pony has Laminitis in ALL FOUR... jingles/info needed..

[superpony123]

My pony was perfectly fine on thursday, rode him around, he was great. Came into the barn this morning to work, pony's expression read he's in pain, so i'm like, oh crap. he was also breathing very heavily.

he looks like he's walking on eggshells, poor guy. called the vet ASAP, and they were there in about 10 minutes which made me happy. boy, i was in histerics. i don't know that much about laminitis (i know what it is, and that it can lead to founder, but i dont know much about what'll happen, how long, etc.) so i was real upset, especially seeing my pony in so much pain. we eventually got him to walk out of his stall and stand for the vet, who cleaned out his feet, packed them with some stuff that looks like putty, wrapped in vetwrap. all four of his feet have it, but the vet said that his right front hoof definitely was hurting much more than the others, gave him an IV of... DSMO (i think that's the order of the letters? lol) which did make him noticeably more comfortable. vet told me that tomorrow i need to soak each hoof in ice water for 30 mins, and keep doing that each day, he will be back on tuesday to X-ray for foundering. he told us that we caught it as early as we couldve. (pony was perfectly fine yesterday night)

anyway, vet ordered no more grain for my pony. he's not going to be too happy, but all the other ponies in the barn are being taken off grain as a precaution as well. he can get some hay each day for now, but it has to be soaked to get all the sugar out. no turnout for a while--when he can walk normally, he can be turned out in the arena or handwalked around, and then when he's all better he can go out alone in the daytime with a muzzle in one of the less-grassy fields.

i'm real upset. we were just getting really successful, at home and at shows, and we started to see he was gaining weight from all of the grass, and a week ago we said, well we'd better do something, don't want it to turn into laminitis--and we didn't turn him out for a few days because we knew it'd be way too much, but it still ended up being too much, unfortunately. we didn't have time to completely change all the turnout schedules immediately so he and the other ponies could go out during the daytime (which is a much shorter amount of time than when they go out at night). apparently the guy in charge of turnout didnt put the horses out last night because he knew it'd be too much, but someone went and turned them out because someone else told this person to. So in the back of my head, i'm just like :mad: YOU BROKE MY PONY, YOU EVIL PERSON!! except that i also know that if they didnt get turned out last night, they surely wouldve been able to go out tonight, and the only difference would be that we'd find him tomorow with laminitis instead of today. but still..

anyway, sorry this is so long. i don't have anyone to talk to right now, so i'm kind of just spilling my guts here :P from what i know, it's fairly uncommon for a horse to founder in all 4 hooves. does it really slow up general healing process? how long does it take, roughly, assuming my pony is not foundering, for this to heal? what steps did you take to bring your horse back? i'm real bummed, cause i was so excited for an A show that i love to go to, coming up in the middle of june--i imagine that my pony probably won't be ready for that. i mean, if he isnt foundering, i don't think it takes an entire month to heal, but still. whenever he gets hurt, i'm overly cautious (which isnt a bad thing) about bringing him back as far as riding is concerned. slow. baby steps. i'm not going to hop on him the day he's cleared to ride and jump a course, yano? and i dont think it'd be fair to just send him to an A show if he's only been back at work for a week or two at that point. but for all i know maybe it doesnt take that long and he could be fine in a week. heck, that's why i'm asking (you'd think i wouldve asked the vet, but i was in kind of a nervous distracted stupor while i held my pony for the vet. he told me to watch his IV while he packed his hooves, so i think i was more concerned about making sure i don't kill my pony with an air bubble from the iV bag or something.)

so, fellow COTHers, enlighten me. my pony has been laying down for most of today, but he got up a few times, tried to stretch a little bit, he was able to walk around his stall a little. he wasn't very happy about not having any food, though. he looks uncomfortable, but he doesn't look like he's in terrible pain.

also, i'm wondering how he's going to handle the no-grain situation, as far as riding is concerned. is he going to be seriously lacking in energy, with no more grain in his diet? does anyone here have a show horse that they don't feed any grain to? i'm concerned that it's going to affect his performance once he's all better and in the swing of things. (once again, i'm not a nutritionist, which is why i'm asking!)

