Can anyone recommend a good Vet for Laminitis?

There is actually a good sale on them right now at Greenhawk...119.00 a pair. I paid 165.00 for mine...

I am with you Tango...embrace the good days!! :o)

There are pain treatment options other then bute. Let me get back to you on this.

Ok, just did some digging. Ask your vet about previcox. It is prescribed for dogs but people are having success in horses with it. Have you tried Devil's claw?

Before you spend all this money on supplements, vets, x-rays, etc I would go right back to basics. First, get the horse out 24/7. This is an absolute! Hay should be spread out or stuffed into slow feeders to encourage movement and to slow down the rate of consumption. Remove everything from the diet except for free choice low calorie hay, loose minerals, salt and water. That's it. Until you get the trim and lifestyle right I would not start adding anything into the diet. Horses who are suffering with these types of problems tend to be sensitive about everything - diet, vaccines, worming, etc. Test your hay. Supplement with only the pure form of whatever is missing.

The yahoo cushing group has a lot of info. Your horse may not have cushings but the lifestyle and diet needed for both types of horses is the same.

I would not waste my money creating a treatment plan for a chronically lame horse if I did not plan on making some big changes all around. There's no point in treating the symptoms if its only masking the cause.

Paddock paradise is designed specifically for people on a small acerage - look into it!

my vet is trying to get an OK from the powers that be to do a case study using a drug not currently available to us and I am sure he called it Previcox. Apparently safer, effective and cheap...8 cents a day. Boomer is on his list. I'll keep you all posted.

So Barefoot horsegirl are you saying not to get a vet opinion on what could be wrong, laminitis, navicular, ringbone, soft tissue? I was going to have blood work done to make sure it is not insulin, or a cushings issue would this not help in the treatment? What about x-rays should you not know if any rotation if it was a founder? I am confused now. Ridge has a barn but is never locked in he comes and goes as he pleases. His hay is scattered tonight some in stall some in one paddock some in another. I am assuming you are a barefoot trimmer, have you trimmed or worked on any laminitic horse, I would love to hear about please:) Any info is great.

If anyone has had the barefoot trimming done on a laminitic horse I would love to hear about the results.

also has anyone tried the paddock paradise?

Thanks

Kim

Reading further amadtatter, and Equioxx is the equine equivalent to Previcox.

No PaintedRidge, I think its great to have a vets diagnosis but its very expensive and most of the things you can do yourself without spending all that money initially. If a horse is a very easy keeper and having foot issues I don't need a vet to tell me the horse is cushings or insulin resistent. The diet protocols will be the same, IMO. Its nice to know for sure, but I'm still going to treat the horse the same and see if I see improvement. Does your horse have any signs of cushings?

Yes, I am a barefoot trimmer and I have trimmed lots of laminitic horses, including my own. Diet is a huge issue with these horses. Less is more. Basically everything I said in the post above. Exercise and movement is key too.

Is your horse currently being trimmed by a barefoot trimmer? Is he turned out with a buddy? How old is he? Breed? Maybe we can get some conversation going if you give us more info.

I'm not doing an actual paddock paradise here but we always spread our hay to encourage movement and use slow feeders. I never feed in the barn or near it, if the fatties want to eat their going to have to go and get it. No buffets in the barn around here. Feed hay as far away from the barn/water source as possible. Is your horse overweight?

I do not think overweight but not small, I will post some photos for you. No signs of cushings. No grain just hay stretch to mix msm, biotin and Vitamin E. Shoes at present. No buddy. 13 year old gelding, registered paint horse with small white feet:(

Gudrun, my foot specialist posted this on facebook

http://infraredsolutions.securedomain.co.nz/uploads///pdfs/horse-laminitis.pdf
infraredsolutions.securedomain

IT may help you understand Laminitis better.

What are the ingredients in hay stretch? Does it contain grain? If so, can you replace it with something like a handful of timothy hay cubes or molasses free beet pulp? He should also have some source of free choice minerals, even something like kelp for now and free choice salt.

If it were my horse I would get the shoes off and find a good barefoot trimmer to help me. Use boots to ride on rough terrain. Start treating for thrush with something like White Lightning, cleantrax, etc. Navicular = heel pain and that can be caused by thrush/bacteria/fungus. If you get x-rays it will let you know for sure what's going on inside.

