Laminitis in the rainy season

With Fall/Winter coming we have been receiving quite a few calls from customers regarding laminitis.  Here is a letter to Dr. Teskey and his comments:

Dear Dr. Teskey, My horse is having a severe reoccurrence of laminitis when it started to rain the last couple of weeks.  We have pulled her shoes and are following all of the methods suggested (freedom of movement with other horses, high fiber diet, using hoof boots, etc.).  My farrier is open to trimming the horse to the Strasser methods, but knows nothing about them.  He can only come out once a week.  I feel we are in an emergency situation.  What can we do RIGHT NOW to help her?  Your advise would be so much appreciated.

Hi there, Often times, wet weather will cause a horse's hooves to soften and bend and flex more, causing them to feel unstable to the horse.  If this is truly a case of laminitis, realize that it has not simply come on "all of a sudden"...it has been coming for a long time, and the wet weather is simply the "last straw" for the horse.  All horses living in wet conditions should be provided some "high ground" to keep their hooves from getting totally water logged.

I don't trim horses like Dr. Strasser teaches, though I've learned a lot from her.  I would say I think more along the lines of how some of the other natural hoof care people trim...see www.hoofrehab.com, for example.

Right now, it's important to be feeding grass hay only.  No alfalfa, no pellets, no grain, no fruits.  See www.safergrass.org.  Since this is a recurrence, do you have an idea what is going on with her metabolic and/or hormonal status?  More and more we recognize problems with sugar metabolism in horses that have recurring laminitis, so diet usually ends up the number one concern.  On the hooves, toes should be brought back to proper breakover and heels at appropriate height, but me saying this and you or your farrier doing it might be pretty different!  Certainly one of the more relieving things for these horses is to have some hoof boots available during the day at least.  There are pads that can be put inside the boots as well, and together they really make these horses so much more comfortable.  See www.easycareinc.com.

It's good that she is in with other horses for company.  Do what you can with the diet if you haven't all ready, check out some boots if you don't have any, and keep in touch...or we could consult more using photos over the email, too.

Dr. Tom T.

With Fall/Winter coming we have been receiving quite a few calls from customers regarding laminitis.  Here is a letter to Dr. Teskey and his comments:

Dear Dr. Teskey, My horse is having a severe reoccurrence of laminitis when it started to rain the last couple of weeks.  We have pulled her shoes and are following all of the methods suggested (freedom of movement with other horses, high fiber diet, using hoof boots, etc.).  My farrier is open to trimming the horse to the Strasser methods, but knows nothing about them.  He can only come out once a week.  I feel we are in an emergency situation.  What can we do RIGHT NOW to help her?  Your advise would be so much appreciated.

Hi there, Often times, wet weather will cause a horse's hooves to soften and bend and flex more, causing them to feel unstable to the horse.  If this is truly a case of laminitis, realize that it has not simply come on "all of a sudden"...it has been coming for a long time, and the wet weather is simply the "last straw" for the horse.  All horses living in wet conditions should be provided some "high ground" to keep their hooves from getting totally water logged.

I don't trim horses like Dr. Strasser teaches, though I've learned a lot from her.  I would say I think more along the lines of how some of the other natural hoof care people trim...see www.hoofrehab.com, for example.

Right now, it's important to be feeding grass hay only.  No alfalfa, no pellets, no grain, no fruits.  See www.safergrass.org.  Since this is a recurrence, do you have an idea what is going on with her metabolic and/or hormonal status?  More and more we recognize problems with sugar metabolism in horses that have recurring laminitis, so diet usually ends up the number one concern.  On the hooves, toes should be brought back to proper breakover and heels at appropriate height, but me saying this and you or your farrier doing it might be pretty different!  Certainly one of the more relieving things for these horses is to have some hoof boots available during the day at least.  There are pads that can be put inside the boots as well, and together they really make these horses so much more comfortable.  See www.easycareinc.com.

It's good that she is in with other horses for company.  Do what you can with the diet if you haven't all ready, check out some boots if you don't have any, and keep in touch...or we could consult more using photos over the email, too.

Dr. Tom T.