid in comfort of the horse.

Works well for a bad abscess too. ;)

Cold hose as much as possible, provide support to those internal structres, and follw your vets directions!

[Mary]

Mrs Mom-
Great information! I hope I will never have to use the emergency kit but it is very good to know. Thanks for the info!

[Tonya Ouellette]

Thanks for the information on the emergency kit! Yes that is a wonderfull thing to have on hand. We were on guard with a recent pony we purchased. Her feet looked borderline, and we had her feet xrayed .. turned out to be nothing, however she was a cresty necked pony --- so she was placed on a strict diet to reduce her weight and minimize her risk.
She is now a good weight, healthy! and best of all her feet are in great shape!

[Mrs Mom]

Always happy to help out fellow horse folks! ;)

Happy Bare Hoofin out there y'all... :)

[risingrainbow]

I have never had a horse get laminitis but I have been involved in a horse rescue of a foundered mare. It was long and difficult and ended in the loss of the mare. No one wants to go through this heart ache. It's much easier to stay on top of things than have to deal with this.

[Mary]

I imagine rescues see a lot of the extreme cases and are very hard to deal with.

[Saddle Auctions]

Heartbars are the closest thing to a miracle for a foundered horse, if your farrier knows how to apply them correctly.

[Colleen]

Another great thing to use for founder to make your horse more comfortable is Expanded Polystrene (styrofoam). If you use 1# virgin material that is about 3" thick and 6" square. I purchased my foam from a company name Falcon Foam in Byron Center, Michigan. Have your horse stand on the foam and after a few minutes of crushing it then trim around the hoof. Then use vet wrap to secure the foam pad to the hoof. Once secure then use duct tape once around the hoof and then a few strips across the bottom to keep the vet wrap from tearing apart. My mare foundered and wouldn't allow us to pick her feet up until we started using the foam pads. Now she allows us to pick her feet up and is much more comfortable. I also purchased laminasaver and inflammasaver from Figereola Labs out of California. We have started seeing good signs after just 4 days!

[Windy Acres Ranch]

I was wondering, if a horse (or pony in my case) has foundered before does that make it MORE PRONE to founder in the future??? Our fine boned little horse is not overweight but does spend days in an irrigated grass pasture and nights in a dry stall with hay. (Should I eliminate the hay???)

[Windy Acres Ranch]

Also I was just wondering if I should set this little horse (pony) more up on his toes when I trim his front feet?? They do twist inward quite severly.

[Gail Clark]

We have a 3 year old filly that lived in a stall at a rescue ranch. We 'introduced' her to the pasture when we brought her home. She was born on the ranch and was adopted when she was a year old. Her adopters nearly starved her to death within about 6 weeks. She was taken back to the ranch at that point and they brought her back to health. She lived in a stall and was not out in the pasture at all when she was there. With this in mind, how much time should I allow her to spend in the pasture. Her trainer was concerned that she may have an eating disorder. He didn't see any signs of it, but was concerned that she may founder on too much grass.

[equine laminitis]

Great article and great information! Thanks I have been researching laminitis ever since my horse was diagnosed with it a couple days ago and I keep finding great articles, I appreciate the time you put into educating the rest of us.