Read About Horse Founder

Horse founder is the layman term for chronic Laminitis. Horse founder can be found in even the best cared for horses.

Horse founder affects the hooves with attaching to the coffin bone, and the horse's ability to walk, because of the inflammation of the lamina. This is the most inner wall of the hoof. This causes little to no circulation of blood to the hoof, and the hoof could eventually die. The majority of the time it affects the front hooves.

Many items contribute to the cause of this painful disease. The cause is most accredited to the following items: extreme amount of grain intake, over consuming cold water while overheated and toxemia following a uterine infection or pneumonia.

The symptoms to watch for is fast swelling in the hoof, sweating, increased temperature - some as high as 106 degrees Farenheit (62 degrees Celsius), hard pulse rate in and around the hoof, showing anxiety or restlessness, and the horse standing more forward than in a natural position.

If the horse is suspected to have horse founder consult your veterinarian as soon as possible. If the symptoms are caught soon enough there is usually an improvement within 24 to 62 hours.

Some treatments are more extensive and require repositioning and extensive care. The trainer or owner must consider which outcome they would like for the horse.

The remedies to choose from sometimes include the following: treating for pain, ways to prevent recurrence of more damage to the hoof, and/or try and reverse the damage done by the horse founder.

Horse founder sometimes is not completely treatable and not always life threatening, if detected early. The horses with extreme cases and have the movement of this disease to the coffin bone is not treatable.

Trying to avoid horse founder is possible if you take some of the following precautions: keep the horse healthy and avoid overfeeding. Keep the horse off the pastures with blossoms and put the horse out to pasture when the dew has dissipated. Make sure to feed the horse hay in the morning. Be sure to keep the grain bins are closed and away from the horse.

Horse founder can be a life threatening disease and may require a long period of time for recovery, it also requires a great deal of hoof care to preserve the life of the horse, and many cases leave a large amount of damage to the hooves and permanent damage to the coffin bone. Horse founder is a painful disease, it is best to take precautions and if the horse is suspected to have horse founder call your veterinarian immediately.