Horses, just like all other animals and even humans, are prone to contracting diseases and infections which can sometimes cause deformities and lameness. No horse owner wants to have a lame horse for reasons he can reasonably avoid. This is why it is always advisable to take great care of your horse to maintain their good horse health and keep them active rather than have them end up being confined and incapacitated because of something that could have been avoided.
Lameness in a horse is very visible when your horse is walking around. It is also very easy to know which foot is affected since you will see your horse avoid putting any pressure that may cause it pain on that particular foot. A horse owner should have a keen eye, and always take time to observe their horse. Early detection of some problems can help curb them before they become aggravated over time.
What to Do
Never ride a horse that is lame since you may end up aggravating the problem. First, you should start by looking where it is that your horse is hurt and the possible causes. It could be a simple thing such as a stuck piece of stone to more serious things such as infections. It could also be a wound that needs medical attention.
Check the Feet
By lifting your horse’s feet you will be able to see if there is anything lodged in the crevices of its hooves which could be causing the lameness. Pay particular attention to spots which appear darker than normal, as they could indicate that a sole is bruised. Cracks are also culprits in causing lameness, so be aware of those too.
At times, hooves that are trimmed very short might cause them to be sensitive to pressure, causing pain. If this is the case, let your horse be on softer grounds until the hoof grows to an appropriate level.
Check the Lower Leg
If a horse has injured a ligament or a tendon, it will have a swollen lower leg which could be hot. This can be taken care of by allowing your horse to rest for a longer period in order to let the leg heal. It is the same thing as spraining an ankle in humans.
Joints and the Back
A horse can have lameness if for instance it has arthritis. When the joints are affected, they may make it hard for the horse to move normally because of pain. Sore backs are also important to look out for in riding horses. If you feel it needs veterinarian attention, seek one as soon as possible to save your horse from a lot of pain.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Founder Disease in Horses
Even after intensive research, founder disease still eludes us. It is simple enough to diagnose, and can be treated, but it has the ability to cause permanent lameness in a pony, and euthanasia is the most humane option.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs are easy to recognize. The first symptom is soreness in the pony’s front feet. This is because, initially, the front feet bear the most weight. Once the pony tries to shift its weight to the back feet, they may also become affected. Another clear sign is the pony walks more slowly and with shorter steps, or prefers to lie down more frequently.
Causes of Founder
Founder disease affects a pony’s laminae, which suspend the foot bone from the hoof wall. The pony’s weight is transferred to the hoof wall before the hoof hits the ground; this reduces the impact on its sensitive sole. When the laminae weaken, founder sets in, and stretches the laminae, pushing the toe bone to the ground. In adverse cases, the toe bone can come through the sole.
Certain blood vessels shunt the flow of blood from the laminae, causing damage and inflammation to the tissue. The shunts’ function is to keep the foot warm during cold weather, by opening to reroute the blood from the laminae. Founder may be caused by an aggregation of the blood platelet, forming clots that impede the blood flow.
Causes of Acute and chronic founder
Acute founder comes on suddenly, with varying degrees of severity, depending on the extent of the laminae damage. Experts suggest that acute founder is caused by extensive damage in its first occurrence. This damage can occur within a matter of hours. Chronic founder commonly recurs in obese horses and ponies that are not exercised regularly. Treatment is easy with good management of diet and exercise; otherwise, damage increases over time. X-rays are used to monitor the toe bone rotations to assess the extent of the damage.
Some common causes of this disease include overeating, obesity, bacterial infections with endotoxemia, adverse concussion to the feet, excessive and fast cold water intake by a hot horse, and extensive standing on black walnut shavings.
Treatment
Professional treatment, from a veterinarian, is necessary for acute founder. If the horse is cooperative, gentle walking may help ease the pain. If the vet is not immediately available, you can administer aspirin. There are various anti-inflammatory drugs, which are non-steroidal, that can also be used. The dosage will be dependent on the amount of damage incurred. NSAID drugs, for example, Bute, Arquel and Banamine, can also be administered under the guidance of a veterinarian.
Horses may be re-shoed with softer footing or go shoe-less in an effort to ease the pressure on the toe and make the horse more comfortable. You can also soak the pony’s feet in warm or cold water.