Would it be possible to get him a buddy to give him some motivation to move? If not, I would recommend feeding your hay at the opposite end of your turnout. I have about 4 -5 acres fenced in a long narrow rectangle. I don't have a paddock paradise but we will load hay in the back of the truck, and drive all the way to the bottom of the long stretch, as far away from the barn (water source) as we can get. It takes a few minutes for me to walk it on foot. If the horses want to eat, they have to walk to the bottom of the field. Want a drink? Back up to the barn you go. Time to eat again? Back to the bottom. Oh, now you want to go in - walk back up to the top. All these trips add up in the run of a day. Exercise is so important.

Incorporate slow feeders. Tons of ideas here:

http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Slow+Feeders

and use low calorie hay. He doesn't look too fat in the pics, not compared to my horses who are on the verge of obese.

There are so many options and its certainly hard to tell what to do.

Thanks Joan very informative. Thanks Barefoot horse girl, that's what I thought not to fat. He is really comforatable today I do have a young horse away and can bring him back, really looking at the pasture paridise, but it will be all grass same as my round pen. This makes me veryn leary, so may wait untill all the goodness in the grass is gone. Waiting to see what PEI can confirm and will go at it like a ton of bricks, what ever needs to be done. I love my horse and as long as I can keep him pain free he will be with me. He has been a loving and faithful companion for many years and I WILL LOOK AFTER HIM!!!!! I will find out what is in the hay streatch, took him off grain last year after EEE shots 2010 when all issues started.

Thanks

Kim

hi there, just reading through this thread. I have a very insulin resistant Canadian gelding and found this out by getting the blood tests done. My vet said he likely was IR, but how much is important to know too. If you are freaked out about letting your horse have grass, then go ahead and get the blood tested to see if IR is a problem or not. If it isn't, then you have a good base for the future.

You want to get a glucose and an insulin blood draw done. When you get the results back, both numbers may be in a normal range. don't let your vet tell you everything is okay until you check your results using the calculator offered by Equine Cushings group. You can pm me for the link - it's an online page whee you just plug in your numbers

The important thing is not the individual ranges but the ratio between the two numbers!!! My horse seemed fine according to my vet (who had NEVER done this test before) but the Calculator confirmed him to be VERY IR, so now I am much more thorough about his diet.

I test my hay and mix my own minerals to balance, putting them in unsweetened beet pulp and adding flax and Vit E because he gets very little grass (I don't have a pasture). His overall energy and hoof/hair health have improved noticeably since I started down this road.

I second all the info Barefoothorsegirl offered .... from experience.

thanks, have him on Vit E for sure, and I am kind of thinking the same thing INSULIN. Going to find out and have blood work done in PEI on Friday. Thanks for the Info and Yes I would like the link:)

Have salt and minerals in his diet going to look for the beet pulp anyone know where you can get it in the metro area? I know I can get the regular one.

Thanks for all the help.

My vet put my elderly mare on Previcox, for pain. It was cheap, easy to use, and exceeding effective, with no side effects from long term usage. My girl had another 13 months of painfree living until we euthanised her last November 17th. I would definitely recommend Previcox for long-term pain relief.

Thank you Twilight, I will ask tomorrow if that will be an option:)

I am just heartbroken about heading over now, scared of the outcome. Not a great day:(

Thanks to all for the support and advice!

Good luck tomorrow, I'll be thinking of you!

I know exactly the feeling you are talking about...hang in there.

Thanks Ladies, just cleaned and brushed him is such a sweet horse!!!!

It is going to be a sleepless night. Good thing I am on the Road at 5:30, get up and get going.

Just a feeling of dread right now:(

Once again thanks!

Good luck Kim!! Hope it all works out OK!

Thanks Nancy:)

thinking of you guys........... :cowboyhound.gi

thanks Joan!

I missed when your appointent was....was it Friday? If it was, hoping you have some questions answered and that things aren't as bad as you thought.

OK I just want to say AVC is fantastic, helped and supported me all day through tears:(
Ridge has nacivular:( there is no rotation that I had thought, but xrays where excellent and conclusive!
they explained everthing. To bad it took a year and a half of pain, tears and frustration!
Whole new look out now.
Not as bad as I had thought, but still heartbreaking, I know a lot of you can identify:(
I guess it is just move forwad and see if he will become comfortable with corrective shoeing and pads as recommended buy vets they seem to think this should work for a while!
I just feel lost:(

Thanks

Kim

oh dear :-( If they feel hopeful he can be helped with shoes and pads - that sounds very positive, indeed! Did he mind the travelling? Very warm yesterday....I've never had to deal with navicular personally, but isn't that better news than chronic laminitis? Is it simplistic of me to think that navicular is arthritis of certain foot joints? Never mind, I shall google....!
I did edit to add this site - duh!
Why the heck didn't I think of it before????

www.horseshoes.com