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Discussion on Riding foundered horse using bute ok?
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Member:
dhaslett
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 3:08 pm:
I posted about my foundered Icelandic mare June 20. The advice I got from Dr. O and all those who answered my post helped me decide how to proceed and I'm grateful. Now I'm back for more help.
Since my last post I located a horse specialist vet and took my mare to him. After the xrays his diagnosis was "chronic laminitis with 2 degree pedal rotation". He says her continuing pain is where the sole meets the toe and he recommended she be trimmed at a 48 degree angle with her toe squared (and the white line will be exposed). As I live in a remote area, I cannot get a farrier here until next month to do this.
In the meantime, despite so little rotation, the mare still walks mildly lame(more so on the right which I don't understand since the coffin bone rotation is the same in both feet). The vet agreed that riding her earlier would not "bring her out of it faster" as my farrier had said. But he also said that she is now chronic and so I can ride her if I give her bute 2 hours before riding.
I do realize that better trimming may result in her walking and trotting sound, but if she does not, I will just have a hard time riding a horse whose pain I am only masking with bute. Will she be more sore the next day if I ride this way? It just seems wrong to me. Isn't that why we ban drugs in show horses? One of my male friends who has lots of horses says "oh you women worry too much about your horses."
Your thoughts and experiences?
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 4:21 pm:
I'm not a vet, but like others here have had problems with laminitis. I wouldn't ride her until I was able to get her comfortable. It would seem to me it would just be aggrivating the problem and possible cause the inflamation to flare up again and make things worse and I'd think she could get an abcess from the pressure, also.
Can you get some cushy boots for her to wear? I've used easy-riders in the past and was very please with the result. I think there are others that are similar. If you do a search on horse boots here on HA I think you'll see some suggesting about some of the boots that might help your mare.
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Member:
dhaslett
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 4:55 pm:
Thanks for the advice about the Easy Rider boots. I will check into that. I guess I thought they protected against rocks or hoof breakage but didn't think they would help founder pain.
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Member:
juliem
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 5:30 pm:
I agree with Sara, I wouldn't ride her until she walks and trots sound. It can easily take 9 months to a year for all new hoof and attachments to grow. It seems to me that until then, you risk doing more damage and creating more pain. There doesn't seem to be much upside to riding now and there's no downside to waiting.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 5:50 pm:
Hi Prarie, Having dealt with founder myself, I would say no to riding her while on bute, It has not been that long since the damage was done. If she isn't acute anymore, she is trying to grow a better attachment. That isn't accomplished until a whole new hoof has been grown. You risk tearing the lamanie further.
That said 2 degrees isn't horrible, but some horses have little rotation and BIG pain, very individual. I rode my horse for short WALKs on soft ground 6 mos after his founder. He was off bute, stable and sound at that point.
He had the same degree of rotation in both fronts (approx 8 degrees) The right one has always been worse tho...I call it the cursed hoof . I agree too with the boots, there are many kinds out there, I have always been partial to the Old Macs with comfort pads, they made my horse very comfortable, even when he was acute.
Good luck with your horse and try to give her time to heal. In the end you will be happy you did! I know it is hard, I am dealing with the waiting game myself right now due to a fetlock injury.
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 7:16 pm:
I agree with the others about not riding until entirely sound.
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Member:
sodmonst
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 - 11:47 pm:
Personally, I wouldn't risk making things worse. It sounds like you have a good shot at a recovery for your mare if you can give her the time she needs to heal. The fact that she's sore could be nature's way of protecting her from being too active at this time.
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 7:24 am:
I agree with everyone else...no to riding until the horse shows no signs of lameness. Many horses have foundered and with TLC and time, have recovered to be pain free and rideable.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 7:24 am:
Hello Prariefemme,
When the pain is due to founder, I actually prefer sound plus 6 weeks to give the laminae time to completely heal. However the question about your specific case is whether the pain is: 1) still do to founder
2) a complication of the founder (see overview for descriptions)
3) or unrelated to the founder.
Until you know what the cause of the lameness is, the answers to your question on the recommendations on riding are conjectural.
DrO
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 9:47 am:
If someone asked you to hike 50 miles carrying you supplies on your back, and you had a toe nail half torn off, and blisters on both heels, how comfortable would you feel? Even with padding? Could you do it? Maybe. Be in more pain after? Probably. Delay healing? Most definately.
Sometimes helps to put yourself in the horses place.
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Member:
dhaslett
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 2:35 pm:
Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. It REALLY, REALLY helps to communicate with Dr. O and others who have experienced founder. I want to do the right thing for my mare and her comfort is way more important than when I can start riding her, if ever. A lot of the horse folks around here have a sort of "tough cowboy" mentality as in "aw, it won't hurt 'im none to ride 'im". I was just told today about this supposed miracle product called "Founder Free" by TLC. If I can't find any posts on it I will start a new thread.
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Member:
zarr
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 4:33 pm:
Tell all the cowboys to stick a small rock in their socks and tell them they can't remove it for a week.They might rethink. 
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