[Dan]

You will need a grazing muzzle. Take a look at the attached.

http://www.bestfriendequine.com/deluxe-grazing-muzzle.html

They need to move around and eat, just not too much.

Dan

[Bogie]

Jingles for your pony! A pony at our barn foundered two years ago with significant rotation of the coffin bone in both front feet. Good news is she's sound, happy and back at work now!

Don't worry about no grain. Your pony will do fine for the time being and you can address diet after she's better.

Our vet had the owners ice the pony's feet as much as possible, especially at the beginning. You're lucky to have caught it early. HOpe everything goes well.

[fair judy]

founder is the layman's term for laminitis. he should be on bute, for sure. also, i would be icing those tootsies at least two or three times a day.

founder is a crap shoot, hope he is okay. don't kick yourself, you caught it quickly and springtime is really tricky especially if you have clover in your pastures.

definitely invest in a grazing muzzle.

[Kenike]

I'll be jingling!

[lintesia]

My understanding is that founder is an advanced stage of laminitis -- when the supporting structures in the hoof are compromised to such an extent that the coffin bone rotates. If caught early, laminitis does not automatically result in founder.

Laminitis is an inflammation in the hoof such that the sensitive and insensitive laminae separate, resulting in extreme pain to the horse.

Please correct me if I'm wrong!

[JB]

Founder is not just a layman's term for laminitis.

Laminitis is inflammation (itis) of the lamina - the "velcro" that holds the hoof wall to the inner hoof structures.

Founder is when the laminitis is bad enough, whether smaller amounts but longer term or acute enough, to cause a failure of some or all parts of the lamina. Full failure causes sinking of the internal structures within the hoof capsule. Partial is more likely to cause rotation, usually with the toe portion rotating downward.

You must must must get your eyes over to www.safergrass.org, and search through www.thehorse.com and learn everything you can. Your pony's well-being will likely depend on it.

Your vet sounds at least helpfully knowledgeable, with the packing and wrapping and the soaking of the hay. But that's just the beginning - you must understand why the laminitis occured to begin with, and what it will take for *your* pony to get over and not develop it again.

I would lay odds that your pony is insulin resistant, which led to the laminitis. I'd also bet that he's been at least a little footsore for a bit now, as it's more likely that he just got pushed over the edge than for him to be fine one night and laminitic on all 4 the next, unless he raided the feed bin or was out for suddenly way too many hours on grass.

Go over to Horse Care and search for insulin resistance, akd IR - lots of threads and information, all of which you'll find in the 2 links I posted, but on a more personal level from people going through it.

Ditto the bute - proven to be very productive in helping mitigate acute laminitis.

[JB]

My understanding is that founder is an advanced stage of laminitis -- when the supporting structures in the hoof are compromised to such an extent that the coffin bone rotates.
And/or sinks.

If caught early, laminitis does not automatically result in founder.
Actually, mild, chronic laminitis can go on for a really long time and never result in founder. But certainly the sooner you catch it and remove the cause, the more likely you are to avoid founder.

Laminitis is an inflammation in the hoof such that the sensitive and insensitive laminae separate, resulting in extreme pain to the horse.

Please correct me if I'm wrong!
Very painful indeed. Liken it to someone slowly pulling your fingernail off its bed :eek:

To the OP, I forgot earlier - in 2-3 weeks, you will likely want to get a very good set of xrays of all 4 feet. You might be able to get away with just one lateral view of each, but it would be better if you can also get a front view of each, because you will want to see if there is any sinking and/or rotation. That isn't necessarily going to show up now - really depends on how bad the laminitis is, so it might take a bit for enough lamina to die to cause a founder issue.

