Immediate and Long Term Care for Laminitis

If you see your horse starting to exhibit signs of Laminitis you should immediately take action.  If left untreated, Laminitis can lead to permanent lameness and hoof damage. Some horses with serious and untreated Laminitis need to be euthanized.  So if you see your horse showing signs of Laminitis the first thing that you should do is call your vet. Don’t just call and make an appointment; tell the vet it’s an emergency and get a vet out there as quickly as possible.

While you are waiting for the vet move the horse to a stall with extra deep bedding or put down a rubber mat and some extra bedding in your horse's stall. Make the floor of the stall as soft and as comfortable as possible so that the horse won’t be in so much pain standing on it.  Don’t walk the horse; that could cause further damage.

When the vet examines the horse, the vet will probably give the horse several medications, including pain killers and an antibiotic in case the Laminitis is caused by an infection.  If the Laminitis is the result of a grain or pasture binge then the vet may inject liquid paraffin into the horse to bring down the horse’s blood sugar and counter the effects of the food overdose.

Once the vet has done a thorough exam and made a diagnosis of Laminitis you might have to have X-rays taken and other diagnostic tests done to see what the extent of the damage is. You will also need to consult with your blacksmith to see what the condition of the horse’s hoof is after treatment. Sometimes, a blacksmith can put a special shoe on the affected foot that has a pad on it to lessen the impact of normal walking and running on the hoof since the affected hoof will probably be weak and damaged.

A horse’s recovery from Laminitis could take years. Don’t expect the horse to be back out in the arena within a few weeks if your horse has Laminitis. It will probably take months if not longer for the horse to fully heal. During that time the horse will need a lot of care and can’t be ridden.  Exercise will have to be limited too.

In most cases, horses that have Laminitis can recover enough to be ridden again; although, if the case is severe enough or if the horse suffers from chronic Laminitis, the horse might not be able to compete in shows or work as hard as it did before the Laminitis.  Once a horse has had Laminitis it will always be prone to getting Laminitis again so you will need to watch carefully all the time to make sure that your horse doesn’t develop Laminitis again.