Negative recovery
If the rotation continues and exceeds 12 degrees, it is possible that this condition cannot be treated successfully and the horse may not recover. Similarly, when the coffin bone sinks down causing pain so intense that the horse will lie down frequently, recovery is expected to be very slow. Abscesses may appear on painful areas of the sole; these should be immediately cleaned and treated.
If, after all treatment efforts have been tried, the horse shows no signs of recovery, the only option left is euthanasia. It is more humane to put the animal down than let it continue suffering.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs are easy to recognize. The first symptom is soreness in the pony’s front feet. This is because, initially, the front feet bear the most weight. Once the pony tries to shift its weight to the back feet, they may also become affected. Another clear sign is the pony walks more slowly and with shorter steps, or prefers to lie down more frequently.
Causes of Founder
Founder disease affects a pony’s laminae, which suspend the foot bone from the hoof wall. The pony’s weight is transferred to the hoof wall before the hoof hits the ground; this reduces the impact on its sensitive sole. When the laminae weaken, founder sets in, and stretches the laminae, pushing the toe bone to the ground. In adverse cases, the toe bone can come through the sole.
Certain blood vessels shunt the flow of blood from the laminae, causing damage and inflammation to the tissue. The shunts’ function is to keep the foot warm during cold weather, by opening to reroute the blood from the laminae. Founder may be caused by an aggregation of the blood platelet, forming clots that impede the blood flow.
Causes of Acute and chronic founder
Acute founder comes on suddenly, with varying degrees of severity, depending on the extent of the laminae damage. Experts suggest that acute founder is caused by extensive damage in its first occurrence. This damage can occur within a matter of hours. Chronic founder commonly recurs in obese horses and ponies that are not exercised regularly. Treatment is easy with good management of diet and exercise; otherwise, damage increases over time. X-rays are used to monitor the toe bone rotations to assess the extent of the damage.
Some common causes of this disease include overeating, obesity, bacterial infections with endotoxemia, adverse concussion to the feet, excessive and fast cold water intake by a hot horse, and extensive standing on black walnut shavings.
Treatment
Professional treatment, from a veterinarian, is necessary for acute founder. If the horse is cooperative, gentle walking may help ease the pain. If the vet is not immediately available, you can administer aspirin. There are various anti-inflammatory drugs, which are non-steroidal, that can also be used. The dosage will be dependent on the amount of damage incurred. NSAID drugs, for example, Bute, Arquel and Banamine, can also be administered under the guidance of a veterinarian.
Horses may be re-shoed with softer footing or go shoe-less in an effort to ease the pressure on the toe and make the horse more comfortable. You can also soak the pony’s feet in warm or cold water.
Negative recovery
If the rotation continues and exceeds 12 degrees, it is possible that this condition cannot be treated successfully and the horse may not recover. Similarly, when the coffin bone sinks down causing pain so intense that the horse will lie down frequently, recovery is expected to be very slow. Abscesses may appear on painful areas of the sole; these should be immediately cleaned and treated.
If, after all treatment efforts have been tried, the horse shows no signs of recovery, the only option left is euthanasia. It is more humane to put the animal down than let it continue suffering.
The Dreaded Toe Crack
It can be very frustrating to have a horse that is prone to hoof cracks which are persistent.
Toe cracks can persist for a very long time (months and sometimes even years), without curing completely. These cracks are deemed a nuisance and although they may seem like cosmetic defects, they can cause lameness in a horse; or worse, affect the shoe function.
There are many treatments for hoof cracks which have been traditionally administered, such as notching or otherwise relieving pressure. The former involves filing or grating horizontally to stop the crack from advancing up the hoof capsule, while the latter applies a small branding iron shaped like a crescent, on the crack top to seal the crack, preventing further deterioration. Both methods are meant to relieve the crack at its onset to prevent further damage as well as allowing the foot to heal.
Not only is a proper understanding of the function of the hoof wall necessary to healing, an environment conducive to healing is imperative for complete recovery to happen.