[Little Valkyrie]

Lintesia, you are correct. Contrary to popular belief, laminitis and founder are not the same thing. Laminitis is the inflammation of the sensitive lamina that surround the coffin bone and act like velcro to keep it in place. The swelling damages these structures permanently and if the damage is great, the coffin bone will separate from the lamina and rotate down. Founder only occurs when there is rotation. Therefore, if you catch laminitis SUPER early and bombard with anti-inflammatories and ice their feet like crazy you can reduce the chance that they will founder.
You're pony is laying down a lot because his feet are in tremendous pain- imagine someone hitting all of your fingernails with a hammer then needing to stand on them- not fun. I had a horse have severely rotated coffin bones a few years ago due to the toxins in his blood from the diarrhea caused by Potomac Horse Fever and I decided to put him down. He was just in too much pain and had little to no chance of ever walking comfortably again. On the other hand, I know of a horse who had a mild rotation of the coffin bone who is happily back to work. Unfortunately, it is something that remains incredibly difficult to deal with (for horses and the people who love them). Good luck with him and definitely invest in a grazing muzzle!

(JB it appears we posted at the same time) :)

[superpony123]

You didn't mention if the pony was on bute to stop the inflammation. Is he?

yes, sorry forgot to mention (so distracted today)

vet has told us to give him 1 1/2 grams of bute paste every morning, and if he's in any serious pain at night, 1/2 g. then, but i don't think he'll need the extra at night because for most of today he looked pretty okay in comparison to this morning before the vet came

[Mara]

Oh, major jingles for the pony!
Don't worry about going on too long. You are understandably upset seeing your pony (and friend) in pain.
Frequent icing is a good thing - will help relieve some discomfort.

[superpony123]

Founder is not just a layman's term for laminitis.

Laminitis is inflammation (itis) of the lamina - the "velcro" that holds the hoof wall to the inner hoof structures.

Founder is when the laminitis is bad enough, whether smaller amounts but longer term or acute enough, to cause a failure of some or all parts of the lamina. Full failure causes sinking of the internal structures within the hoof capsule. Partial is more likely to cause rotation, usually with the toe portion rotating downward.

You must must must get your eyes over to www.safergrass.org, and search through www.thehorse.com and learn everything you can. Your pony's well-being will likely depend on it.

Your vet sounds at least helpfully knowledgeable, with the packing and wrapping and the soaking of the hay. But that's just the beginning - you must understand why the laminitis occured to begin with, and what it will take for *your* pony to get over and not develop it again.

I would lay odds that your pony is insulin resistant, which led to the laminitis. I'd also bet that he's been at least a little footsore for a bit now, as it's more likely that he just got pushed over the edge than for him to be fine one night and laminitic on all 4 the next, unless he raided the feed bin or was out for suddenly way too many hours on grass.

Go over to Horse Care and search for insulin resistance, akd IR - lots of threads and information, all of which you'll find in the 2 links I posted, but on a more personal level from people going through it.

Ditto the bute - proven to be very productive in helping mitigate acute laminitis.

thanks :) i already knew what laminitis and founder are, but didn't know about insulin resistance. yes, he's a good vet. we've been told to ice him a couple times a day, at least 30 min for each hoof. and no, he didnt raid the feed room :lol: but he did get turned out ALL NIGHT (which is 12+ hrs) which he;s always done in the spring/summer, but this year the grass is just way too rich, with a ton of clover. i'll look into insulin resistance and those links :yes: and yes, he is getting bute. i guess i forgot to mention that in my OP

[JB]

yes, sorry forgot to mention (so distracted today)

vet has told us to give him 1 1/2 grams of bute paste every morning, and if he's in any serious pain at night, 1/2 g. then, but i don't think he'll need the extra at night because for most of today he looked pretty okay in comparison to this morning before the vet came

Please understand the bute is not just for pain at this point - it is for inflammation (-itis of the lamina) which is much more critical right now.

[CraziiPonii]

Aww poor guy. I'll be jingling!!

