The difference between founder and laminitis
Laminitis is the inflammatory stage and founder is when the coffin bone has lost it's attachment. Laminitis can be caused by toxins like vaccines, sugars (in grass or grain) that turn toxic in the gut, retained placenta, and allergies. These can be food allergies or environmental. Also mechanical laminitis is when the horse has direct trauma to the lamina via a long hard gallop on a hard road when it is not accustomed to that.
If the laminitis occurs when the hoof is not balanced and healthy (barefoot and trimmed properly) or is shod, the horse can experience additional damage due to imbalance. Conventional treatments "work" by squeezing the blood out of the corium with pressure from shoes and pads. Holistic treatment of founder seeks to rebalance the hoof and encourage healthy laminar horn production so that the wall grows in a healthy balanced attachment. We try to keep the inflammation to a minimum by using cool water and walking the horse to have the blood circulate. We may also give the horse Arnica which is a homeopathic.
A horse can have a laminitis episode and walk out of it if they have relatively healthy balanced feet. We can't always protect our horses against toxins in their environment. Clover as well as other legumes have a chemical in them that can provoke an allergic reaction resulting in laminitis. A mare can have a retained placenta or a horse can have a toxic reaction to injected vaccines. Shod horse owners don't even notice when their horse has a mild laminitis episode but these episodes eventually cause damage and then something triggers a major inflamation and the diagnosis is usually founder because by that time, the coffin bone has rotated away from the dorsal wall.
There is a huge difference with a natural hoofcare practioner's assessment of a founder and a conventional vet's assessment. The hoofcare practioner will trim the foot to rebalance the coffin bone and be sure that no excess bar causes pain. A conventional vet will usually advise drugs in the form of pain killers and anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) then suggest a farrier nail on wedge pads which tilt the coffin bone down and forward so that the blood in the lamina is squeezed out by pressure. This will help the horse experience instant relief. But it actually does further damage.
Also when a hoofcare practioner sees that the coffin bone is not ground parallel, we call that "rotation without separation". When the attachment of the coffin bone is lost and pain from bars and high heels cause the horse to walk on his toes, then we call that "rotation with separation". A vet's diagnosis of most foundered horses will be "rotation" in whatever degrees that they measure looking at an X-ray. To the hoofcare person, this means the same as "rotation with separation". The vets do not consider it rotation unless the dorsal wall has separated and is no longer parallel with the dorsal surface of the coffin bone. The hoofcare person is going to trim the hoof so that the coffin bone is ground parallel so that the new hoof wall will grow in with a healthy attachment.
Conventional treatment with wedge pads tips the coffin bone up into the dorsal hoof wall.
We trimmers want to help the horse grow in a healthy attachment to the coffin bone by returning the coffin bone to ground parallel by trimming the bars and heels so the horse will comfortably weight his heels. This will help the toe lamina receive blood flow thru the coffin bone via the digital arteries. These arteries meet inside the coffin bone (transverse arch) and feed the smaller arteries exiting the dorsal surface of the coffin bone. When the heel is jacked up with wedge pads, the coffin bone is pushed into the hard hoof wall pinching these arteries shut. The pressure on the arteries inside the coffin bone causes the openings to enlarge. This same pressure causes the openings for arteries in the navicular bone to enlarge too.
The vets want to quickly stop the pain, at whatever costs. They are not concerned or are unaware of the long term effects by only trying to get the horse to be "sound" immediately. By prescribing wedge pads, drugs and stall rest, this is accomplished by causing the blood flow to damaged areas to be reduced.
But the holistic approach is to fix the problem. This may be painful, takes a long time and requires much effort on the horse and owner in rehabbing. It is like if your roof in your house was leaking and you saw a stain on your ceiling. If you hire a painter to come in and paint the ceiling, the roof is still damaged. The next time it rains, the stain comes back. If you keep doing this over and over, the roof gets more and more damaged until you may have to replace the whole roof or it caves in on you! Horses in wedge pads that are walking on their toes and kept in a stall may be so excited to come out and their feet are so numb that for a while, they seem sound.
