[jokersbardee]

Like others have said you need to get her off all the grain and sugars. Her diet is the main culprit here. She needs more hay not grain. Also the bute is terrible for ulcers and can cause tons of digestion problems. There have been a lot of good suggestions on diet stuff in here that will help her... number one getting off the grain and sugars. No more molasses at all.. none...ever.

You mentioned you left her in her stall for a week, I hope you took her out to walk around daily and she wasn't standing in there the whole time?

[Ceilidh]

Originally Posted by Laffee Taffee

Okay, I need to get a new vet first, my vet keeps telling me things that I don't think are true. She said that my horse had laminitis because she was old and that there was absolutely nothing I could do, that all I could do was keep it from getting worse. Then a month later, I put woodshavings in my horse's stall and made her stand in it for a week, and lo and behold, the laminitis almost went away completely.

Plus she hasn't even examined my horse yet but I keep telling her I think my horse has tell-tale signs of Cushing's Disease and she keeps telling me there's no way she has Cushing's. Over the past five years, my horse has been shedding her winter coat less and less. She didn't shed her winter coat at all this summer, I had to shave it off. Isn't that a sign that her hormones are getting out of balance?

Yes, you need a good vet and a good farrier. Foundered because of age? tsk tsk. Laminitis, founder - whatever you want to call it - has multiple causes and one main treatment - reshaping the hoof to the new angle of the coffin bone to repair the damage. This treatment usually takes about five months to complete. The things that an owner can do during this treatment is soak the hooves in cold water to reduce the swelling and numb them so that exercise is possible, use bute in a series of treatments five days on, three days off (like most NSAIDs it is rough on the digestive system). A few of the causes of founder are as follows: too much work, too little exercise, too much food, too little food and others.

A good farrier can suggest things to add or subtract from her diet to help with those hooves. Just be careful, sudden changes are never good.

I suggest, for your education only, that you pick up a copy of the Veterinary Notes for Horse Owners. Very useful tome.

Failure to shed the coat is a red flag. It does sound like Cushings (which can cause founder). When our 1/2 Arab mare failed to shed her coat we figured that her health was failing - as she was 31 we had her euthanized.

[Laffee Taffee]

Okay so far a lot of people have told me to go easy on the bute. I didn't know about the ulcers, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure she's had them in the morning. Once again, my vet said giving her bute twice a day was gonna fix her up =D okay I need to get rid of my vet. I'll ask my boyfriend's mom, she's a good horse expert and can point me to a good vet.

Only problem is, bute is the only thing that's been helping her get to her feed. If I don't give her the bute, she'll either lay down all day or she'll try to walk to her feed barrel but it'll take her 15 minutes just to walk out her stall and get to it because she has to put her head all the way to the ground, shuffle her feet and decide which one hurts less, pick it up, toss her head like mad, then put it down and huff and puff from the pain.

Is there some other pain killer I can give her that isn't an anti-inflammatory? I tried giving her a shot, I forget the name.. it was a pain killer and it did absolutely nothing for her.

[Dawn]

Sometimes the benefits of bute outweigh the risks. But you have to properly manage those risks. She needs to be put on aggressive medication to treat ulcers (treat not prevent).

There is another painkiller that has a lower risk of ulcers. But it is very, very expensive. The name is escaping me off the top of my head.

While movement is good for her, it sounds that at this point she is at an acute enough stage that you need to put everything in one place for her so that she's not forced to walk.

[4horsem0m]

Originally Posted by Dawn

Sometimes the benefits of bute outweigh the risks. But you have to properly manage those risks. She needs to be put on aggressive medication to treat ulcers (treat not prevent).

There is another painkiller that has a lower risk of ulcers. But it is very, very expensive. The name is escaping me off the top of my head.

While movement is good for her, it sounds that at this point she is at an acute enough stage that you need to put everything in one place for her so that she's not forced to walk.

What about B-L paste (or solution), I've never used it, but heard good about it.

[Dawn]

Just from the description of the amount of pain the horse is in, BL would probably be completely useless.

Not only is the bute helping with the pain, but it's also helping to control the inflammation in the hooves due to the (most likely) active laminitis.

The horse should be put on a deep supportive footing. She should also have frog supports/foam put on. And a new vet should be called out immediately for treatment, x-rays, etc...

[Dawn]

http://www.hopeforsoundness.com/tech...ofoamguide.htm

Instead of ordering their pads, go to the hardware type store and get construction foam. It comes in big sheets, get the thickest they have, then use enough to make it 2" thick (iow, if you have 1" foam, use two layers of it).

[Laffee Taffee]

Mkay I can get some ulcer treatment from Country Supply magazine, and what about colic? Because she's laying down most of the day and all night, I've been kinda concerned about her rolling wrong and twisting a gut because she does roll a lot. She'll kneel down, then she'll flop her head over, then she'll get halfway up, then lay down again... I think she just does that cuz she's miserable... so far she hasn't been looking or kicking or biting her flank, I know that's a sign of colic, and she doesn't get up on her back and start kicking or anything, she's just kinda shifting around while she's laying down.

But should I let her keep laying down? Should I make her get up maybe for the day, then let her lay down at night?

[Dawn]

The best thing for her right now is to lay down. The less pressure on those feet, the better. Now if she's thrashing around, you'll need to stop her as she might injure herself. But laying down, rolling, etc...isn't going to hurt her.

As far as ulcer treatment, I'm not aware of any that you can get from Country Supply.

[Ceilidh]

You can also lower the dose of bute. Less bute = less risk. Foam is a good idea. I went that route once - my poor boy had abscesses & founder at the same time, then followed that with a fractured coffin bone. I put four to five inches of foam on his soles, vet wrapped it on and then added a layer of duct tape for water proofing. It really helped.

Your horse does need to move some - the pressure of the frog will help reduce the imbalance that causes the founder anyway. Each step that your horse takes is one on the road to recovery. You might want to try the old Cavalry treatment. Soak her hooves in cold, cold water. It relieves pain, pressure and inflammation temporarily. While she is feeling better, walk her. When she starts to feel it again, go back to the icy soaks. Cold helps.

You also need a good farrier who knows to leave the heel long and cut the toe off. The hoof must be gradually adjusted to the angle of the coffin bone. It takes time, but it works.