[Quinn]

JB, thank you for taking the time to post such valuable information. Much appreciated.

http://community.webshots.com/user/ballyduff

[Quin]

Please understand the bute is not just for pain at this point - it is for inflammation (-itis of the lamina) which is much more critical right now.


Absolutely. Follow your vet's orders, but I would be surprised if you are not being told to use bute for at least a week or two. Cold hosing and ice wraps are your friends right now as well.

You will certainly want x-rays and you will want to share them with your farrier. For short-term pain relief the farrier may literally put shoes on backwards, to support the heels and take all pressue off the toes. But for the long term, the farrier needs to see whether he should trim any of the feet at a different angle, to accomodate any change in the angle of the internal bone as compared to the hoof wall. The pony may always need bar shoes, too.

I got a lot of good info on the Horse Care forum when my horse showed signs of laminitis last year. But bear in mind that you will also see a lot of worst case scenarios there. I'd recommend you TREAT it as though it were a bad case, but be aware that it is quite possible to have a very GOOD outcome. Research and 'war stories' you hear tend to focus on the bad outcomes; just don't get too scared.

[goeslikestink]

you need to when out either have him in a small paddock so you can control his diet or stripe grass him which meand section off a tiny bit of the field and he has that only can do that with elecy tape and engersier
if hes laying dwon then hes in pain, and control feeding as describe via vet
have him on a soft bed but not straw as he might eat it so must be a shavings bed

[hasahorse]

Get the ice up over his knees and hocks if you can. What worked for me when my horse went through this was to use the bags that ice comes in, put them on his feet like socks and fill them up with ice. Also, get about 12" of clean sand in his stall underneath the shavings. This will allow him to stand with less discomfort.

[JB]

Quinn, you're welcome :)

Regarding the icing - that too, along with the bute, has shown to be very valuable in reducing the inflammation. Running cold water is even better, aka a cold stream :)

Some people even resort to bags of ice (lots of them!) and dumping them in a deeply bedded shavings stall so the horse has a couple of hours of of cold water around his feet.

[HunterJumperLuv]

You can freeze tissue though so extended periods of time in ice will be detrimental. Follow your vets instructions regarding timing of icing.

And no, icing in the summer for your 20-30 minutes wont come close to freezing tissue, but leaving your horse standing in ice for hours can though.

[Artie]

just sending jingles for your guy!
we have a small who foundered AND rotated 2x in all four feet, at two separate boarding barns..Our little guy's last problem was about 4 yrs ago and hes perfectly sound, and still going strong at 22yrs old. A good farrier is vital with founder and/or laminitis

[Dan]

Forgot to add,

When your pony gets over this laminitis.....

Any time you have your pony gets new shoes, he/she will need bute beforehand. Don't forget.

Dan

[PicturePerfectPonies]

I'll be jingling for your pony but ponies are tough! I recently "rescued" a 12hh mare who had foundered in all four, her feet were then neglected and allowed to grow into the slipper foot formation. After one trim she was trotting around her little field sound as could be (and has stayed that way so i know it wasnt the bute she got for the trim). I have now decided that ponies are made of iron!

If your pony is small enough justforponies.com has grazing muzzles for $20. The halter part was boarderline too big for my 12hh girl but the actual muzzle part was barely big enough to go around her nose comfortably.

[Coreene]

And no carrots etc, not even one because you feel sorry for him. I hope your pony's story has a happy ending. Mine, alas, did not, but it was not for a lack of doing everything possible. Hang in there, it is a shitty rollercoaster that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

[Candle]

What does the DMSO do for founder? I've seen it used before, and was too emotional to ask and remember exactly what was going on. Thanks!

Oh, and the Yahoo group about the IR diet for horses was wonderful for me. I don't remember the name of it at the moment, but I used the IR diet with beet pulp, cinnamon, the whole nine yards, and my pony (Connamara/TB) came back to work sound after a year of mild chronic laminitis and three separate founder episodes (neglect before I picked her up).

