Steal's misfortune

So on Monday the vet came for Steal and confirmed Virpi's worst worries. Steal has Laminitis.

Laminitis (AKA Fouder) is basically inflammation of the sensitive laminae which holds the coffin bone in the hoof capsule. It is caused by lack of oxygen due to decreased blood flow to the laminae. This can destroy the laminar tissue and cause the coffin bone to rotate, "drop."

Laminitis is most commonly caused by high sugar intake eg rich grasses or grains that cause the stomach wall to release endotoxins which ultimately cause the blood vessel contraction. But it can also be caused by acute infections, problems after foaling, or a large intake of cold water before properly cooling down a horse after exercise (where such endotoxins can be released), excessive weight bearing, or a localised hoof abscess.

Steal became lame first on June 9Th. Of course the exact day that we were away in Sacramento at the Horse Expo. Beverly, who was looking after our "babies"found him barely able to walk and called Virpi immediately.

The farrier came the following week and assuming it was an abscess he packed the R.F. hoof with Ichtamol and put a shoe and a pad on. And for balance he shod the L.F. too. We gave him bute for a few days and he seemed better. And then last week as we stopped giving him bute, he was much worse.

Virpi had a natural hoof care specialist, whom I use to trim Madeira, come and pull those shoes, (didn't seem like shoes had been a good idea in the first place) but Steal was not getting better.

So the vet whom Virpi had been talking to in a phone for the past couple of weeks, said it would be a good idea to x-ray.

There is no rotation of the coffin bone yet (thank God)according to Steal's x-rays, and we must hope that with lots of rest, the right medication and change of diet he will recover.

The cause of steal's laminitis is not certain. It may have started with an abscess which could have weakened the laminar attachment, although we really never found the abscess, (but it doesn't mean there wasn't one.) It could be the alfalfa. We had just gotten a new load of what seemed like very rich and hot, leafy stuff right before it all started. And of course Steal is a bit overweight, which is a good base for laminitis, and we have been grazing a lot lately.

I have to add, that I saw Candy, the little pony laying down in her stall just a few weeks ago and as I went in to check her I found, that she was suffering from a case of laminitis.

Candy has had laminitis before, and after Raul switched her from alfalfa to oat hey she is feeling better.

So it seems that Madeira and Steal are going to spent the summer in a stall afterall. We stopped weaning Madeira back into alfalfa, her diet will remain mainly grass hay, and I will keep getting my money's worth as I pay Raul to exercise Madeira daily.

Well... with a big sigh, that's all for today.