So I pretty much just call all other hoof soreness
laminitis – it probably does not cover it all well, it is just kind of an
unspecific term referring to some inflammation in the hoof I use loosely, but
that is the term I tend to use on a sore horse– I tend to call a sore horse
laminitic.
I LIKE that term. Kind of scares people. They associate
that term with founder. Good. Cause if we keep letting our horses run round
laminitic, they probably will be foundered or navicular cases one day…
There are a million reasons why a horse could be sore. A
lot of those reasons are tied into diet and management – some of them into hoof
trimming and/or shoeing practices. Maybe there is a propensity here from
genetics and type. Their personal histories and age probably have a lot to do
with it all. I don’t know – each horse is an individual.
In general, these horses are often sound on smoother,
softer surfaces and wince to some degree on gravel – maybe at a walk
consistently – maybe inconsistently at a trot – maybe only have problems on big
rail road gravel – all sorts of varying degrees. Maybe on a bad day they are a
hair shorter stride and more hollowed back on smoother surfaces – all sorts of
degrees of more minor lameness here.
I really cannot make any guesses without evaluating the
horse – and even when I do evaluate him, they are just guesses to some degree –
often ones from experience, but I am not a vet. But a lot of these horses will
get sounder – in varying degrees. Some of them you change around their routine
and they are just as sound as can be literally over night– others seem to always
struggle a bit with rougher terrain but often come around to more consistent
soundness.
But I guess my main point here is laminitic horses are NOT
normal. And the good news about them is you are seeing their issues NOW before
they get worse and harder to treat.
Well, read on more about
boots and
management….
Most horses fall under this category… they have some degree of hoof pain to some
extent… and thank goodness you found barefoot… cause we are gonna do our best to
find the underlying causes and maintain soundness for the long term.J
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