[findeight]

See a bigger problem here...and I bet that laminitis clears up with the icing and DMSO (and I really don't think you need to worry about freezing any tissue, been around a ton of Ponies going thru the same thing getting iced and nothing has ever frozen standing in the summer in the crossties-don't think you can get it cold enough for long enough with a simple ice bath or pack).

Who turned this Pony out? Would they like the pay your vet bill?

This must never, ever happen again. A great many Ponies are restricted from rich grass, or even any grass, and many do not feed more then a literal handful of grain or ration of any kind and that is mostly for the supplements and meds.

Whoever is responsible for care of your Pony needs to understand they can cause great pain and even eventual death it if they do not follow proper guidelines. Fact, whoever did this is lucky they did not get a few colics dumping those horses and Ponies out like that on lush grass.

Either you or your parents, or both, need a sit down talk with the barn manager and they really need to lay down the law to that person who turned the Pony out. It's no joke, not kid stuff.

[cloudyandcallie]

My understanding is that founder is an advanced stage of laminitis -- when the supporting structures in the hoof are compromised to such an extent that the coffin bone rotates. If caught early, laminitis does not automatically result in founder.

Laminitis is an inflammation in the hoof such that the sensitive and insensitive laminae separate, resulting in extreme pain to the horse.

Please correct me if I'm wrong!

You are right. Laminitis can lead to founder. Founder occurs when there is rotation of the pedal bone.
OP needs a good vet and a good farrier both of whom know what this is and what to do about it.
Follow vet's and farrier's advice, get weight off of pony but as others said, he will need food and fiber so cut out carrots (full of sugar and starch) and grain, but substitute products and hay for grain.
And learn about grasses and fructans and sugars in grasses and what time of year and DAY grasses have more sugars in them. He need to be off of grass for a long time but you will learn how to reintroduce him to limited turnout on grass, but that's down the road a ways.

[JB]

What does the DMSO do for founder? I've seen it used before, and was too emotional to ask and remember exactly what was going on. Thanks!
IV DMSO is really good at "pulling" inflammation out of the entire body - feet included - very systemic.

Oh, and the Yahoo group about the IR diet for horses was wonderful for me. I don't remember the name of it at the moment, but I used the IR diet with beet pulp, cinnamon, the whole nine yards, and my pony (Connamara/TB) came back to work sound after a year of mild chronic laminitis and three separate founder episodes (neglect before I picked her up).
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/ has tons of info not only on Cushing's but also IR

[fair judy]

http://vet.osu.edu/assets/pdf/hospital/equineFarmAnimals/equine/articles/2008/laminitis.pdf

title..... "managing and preventing laminitis (founder )......."

[apachepony]

http://vet.osu.edu/assets/pdf/hospital/equineFarmAnimals/equine/articles/2008/laminitis.pdf

title..... "managing and preventing laminitis (founder )......."

Just because Ohio state is dumbing the term down, doesn't mean it's correct.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/ba3468a2a8681f69872569d60073fde1/748814acc30209718725714600515373/$FILE/laminitis_pederson.pdf
Even though people use the term founder and laminitis interchangeably, they are really two separate terms used to describe different stages of the condition. Laminitis is the inflammation of the laminae due to various causes and founder is the actual deformity of the hoof caused by detachment and rotation of the coffin bone.

To the op, your pony may not be able to handle grain, but that doesn't mean he necessarily can't have "food". Beet pulp (no molasses) is low sugar and is a good carrier for a vitamin/mineral supplement.

You may also look into feeding something like Quiessence or Remission.

