"My mare had a disaster at the trainer's,"
writes Jo-Ann Kennedy of Saskatchewan. "She had a tie stall fall apart
on her and, from what I gather, she stood a long time in a stressful
position. Then she foundered and I was not aware until a week later.
(These people don't touch my horse anymore!) That was in July of the
summer before last. She got through all that okay, but the following
February her hooves started falling apart.
"From what I understand the hoof was growing out and the founder damage
to the hoof was causing it to lose shape at the heels. Her heels were
flaring out. My farrier tried shoeing and all seemed to be okay until
last July. He shod her and stated that his goal was to get her on a
smaller shoe because of the flares.
"I got a bit concerned so I found another farrier. He says the founder
is showing in the heels and she does not need smaller shoes; they would
do more damage. His theory is that hooves grow where there is pressure,
so he mixed up some filler and shaped her hooves as they normally would
be, so the hooves would grow out that way. Then he shoed her.
"I've had this process done for about 5 or 6 times and things seem to
be going okay. However, we live in a cold winter climate and the filler
cracks off. Her hooves still look concave at the heels: they curve in
up top and flare out on the ground, and her heels are really down. For
a few times my farrier put a leather shim under her shoes to lift the
heels, but he thinks maybe continuing to do that will stop the heel
from growing. What do you think?
"She's a tough horse and seems to have no lameness. It was suggested
that I leave her barefoot for two months, but I think if I do we could
get a good cold spell and she could lose a chunk of hoof and I'll be
back to square one. I give her MSM and a big dose of biotin daily. I'm
convinced they help the hoof wall as it grows. I want to do the best
possible to get this horse's feet well again.
"I have become quite confident in this farrier now, but he is moving
away. I will not go back to the first one after seeing his work on other
horses. Can I do anything else, or am I doing things right?"
Laminitis and resulting founder (sinking of the coffin bone) are serious
and complicated diseases, and what works on one horse may cripple another.
The best thing a horse owner can do is get help from the best equine
veterinarian and farrier that can be found. The veterinarian should
have a good working relationship with one or more farriers he or she
trusts. You can get a list of American Farrier's Association certified
farriers in your area by calling 606-233-7411. Ask for case histories
and references.
I personally don't like to use filler on foundered horses. I like to
see what the feet are doing and how they look as they grow out. The
founder rings take about a year to grow down to the ground. At that
time I can usually tell how much permanent damage founder has done to
the hoof. Filler can also trap debris, and may cause an abscess in the
hoof not a good thing.
One of the best methods for treating founder is with frog support, which
may be done by using a heart bar shoe applied by a farrier who is experienced
in its usage. Another method that works well is to use a frog support
pad between the hoof and a flat shoe made to fit the trimmed hoof. The
pad may be purchased ready-made from any horseshoe supply store or may
be made as follows:
Cut either a leather or plastic pad to fit the hoof and shoe, then cut
a wedge from a second leather pad. The wedge should be the same shape
and size as the frog. Carefully mark the full pad as to were the frog
is. Using short roofing nails, nail the wedge to the full pad so the
wedge covers the frog when the shoe is nailed on. The heads of the roofing
nails must be on the hoof side of the pad, with the ends bent over and
pounded down on the ground side of the pad assembly. Two nails are enough,
and please remember: pointy ends of the nails down, away from the hoof.
Nail the shoe and pad assembly to the trimmed hoof. The hoof wall at
the toe may be rasped back to the white line to take support off the
toe. The spaces between the pad and hoof should be packed with silicone
caulking or other soft pliable packing.
Frog support treatment takes weight off the hoof wall and puts some
of the weight on the frog, and also supports the leg's bone column and
helps keep the coffin bone from rotating down. As I said at the outset,
laminitis and the resulting founder are complex, and so are the treatments.
Since each case is different, a good farrier and vet team should be
involved in any treatment of founder.
With new treatments and medications, many foundered horses make full
recovery, I hope yours will, too.