How Cracks Happen
Toe cracks are normally found in brood stock or sport horses, and are due to mechanical failure. When the anterior or posterior balance of the horse is abnormal, a long toe will develop with under-run heel and saggy soles. The whole system fails when the bone pulls the laminae off the weakened wall. The cracks tend to close tightly by folding on the laminae which can cause pain and permanent scarring.
Treating the Cracks
Either you or a competent farrier can balance the trim properly when shoeing your horse to avoid cracks. If a crack crops up, use a hoof disinfectant to cleanse the foot of any harmful bacteria. Use an effective and deep penetrating cleanser for the treatment, with a daily application of topical anti-bacterial solution that has no necrotizing ingredients, such as formaldehyde or bleach.
Going shoeless is a last option treatment for toe cracks. If a balanced foot has plenty of exercise, the intertubular horn and inner wall will be healthy, eliminating possible foot cracks. Firm and smooth surfaces will develop on the inner wall as well as allow correct distortion to happen, which apply the proper pressure for good growth. An eight week exercise routine of 20 minutes hand walking every day will show proof of a healthy growing hoof wall.
Dieting Factor
Have a well balanced diet program to avoid or to cure cracks. Ensure that the intake of calcium and phosphorus is balanced with a ratio of 1.6:1. Avoid feeding excessive selenium, copper or calcium, although the recommended dosages are helpful to have in the diet. Symptoms of selenium deficiency or toxicity are a poor quality horn, loss of mane, a dull coat, or loss of tail hair. Consult your veterinarian for a correctly balanced diet to keep your horse free from cracks.
Summary
If you provide an environment that is clean and dry, your horses’ hooves will be free from cracks. Develop a properly balanced foot and diet, treat infections quickly, and exercise your horse sufficiently with your horse shoeless.
Toe cracks can persist for a very long time (months and sometimes even years), without curing completely. These cracks are deemed a nuisance and although they may seem like cosmetic defects, they can cause lameness in a horse; or worse, affect the shoe function.
There are many treatments for hoof cracks which have been traditionally administered, such as notching or otherwise relieving pressure. The former involves filing or grating horizontally to stop the crack from advancing up the hoof capsule, while the latter applies a small branding iron shaped like a crescent, on the crack top to seal the crack, preventing further deterioration. Both methods are meant to relieve the crack at its onset to prevent further damage as well as allowing the foot to heal.
Not only is a proper understanding of the function of the hoof wall necessary to healing, an environment conducive to healing is imperative for complete recovery to happen.
How Cracks Happen
Toe cracks are normally found in brood stock or sport horses, and are due to mechanical failure. When the anterior or posterior balance of the horse is abnormal, a long toe will develop with under-run heel and saggy soles. The whole system fails when the bone pulls the laminae off the weakened wall. The cracks tend to close tightly by folding on the laminae which can cause pain and permanent scarring.
Treating the Cracks
Either you or a competent farrier can balance the trim properly when shoeing your horse to avoid cracks. If a crack crops up, use a hoof disinfectant to cleanse the foot of any harmful bacteria. Use an effective and deep penetrating cleanser for the treatment, with a daily application of topical anti-bacterial solution that has no necrotizing ingredients, such as formaldehyde or bleach.
Going shoeless is a last option treatment for toe cracks. If a balanced foot has plenty of exercise, the intertubular horn and inner wall will be healthy, eliminating possible foot cracks. Firm and smooth surfaces will develop on the inner wall as well as allow correct distortion to happen, which apply the proper pressure for good growth. An eight week exercise routine of 20 minutes hand walking every day will show proof of a healthy growing hoof wall.
Dieting Factor
Have a well balanced diet program to avoid or to cure cracks. Ensure that the intake of calcium and phosphorus is balanced with a ratio of 1.6:1. Avoid feeding excessive selenium, copper or calcium, although the recommended dosages are helpful to have in the diet. Symptoms of selenium deficiency or toxicity are a poor quality horn, loss of mane, a dull coat, or loss of tail hair. Consult your veterinarian for a correctly balanced diet to keep your horse free from cracks.
Summary
If you provide an environment that is clean and dry, your horses’ hooves will be free from cracks. Develop a properly balanced foot and diet, treat infections quickly, and exercise your horse sufficiently with your horse shoeless.
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