[superpony123]

http://vet.osu.edu/assets/pdf/hospital/equineFarmAnimals/equine/articles/2008/laminitis.pdf

title..... "managing and preventing laminitis (founder )......."


i think this article scared me more than anything else ! the vet didn't tell me much (granted, i didn't ask. i was too nervous and upset. while i'm 17, i can definitely pass off as a 13 yr old sometimes. vet probably figured i'm too young to understand any of this stuff). i mean, he said it's very unusual that it's in all 4 feet, how it's so sudden, and said it was "moderate" .. except this article is telling me horses who have it in all 4 are very likely to be "sinkers" which sounds abundantly worse than rotation, atleast from what i'm reading. someone correct me if i'm wrong, because like i said, i don't know a whole ton about it, which is why i started this thread. this article just confused me a bit. it's comparing laminitis to human sepsis, and i don't *think* it's saying that my pony has a failing organ, but is that what it's saying? i think i misinterpreted---i hope i did--but someone tell me. when they say toxins, do they just mean all that bad sugar? i don't know! blah. the idea that my pony may never work again scares me a ton. could someone please correct me on any of this, assuming i probably just didnt fully understand what this article is telling me? paraphrase it? i don't know.

[Bogie]

Laminitis is indeed serious. However, only your vet can tell you the circumstances of YOUR pony. So, while it's good to read about laminitis and founder, you need to put this in the context of YOUR situation.

I know how terribly hard it is to 1) process information from your vet when you are in the middle of a crisis, 2) remember what your vet said while he or she is there and 3) come up with the questions that you need to ask.

Here's what I do: First, I have my vet write down EXACTLY what I am supposed to do so there is no confusion after he leaves. I am amazed by how little I remember when I'm very emotional about an injury or illness. At times I've also used a digital voice recorder to record our conversation so I can play it back later.

Then, after he's gone and I've had the chance to think about the situation and develop more questions, I write everything down and call him. I try to keep it concise and I try to have a pretty complete listing of questions so that I don't end up calling him repeatedly but this approach seems to work for me and for the vet.

Good luck with your pony. Don't worry now about what your pony will do after laminitis; focus now on what you need to do to get him through the episode, if possible, without suffering from coffin bone rotation. Honestly, your vet can't tell you now how it will turn out, only what you can do to make your pony more comfortable.
i think this article scared me more than anything else ! the vet didn't tell me much (granted, i didn't ask. i was too nervous and upset. while i'm 17, i can definitely pass off as a 13 yr old sometimes. vet probably figured i'm too young to understand any of this stuff). i mean, he said it's very unusual that it's in all 4 feet, how it's so sudden, and said it was "moderate" .. except this article is telling me horses who have it in all 4 are very likely to be "sinkers" which sounds abundantly worse than rotation, atleast from what i'm reading. someone correct me if i'm wrong, because like i said, i don't know a whole ton about it, which is why i started this thread. this article just confused me a bit. it's comparing laminitis to human sepsis, and i don't *think* it's saying that my pony has a failing organ, but is that what it's saying? i think i misinterpreted---i hope i did--but someone tell me. when they say toxins, do they just mean all that bad sugar? i don't know! blah. the idea that my pony may never work again scares me a ton. could someone please correct me on any of this, assuming i probably just didnt fully understand what this article is telling me? paraphrase it? i don't know.

[annsea]

Lots of jingles for you and your pony. If it's any help, my mare had laminitis about five years ago, with a slight rotation (founder) in both front feet. Thankfully, she recovered and has been sound ever since (she is a dressage horse). We went very slowly bringing her back - your vet can advise you how to do this - and for a we while shod her with special pads that offered a lot of frog support. Now she is in egg bars with a slight degree pad.

Like you, we caught it early and that was a big help. The vet gave her banamine and we iced several times a day. (Some vets use DMSO like your pony was on.)

Just focus for now on getting through this episode. You'll know far more after the x-rays, and hopefully your pony will be fine.

