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 Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
   
Location: Missouri | Hi All! It's been a long time since I've visited!
About a month ago, we were given a small pony that has been chronically foundered. I've never dealt with this before so I'm not sure how to help him. He was turned out with cattle for the last two years and had the "elf shoe" feet, but someone intervened and had a farrier come that cut off the extra toe. By the time he came to us, his heels were a mile high. My farrier has taken them down considerably. He has some days when I think he is improving, but the last two days he is back to barely being able to walk. I have him in a small pen, bermuda hay twice daily, and enough grain to taste. I was turning him out overnight b/c we are in a drought and our grass is burned crisp... but not sure if even that is safe?
Any success stories with one this bad? Anything else we can do to help him? Can he be turned out at all?
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
Location: Pacific Northwest | Has he been tested? He might need to be put on actual medication. My dads horse gets compounded pergolide, it’s about $60 for a two month supply.
I can’t remember exactly how much the test is but we had him tested for both Cushings and Insulin Resistence. He tested positive for both but he was already pretty much on an IR diet; plain grass hay, beet pulp and Timothy pellets, and on a dry lot. They said sometimes really high Cushings numbers can give a false IR positive. He’s been on the medicine since December 2017 and I still need to have him retested to see if the numbers are down or if we need to up his dose. |
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Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | livexlovexrodeo - 2018-07-26 2:24 PM Has he been tested? He might need to be put on actual medication. My dads horse gets compounded pergolide, it’s about $60 for a two month supply. I can’t remember exactly how much the test is but we had him tested for both Cushings and Insulin Resistence. He tested positive for both but he was already pretty much on an IR diet; plain grass hay, beet pulp and Timothy pellets, and on a dry lot. They said sometimes really high Cushings numbers can give a false IR positive. He’s been on the medicine since December 2017 and I still need to have him retested to see if the numbers are down or if we need to up his dose.
No, not tested. The vet wanted feet trimmed before much else. I will inquire about meds when we go in next week. Hopefully I can get him buted enough so that the trailer ride isn't so awful :( Poor guy is panting and soaked with sweat after hauling anywhere :( |
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 Peat and Repeat
Posts: 2773
Location: IN MY OWN LITTLE WORLD AT LEAST THEY KNOW ME HERE | Just a thought—
Can you dig up some sort of cushion and maybe a sock n then vet wrap?
Like the white styrofoam used for coke/beer coolers.
Or even cut a soft flip flop a bit bigger than hoof.
Cut to a little larger than hoof n wrap but not tight.
One of my mares grass foundered n rotated bad, a yr ago n my farrier put her in soft ride boots. She did well and we got her thru the abscess stage then when sole was stable and healed he put on frog pads n shoes. He just put her n a wedge pad n reg shoe.
I ride her now :0)
Edited by Yakima 2018-07-26 9:48 PM
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| One of the main things to remember is not to feed a pony like a horse as in not as much. Feed by body weight. |
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 Too Skinny
Posts: 8009
Location: LA Lower Alabama | I would not put him on pasture ever again and I have heard to try and feed last years hay. If his feet were ski like then I would wonder just how far he has rotated  |
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Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | cowgalsissy - 2018-07-27 8:22 AM
I would not put him on pasture ever again and I have heard to try and feed last years hay. If his feet were ski like then I would wonder just how far he has rotated
That's why the vet didn't X-ray initially. He made it sound like there's not much hope, basically wait and see what the farrier can do. But he's such a sweet pony, I would really like to help him. Plus, my daughter is already in love with him.
Edited by just4fun 2018-07-27 10:00 AM
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | just4fun - 2018-07-27 9:59 AM
cowgalsissy - 2018-07-27 8:22 AM
I would not put him on pasture ever again and I have heard to try and feed last years hay. If his feet were ski like then I would wonder just how far he has rotated
That's why the vet didn't X-ray initially. He made it sound like there's not much hope, basically wait and see what the farrier can do. But he's such a sweet pony, I would really like to help him. Plus, my daughter is already in love with him.
