Horse owners often notice that their four-legged companions become increasingly “footy” or sensitive when moving. This is especially noticeable after a farrier or trimmer visit and is often attributed to “too much being taken off” during the hoof trimming.
The culprit seems obvious – time to find a new hoof care professional. What many don’t realise, however, is that this movement pattern is actually a sign of laminitis.
And the fact that it usually isn’t caused by hoof trimming, but rather by feeding, is still not widely understood.
Extensive research has shown that laminitis can present in many different forms.
Alleviating the symptoms alone does not change the cause.
It doesn’t always have to be a full-blown case of laminitis, with hot hooves, weight-shifting posture, frequent lying down, and reluctance to move. Much more often, we see low-grade or subclinical laminitic episodes. Horses may still move well on grass or in the arena, but become cautious and tight on hard ground. They may appear stiff, reluctant to turn on the spot, and prefer to curve around rather than pivot tightly.
Hoof shoes or shoeing will usually cure this foot soreness very quickly – the symptom disappears. But not the cause. Tender-footed walking should always be an alarm signal, because it means that painful, usually inflammatory reactions are occurring in the hoof.
The hooves can even be cold to normal temperature (“cold” laminitis does exist, which is never accompanied by warmth or pulsation even in an acute episode! This is especially true for chronic cases) and the horse is also in good spirits.
The causes of the different forms of laminitis can be varied. In autumn, it occurs particularly often in horses that are still out on pasture — even though the grass is often grazed down completely.
Years ago, the rule of thumb for horses with a predisposition to laminitis was that they could be put on the gnawed paddocks in autumn/winter, because there would be less growth and thus less protein in the grass.
Today, scientific research has shown that laminitis can have an overwhelming number of causes, but it is almost never related to the protein in the diet.
Short grazed pastures are a problem
The grazed-down “golf course lawns” that can often be seen as pasture in autumn are a much greater risk. Short winter pastures are also dangerous for sensitive horses. This is because grass can become stressed, which causes the levels of sugar, fructan and endophytes to increase.
All three have been confirmed as triggers for laminitis. Grass is stressed mainly by overgrazing (plant length less than a hand’s width above the ground), trampling (too many horses per area, running around the same area all summer long) and drought or wetness.
A summer with almost continuous rain can be just as problematic as a long, dry “Indian summer,” when horses are often left out on the fields until the end of October due to the dry conditions.
Foot soreness typically leads to reduced movement, as the horses avoid activity due to the pain.
At the same time, this also reduces blood circulation in the hoof, as the function of the so-called “hoof pump” – which relies on the horse bearing and lifting weight – is essential for pumping venous blood out of the hoof area.
Poorer blood circulation in turn restricts the ability to regenerate. It is only where fresh blood is able to reach, that the immune system can effectively work and nutrients necessary for cell development can be transported to.
In such cases, it’s important to ensure good blood circulation, as this is the only way to prevent an acute issue from developing into a chronic laminitic condition.
Foot soreness should never be dismissed – it may be the first sign of developing laminitis.
What to do if the horse comes out of the pasture tender-footed?
In any case, access to pasture should be stopped immediately, or – if the horse remains on grazed-down areas – plenty of hay should be provided to prevent further intake of laminitis-triggering substances from stressed grass.
Ideally, horses should be regularly moved to fresh, regrown pasture in time. If there isn’t enough grazing available, they should be transitioned to a winter paddock with constant access to hay as soon as the pasture becomes too short.
Even if you’d love to see your horse out on pasture all the time – when grazing space is limited, it’s not doing the horses or the pasture any favours.
In cases of classic, “hot” laminitis, cooling is most effective within the first 48 hours after symptoms appear.
For “footy” horses, cooling is often not helpful, as their condition has usually developed gradually over several days or weeks. In most cases, it’s better to focus on stimulating blood circulation in the hoof area right away.
Immediate measures
In addition to the care provided by a competent hoof trimmer, the immediate administration of OKAPI HoofCool forte, which should not be missing in any stable pharmacy, has proven its worth. It contains herbs that have a capillary-widening and clot-dissolving effect, so that blood circulation in the hoof area is stimulated again very quickly.
The added clinoptilolites bind acids and toxins in the large intestine to reduce the triggers for laminitis. The The frankincense it contains is known for its anti-inflammatory effect and has long been used successfully in horses with laminitis.
Sulfur (MSM) supports the regeneration of the hoof horn, which is always essential for laminitis candidates to prevent deformation as much as possible. HoofCool should be given at the maximum dosage until the symptoms improve visibly, then the dosage can usually be reduced to about half over a few days.
This amount should be kept constant for 3-4 weeks to support the body during regeneration.
Keep a close eye on your horse during this time. If their movement worsens again, the dosage can be increased, and it’s important to take another look at possible causes – there may be other factors at play besides pasture. If everything goes well, after 3-4 weeks you can then gradually taper off the HoofCool over a period of about a week.
Treatment is good, prevention is better!
- Rotate pastures in time – before the horses graze down to the grass roots (this applies just as much in summer as in winter).
- If possible, offer hay in the pasture from August at the latest, especially if there is little land
- Close areas early enough and don’t let the horses run around on the short pastures for too long, as the grass gets stresses by being trampled
In addition to the acute care described above, horses with a known tendency to hoof problems should always be viewed holistically, since existing metabolic imbalances often contribute to the development of laminitis at different times.
A possibly unrecognized insulin resistance, kryptopyrroluria or dysbiosis (improper fermentation in the intestine) should always be included in the diagnostic considerations. This is the only way to provide your horse with lasting, long-term support.