[Candle]

It seems to me that there are a couple of different ways to manage laminitis, and each vet has a "recipe" if you will, for what works for them and what looks like it will work the best for your individual pony. I remember being COMPLETELY overwhelmed when I dealt with laminitis for the first time (and it was with someone else's pony and they didn't believe in weight reduction, removing grass, or anything really. Very frustrating). Anyways, my best advice to you is to keep doing exactly what your vet says with regards to medications and icing, and do NOT let your pony back out on grass right now. Soak the hay, feed plain beet pulp if you have to feed anything, and start with the Yahoo group. Keep reading, make lists and charts about what you're reading (outline it like you would for a class), and in about a week you'll feel a LOT less overwhelmed. Sometimes it can be managed, and sometimes the best you can do is not enough. A lot of that is due to management, and a lot of that is due to factors beyond our control, so do the best you can, take a deep breath, and if it were my pony, I'd be furious at the person who let the pony out on grass. That's a whole other conversation though...

[superpony123]

Sarah -

How old is your pony? Is he the adorable pony on your profile photo?

yes. he's 11 yrs old.
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs019.snc1/4235_123752505224_589955224_3128578_5730192_n.jpg

cute as a button. but fat.

a few weeks ago, before the grass started to get seriously green and clovery:
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs009.snc1/2865_93300807287_742672287_2432603_5851270_n.jpg
still a fattie, but average looking for a pony, i'd say. he's always been kind of portly (half QH, half welsh)

[Lou-Lou]

Oh no! I am so sorry. :(

There is very good advice here already.

Sometimes it's best to not go about reading everything out there about the ailment. As long as you know exactly what you're supposed to be doing in terms of care for your pony, I personally wouldn't want to go read articles about everything that could go wrong, etc.

Here's to a good recovery for your pony.

[supershorty628]

I can't tell you anything that hasn't already been said, but I'm jingling like crazy for your cute little pony.

[fair judy]

[QUOTE=apachepony;4115766]Just because Ohio state is dumbing the term down, doesn't mean it's correct.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/ba3468a2a8681f69872569d60073fde1/748814acc30209718725714600515373/$FILE/laminitis_pederson.pdf


DUMBING THE TERM DOWN ROTFLMAO..... Dr.James Belknap.....
http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-breaking-news/2008/12/05/barbaro-memorial-fund-backs-laminitis-research.aspx

[fair judy]

hope the little guy is doing better. i agree that the more you read, the more opinions you will get.

[nlk]

Finding the cause is always #1. Granted you said he was turned out all night on grass but just to be safe check for other injuries as well in the future

When my old horse went through Laminitis we found out right before that he had pulled his suspensory. He was favoring he's leg and caused laminitis in the opposite foot. which then caused him to favor that one and brought it to the originally injured leg.

My horse was on bute 2x a day and a shot of Ace every AM. I was also ice wrapping his leg 3-5 times a day. Soaked wraps, quilts and polos, in ice water. As well as using plastic bags of ice around his pasterns.

The icing helps by reducing inflammation, think when you have an injury you put ice on it right? and you take motrin...so that's what you're doing by giving bute and icing.

My horse was on Ace to bring his blood pressure down which was pumping blood harder into the foot then it is suppose to, kind of like a throbbing wound, which was causing the inflammation and pain.

Also beware that even if your horse does not rotate and founder (for this purpose I think it's best to separate laminitis and founder so you can measure the degrees of severity in your own mind) you are still in for a long haul. When your horses feet stop throbbing (which is what causes the expansion of the laminae) then those blood pockets are going to likely become infected, abscesses. Those are going to be just as tough to deal with. again keeping your horse comfortable and not stressed is the way to go, his blood pressure needs to stay down to avoid the "Throbbing"

All together my horses didn't founder. He was lame for a very long time with the laminitis and abscesses. I had a wonderful vet and farrier who took their time and did things right. It was 6 months before I got on him and walked him around (christmas:)) and another 6 months before the hoof grew out and the missing chunk from the abscess popping was gone.

Best of luck, follow your vets advice and there is a good chance he will be ok. Also remember founder is not the end of the road many horses have great lives with proper shoeing and vet care.

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nothing to add, but sending lots of jingles!