The vet will eventually tell you that you will have to euthanize your horse because there is "no known cure" for founder. (This happened to me!) There is no known cure because holistic hoof care is not taught in vet schools and has been shunned by the vet community because this method does not make the horse sound (numb) immediately. It also doesn't make any money for a vet or farrier!
The horse industry is built around shod, stalled and eventually lame horses. Look at all the products that would become unneccesary if horses were kept naturally!
A horse can heal itself if it is provided with a balanced trim and supportive rehab measures. Blood flow is important to healing the damage and inflammation. The inflammatory fluid is made up of a lot of pus (dead white blood cells and cellular debris) and blood. In order to get that stuff out, we hoofcare people want you to walk the horse to promote the blood flowing thru. The vets will want you to put your horse in a stall and limit movement!
But the worst thing you can do is have your horse trimmed incorrectly or infrequently so that the heels and bars grow and get that coffin bone out of balance again. Walking the horse on an unbalanced (not ground parallel) coffin bone causes damage to the bone.
Too much walking, even on a ground parallel coffin bone, if the bone has sunk all the way to the bottom of the hoof capsule is not good either.
So before you think all this natural hoofcare stuff is simple, think again! That is why most successful rehabilitations of foundered horses happen in a hoof clinic where the horse is trimmed frequently and the surfaces are covered in rubber and level. Also if a horse has had so many laminitis episodes that his lamina are permanently stretched out, his coffin bone has dissolved more than 20%, it is almost impossible to ever get them to become performance horses ever again. But they can become sound enough for some limited use. Getting an x-ray tells us how much coffin bone is left and whether it's even worth it to try.
Anyone that has horses should read Dr. Strasser's book, "Who's Afraid of Founder?"
If the laminitis occurs when the hoof is not balanced and healthy (barefoot and trimmed properly) or is shod, the horse can experience additional damage due to imbalance. Conventional treatments "work" by squeezing the blood out of the corium with pressure from shoes and pads. Holistic treatment of founder seeks to rebalance the hoof and encourage healthy laminar horn production so that the wall grows in a healthy balanced attachment. We try to keep the inflammation to a minimum by using cool water and walking the horse to have the blood circulate. We may also give the horse Arnica which is a homeopathic.
A horse can have a laminitis episode and walk out of it if they have relatively healthy balanced feet. We can't always protect our horses against toxins in their environment. Clover as well as other legumes have a chemical in them that can provoke an allergic reaction resulting in laminitis. A mare can have a retained placenta or a horse can have a toxic reaction to injected vaccines. Shod horse owners don't even notice when their horse has a mild laminitis episode but these episodes eventually cause damage and then something triggers a major inflamation and the diagnosis is usually founder because by that time, the coffin bone has rotated away from the dorsal wall.
There is a huge difference with a natural hoofcare practioner's assessment of a founder and a conventional vet's assessment. The hoofcare practioner will trim the foot to rebalance the coffin bone and be sure that no excess bar causes pain. A conventional vet will usually advise drugs in the form of pain killers and anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) then suggest a farrier nail on wedge pads which tilt the coffin bone down and forward so that the blood in the lamina is squeezed out by pressure. This will help the horse experience instant relief. But it actually does further damage.
Also when a hoofcare practioner sees that the coffin bone is not ground parallel, we call that "rotation without separation". When the attachment of the coffin bone is lost and pain from bars and high heels cause the horse to walk on his toes, then we call that "rotation with separation". A vet's diagnosis of most foundered horses will be "rotation" in whatever degrees that they measure looking at an X-ray. To the hoofcare person, this means the same as "rotation with separation". The vets do not consider it rotation unless the dorsal wall has separated and is no longer parallel with the dorsal surface of the coffin bone. The hoofcare person is going to trim the hoof so that the coffin bone is ground parallel so that the new hoof wall will grow in with a healthy attachment.
Conventional treatment with wedge pads tips the coffin bone up into the dorsal hoof wall.
