Your horse might stabilize and not get worse, but it also might not help at all. This helps to protect the painful part of the foot from contact with the ground and raises the heel to help restore the correct alignment of the pedal bone with the floor. Feed mostly grass hay or legume-grass mix hay with little or no grain, especially if the horse tends to be somewhat on the chunky side. You have to consistently replace the ice to keep the foot below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If it ever gets to a point where your horse can't stand up, or if the coffin bone drops through the sole of the hoof, you may need to put your horse down. During recovery, keep a close eye on your horse's diet. The manufacturer advises that you don't exceed 4 grams a day, and if possible administer the lowest effective dose. Feed extra fat in the form of oil or rice bran if you need to get energy into the horse. Over the longer term, effective pain relief involves drugs from the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) family, of which aspirin is a member. If your horse … 1 decade ago. If you can't stall them, put the horse in a small area alone with little grass. 10 Answers. You should try to give a foundered horse nothing but hay and water until cleared by the vet. Only grass hay should be supplied. I also put pine chips in stall and have dirt ground in run out. But if there is little to no rotation or damage to the coffin bone, the horse could have a full recovery in 6 to 8 weeks. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. A typical equine preparation is Butazolidin. Gentle walking helps blood to circulate in the hooves and can relieve some of the pain by removing inflammatory toxins from the hoof. Never feed the following ingredients: Wheat, oats, corn, barley or rice (even if steam flaked, micronized or extruded). While only time can fully heal founder, you can help a horse recover by relieving their pain, reducing inflammation, and allowing them to exercise safely. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. The horse is particularly sensitive to this. I have a horse with founder. In this case, 97% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. To help your horse recover from founder, first use medical treatment and then manage the causes. Have hope, by all means, he says, but have a plan in mind in case a horse's condition takes an unexpected turn for the worse. The dose is 10mg/kg once daily. Unfortunately for us it has a lot of different causes. Feed Small Meals: Laminitis due to starch-overload is very rare as most horses and ponies prone to laminitis are not fed large amounts of high starch concentrate feeds. My mini has been battling laminitus now for 3 months. Horses at risk of founder should use large tubs or boots of cold water as soon as possible, before clinical signs are exhibited. 3) Overdose of corticosteroids, both endogenous (self producing) such as in Cushings disease or stressed horses, and exogenous (overdosing steroids by the vet or others!). more than 2 years ago. She's still very sore in her feet, even with soft ride boots at a loss. This is because the support for the bone inside the hoof is weak and any undue force could sheer the tendon completely. The horse is designed to digest carbohydrates, starches and sugars in the small intestine and fibre in the hindgut. He is sound and perfect weight. To reduce inflammation, remove your horse’s shoes and attach a special foam pad to its hoof designed to cushion the sole of a horse with founder. Foods that fit this description are mature grasses and hay made from mature flowering grasses. This can include feeding the appropriate amino acids, applying nitro-glycerin plasters onto the coronary band, using a therapy laser on the coronary band/foot, and pulsating magnetic fields onto the foot capsule. If a horse is chunky, restrict time on lush spring pasture which tends to be high in sugar. The best surface to walk on is firm ground with a slight give, such as packed dirt. It’s also important that your horse gets exercise to promote blood circulation, which will remove toxins and help them recover. He just gets about 1 cup per day just so he eats his supplements. Complete Stall Rest. Because the laminae "glue" the pedal bone to the front wall of the hoof and are the main support mechanism of the foot, this separation causes a lot of mechanical problems, including the commonly seen sinking or rotation of the pedal bone down thru the sole. But if enough cell death occurs to damage or destroy the interlocking bond between the hoof wall and the coffin bone, the coffin bone ca… I have been using Epsom salt, putting 2", "Especially interesting is the shaping of hooves for horses suffering from laminitis. Many questions about founder don't have a definite answer, and this is one of them. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. The pasture must not contain lush rich grass as this can further inflame laminitis, so if suitable land is not available the horse should be stabled on soft bedding and taken for short walks every 3- 4 hours. Horses that have foundered should also be walked on harder surfaces such as sand or dirt footing, which will give their feet more support while the tendons heal. The mode of action is similar to other NSAIDs in that it inhibits prostaglandin, and therefore inflammation and pain. more than 2 years ago, Karen (HolisticHorse.com) Always make sure your horse has access to a plentiful supply of fresh water, to help with the digestion and absorption of aspirin. I have a horse that has been foundered for quite a while and need some specific guidelines on exercise and feeding. Founder, or laminitis, is a painful condition that affects the hoof of a horse. As long as the inflammation is mild (as it might be from a stone bruise, say), it's no big problem. What is a good feed for a horse with founder? Again, the idea is to provide support to the heel by raising it slightly and taking pressure off the back of the foot. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. So, "inflammation of the Laminae". It is available as 1 gram tablets, an oral paste, or an oral powder containing 1 gram of phenylbutazone in a 10 gram sachet. So I have a horse that I discovered had foundered (due to too much grass) just about 5 hours ago, and so we got the vet out, and he gave it some anaesthetic, and 'Bute' I think its called. She also has arthritis she normally a happy healthy horse, perfect weight and all. Never give aspirin to a horse that is taking other medications without first consulting your vet. I feed her whole oats and soakeed/rinsed beet pulp. Is their any special foods i could give her to put her on a diet? What to feed a horse that has foundered? In addition to supporting a thin or low-scoring horse, Butler does not believe in cutting feed if the laminitis has a non-food cause, such as from a retained placenta in a mare. There are many different commercial varieties of pads available, of which Styrofoam pads are one example that can adapt to the shape of the individual hoof. Answer Save. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/5f\/Help-a-Horse-Recover-from-Founder-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Help-a-Horse-Recover-from-Founder-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/5f\/Help-a-Horse-Recover-from-Founder-Step-1.jpg\/aid4965094-v4-728px-Help-a-Horse-Recover-from-Founder-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"