Bless his little heart  |
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Regular
Posts: 89
| I have a pony that has foundered on me a couple of times. She's 27 this year and she's a bit of a larger pony 52 inches and she didn't have much rotation. I literally fed her 1/2 of a 12oz drinking cup 2x's a day of low starch feed strategy healthy edge, thyroid L and mix grass hay. She hardly went out when new grass was coming up maybe and 2 to 3 hours a day. If you have been dry and then get some rain and you have new grass coming up it's high in sugar no matter the time of the year. When mine foundered the 1st time and it was in the fall and I thought she was safe because it was the fall, not. Now fast forward 10 years last winter was really hard on her now she has to eat almost as much as big horse because she's unable to eat hay so it's sr feed 1lb and 2 cups of alfalfa pellets 2x's a day. I would probably xray his feet to see what you are really dealing with and dry lot him if you can. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 124
| My friend is currently dealing with a recently diagnosed IR pony. Her vet suggested either Heiro or Remission as a supplement to help. After reading really good reviews of Remission, I put my pony and Paso Fino both on it. I agree with a previous owner on finding some way to pad his feet and make him more comfortable on top of giving him some bute. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| just4fun - 2018-07-26 11:34 AM
Hi All! It's been a long time since I've visited!
About a month ago, we were given a small pony that has been chronically foundered. I've never dealt with this before so I'm not sure how to help him. He was turned out with cattle for the last two years and had the "elf shoe" feet, but someone intervened and had a farrier come that cut off the extra toe. By the time he came to us, his heels were a mile high. My farrier has taken them down considerably. He has some days when I think he is improving, but the last two days he is back to barely being able to walk. I have him in a small pen, bermuda hay twice daily, and enough grain to taste. I was turning him out overnight b/c we are in a drought and our grass is burned crisp... but not sure if even that is safe?
Any success stories with one this bad? Anything else we can do to help him? Can he be turned out at all?
I have one who was foundered really bad, she has good and bad days, abscesses a lot, but doing well with proper management.
Key is to trimming every 3-4 weeks, not to take a lot off at a time, I bite the day before the day of and day after as each time you trim you can inflammation.
You need to keep off of all grass till the laminitis is completely gone,then you can grandually offer in like 5 min intervals. If there feet get hot and have pedal pulses when on grass they may have to be dry lotted forever.
Hoof boots will help as their soles are very tender and it causes them to bruise easily, the hoof boots would protect them |
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Location: Choctaw, OK | I've had several foundered ponies (bought them that way) and the supplement Remission by animed works wonders! All our stayed out on pasture. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 495
Location: Washington | We are almost through the process bringing one back. She was never to the point yours sounds like though.
We got her in Nov at the beginning stages of laminitis, swelling of the laminae, founder is the actual rotation of the coffin bone which you can't tell the degree without X-rays. I've never had ours X-rayed. It is a long heart wrenching process. If I had not seen her good days from time to time I'd given up a long time ago.
I second everyone on the Remission. Talk to your vet about an anti-inflammatory. Ours gets 1/2 gram a bute twice a day on her down days, PER THE VET, in a handful of soaked alfalfa pellets. This helps with pain and the inflammation of the laminae. The bruising of the soles can get painful. Be sure to keep him in sot footing and off any pasture. Brown, burnt, dead crass is just as high in sugar as the fresh green stuff.
What I have found to do the trick is keeping her on Biotin, straight Biotin. We ran out of Biotin and within a week or two was sore as snot again. Racked my brain and was only change. It's taken a month of being back on it but we have her back on track again.
Her diet is two flakes a day of grass hay, handful alfalfa pellets (twice a day), Horse Guard, Ground Flax, Biotin and Remission. I have to keep her on soft ground or a heavily bedded stall. We also have shoes on the fronts to help keep her sole off the ground as much as possible. She got trimmed every 2-3 weeks and now is monthly with the shoes on. She is 11.3 hands and ridden almost daily.
Photos are of her feet in Feb/March, then after a trim in March, then her feet after her first half set. I can't get side shots of now resized to upload.
Edited by Lopin' Leopard 2018-07-31 8:18 AM
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | mix some grated ginger root and tumeric. with feed. this will take some of the heat and pain out of the hoof. |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | Sorry you are dealing with this. It's not fun. It's definitely a long term commitment and if he's barely able to walk sometimes the best thing to do is what we don't want to do. If you really want to get in it for the long haul I would buy pony sized soft rides. That will help a little. But before you get too involved I would get x rays to see how bad the rotation is... if he's about to come through the bottom of the foot or if he's sinking idk how far you are going to get. |
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Member
Posts: 10
| Soft rides but dont buy too small since their walls are so upright they will fall off - I have one that was chronic founder before I got him. I fight when ever it gets really hot or cold ask your vet about Metformin (regulates insulin levels) Gabapentin (used for distal nerve pain) pentoxiphylline or isoxiprine (circulatory medication) and yes you will have to still give bute. Remission supplement seems to be helping but it will never go away and they will relapse. Mine is on Teff hay. Good luck & they can be managed. |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Just wanted to say how much I respect that y'all are working to help these babies to be as comfortable as they can be while they're with you
Edited by Chandler's Mom 2018-08-18 2:36 PM
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