We trimmers want to help the horse grow in a healthy attachment to the coffin bone by returning the coffin bone to ground parallel by trimming the bars and heels so the horse will comfortably weight his heels. This will help the toe lamina receive blood flow thru the coffin bone via the digital arteries. These arteries meet inside the coffin bone (transverse arch) and feed the smaller arteries exiting the dorsal surface of the coffin bone. When the heel is jacked up with wedge pads, the coffin bone is pushed into the hard hoof wall pinching these arteries shut. The pressure on the arteries inside the coffin bone causes the openings to enlarge. This same pressure causes the openings for arteries in the navicular bone to enlarge too.
The vets want to quickly stop the pain, at whatever costs. They are not concerned or are unaware of the long term effects by only trying to get the horse to be "sound" immediately. By prescribing wedge pads, drugs and stall rest, this is accomplished by causing the blood flow to damaged areas to be reduced.
But the holistic approach is to fix the problem. This may be painful, takes a long time and requires much effort on the horse and owner in rehabbing. It is like if your roof in your house was leaking and you saw a stain on your ceiling. If you hire a painter to come in and paint the ceiling, the roof is still damaged. The next time it rains, the stain comes back. If you keep doing this over and over, the roof gets more and more damaged until you may have to replace the whole roof or it caves in on you! Horses in wedge pads that are walking on their toes and kept in a stall may be so excited to come out and their feet are so numb that for a while, they seem sound.
The vet will eventually tell you that you will have to euthanize your horse because there is "no known cure" for founder. (This happened to me!) There is no known cure because holistic hoof care is not taught in vet schools and has been shunned by the vet community because this method does not make the horse sound (numb) immediately. It also doesn't make any money for a vet or farrier!
The horse industry is built around shod, stalled and eventually lame horses. Look at all the products that would become unneccesary if horses were kept naturally!
A horse can heal itself if it is provided with a balanced trim and supportive rehab measures. Blood flow is important to healing the damage and inflammation. The inflammatory fluid is made up of a lot of pus (dead white blood cells and cellular debris) and blood. In order to get that stuff out, we hoofcare people want you to walk the horse to promote the blood flowing thru. The vets will want you to put your horse in a stall and limit movement!
But the worst thing you can do is have your horse trimmed incorrectly or infrequently so that the heels and bars grow and get that coffin bone out of balance again. Walking the horse on an unbalanced (not ground parallel) coffin bone causes damage to the bone.
Too much walking, even on a ground parallel coffin bone, if the bone has sunk all the way to the bottom of the hoof capsule is not good either.
So before you think all this natural hoofcare stuff is simple, think again! That is why most successful rehabilitations of foundered horses happen in a hoof clinic where the horse is trimmed frequently and the surfaces are covered in rubber and level. Also if a horse has had so many laminitis episodes that his lamina are permanently stretched out, his coffin bone has dissolved more than 20%, it is almost impossible to ever get them to become performance horses ever again. But they can become sound enough for some limited use. Getting an x-ray tells us how much coffin bone is left and whether it's even worth it to try.
Anyone that has horses should read Dr. Strasser's book, "Who's Afraid of Founder?"
Founder cases
New founder case Before trim
20+ yr. old gelding with history of laminitis and founder with rotation. Before trim shows typical stance indicating heel pain. Heel pain also makes the shoulders appear straight and the butt tucked in. Also look how straight the stifle is. See in the photo below that the stifle, shoulder, hip and fetlock joints appear much more harmonic.
After trim
This old guy showed quite a dramatic difference in his conformation after trimming! Look at that shoulder and butt!
Above foundered horse's Left front before trimming
I've seen worse angles. These are not too bad. But the heels are high and the bars are very full causing the horse to shift his weight to the toe. Not a good thing for a horse with a history of laminitis.
Left front after trim
This is the first trim on this horse and a lot of bar was trimmed. I would like to lower the heel a bit more but this horse will be much relieved having those honker bars trimmed.
Right Front bulb view before trim
This shows the problem. High heels and bars with contraction. Usually one foot is more contracted than the other. This can be avoided if the foal has proper hoofcare from day one.
Right Front after trimming
The ideal heel height is supposed to be 3 cms (about an inch and 1/4) from hair-bearing skin to the ground.
Right Front sole view Before trimming
Contraction and high bars and heels as seen from the sole view.
