This laminitic mare has her clogs on and is ready to dance her way into recovery 🤞🏼💃🏾
Laminitis season is already upon us (honestly, it's been happening all year 🥴). If you have a sugar sensitive horse, whether it's from PPID/Cushings or EMS/IR, it's time to pull them off the pasture, or at the very least put them in a grazing muzzle whenever they are out. Greenguard and Thinline are excellent lightweight grazing muzzle choices that come in a variety of sizes.
The greatest risk is going to be when the weather becomes milder or sometimes after sustained rainfall, like in this mare's case. Temps above 60°F during the day but near or below 40°F at night are HIGH RISK times for laminitis, even in "normal" horses. Under those conditions, grass utilizes the sun to produce sugars for growth, but the cold night temperatures do not allow the plants to use the sugars effectively. Sugar levels continue to build if there are several of those days in a row, and even if the temperatures increase or decrease out of that zone, the sugar content can stay high for several days.
The warning signs of laminitis can be very subtle. As prey animals, equines often mask this pain until it is unbearable. Keep an eye out for slow/stiff turns, shortened strides on flat ground, constant shifting of weight on the front feet, increased digital pulse, and of course the classic "rocked back" founder stance.
If you suspect your horse has laminitis, take the following action immediately:
1. Call your vet
2. Call your farrier
3. Cold hose or ice the feet if they are warm
4. Pull the horse off of pasture entirely
5. Soak hay for 30 minutes and drain off excess water before feeding to reduce sugar content
The sooner you catch laminitis and begin to treat it, the better chance your horse will have a good recovery. Clogs like the ones below are a great way to help laterally stabilize the foot, offer support over the heels/bars/frog, and ease breakover to reduce stress on the laminae.