RF sole view After trimming
Here you can see the deep central groove and the tightly pinched heel bulbs. There is evidence of poor frog growth and abscessing in the frog.
#1 Jubilee's X-ray of right front
My sister called me when I was at a hoof trimming clinic with Nancy Filbert in SC back in 2003 about two horses that the owner was ready to have euthanized. A 20 yr. old backyard Ten. Walker mare and her 15 yr old "baby". I told my sister I would come take a look. I regret that I didn't take "before" photos now as they were higher in the heels than they were in the toes. They both had lots of abscesses working out at the coronet. After I took them, it took me two trims to get down to feet that were close to what you see here. I had x-rays done shortly after I began trimming them. These horses were in a small dry lot where the owner would feed grain laced with Bute. He had been doing that for years! The "baby" had been foundered since she was less than a year old.
Jubilee's right front
The x-ray shows how poorly attached the coffin bone was though you can't tell that from looking at the outside of the hoof. This is why I emphasis getting x-rays!!! This horse's coffin bone was sitting right on the floor of the hoof capsule in her worst stage. When the coffin bone sinks down, the sole appears flat or even convex and bulging. What happens in this kind of situation is the whole capsule has a meltdown. The lamina stretch out or even separate from the swollen corium which is seeping fluid that has nowhere to go. Since the hoof horn is like plastic, when the hoof get inflammed from toxic stuff in the body, whether it is from chemicals like drugs or vaccinations, or whether it is from too much grass or grain that turns to acid in the gut, or whether it comes from retained placenta, poisoning is what has happened! It is the trigger that sets laminitis off. And when the coffin bone is tipped up by high heels, founder follows. It is the erroneous belief still held onto by many equine professionals that the deep flexor tendon exerts a pull on the coffin bone causing it to rotate when in reality, it is the pain from high bars that casue the horse to consciously flex his muscles to pick his heels up from the pain. When the bars are trimmed and the heels are lowered the hoof has to recover from the damage done by pressure on the toe wall lamina. With these horses, the mechanics of having the coffin bone tipped up by extremely high heels led to damage and something triggers the inflammation. Top it all off with drugs and sweet feed and we have a horse full of toxins! This mare looked "fat" but what was really going on is she was puffy from fluid throughout her body. When I started trimming her properly, she just melted! I supported her with good nutrition which included free access to grass and hay and some whole grains. The more I trimmed these horse's feet, the better they did.
Same foot after re-attachment
One thing that happens with a chronically foundered foot is that a portion of the coffin bone dissolves and it becomes shorter so you can never get the kind of toe height and concavity as you might have in a healthy hoof. BUT the horse CAN become sound and usable again. It may not be able to withstand extreme high level sports, but for some uses, it is perfectly capable.
#2 Sinker
This x-ray shows how much the hoof has sunk down into the hoof capsule. In a healthy hoof, you should see the extensor process at or above the level of the hairline. This one had dropped down as much as a half to 3/4 inch. The heels are still not low enough. The bars were trimmed out. This horse foundered when shod, but had been successfully barefoot for some time...until he unfortunately was put on grass fertilized with liquid nitrogen. Horses are not cows!
Photo of horse in the above x-ray
Its hard to get the heels low enough in a sinker. And bars must be trimmed completely out to keep any heel pain from compromising a heel-first landing. Bars are relative! if the coffin bone is not well-suspended, even short bars can feel like high ones. The coffin bone needs to be ground parallel and remain that way especially while waiting for good connection to grow in from the top. It took me several months to get this horse's coffin bone attachment to grow in. His original founder was due to repeated laminitis when he was shod with orthopedic shoes and pads. horses with shoes will have subclinical laminitis that is from the lack of shock absorption and compression of tissue within the hoof capsule due to the nailed on shoe.
Toe height and re-attachment
And this photo shows the same "sinker" now with a capsule that has new attachment which has grown down about 2 inches and lifted the coffin bone back up. The old stretched hoof wall has been rasped back to be even with the new attachment. This is still a fragile attachment and you wouldn't want to jump this horse or go for an extreme ride but he's good to go for some light riding with a light rider. This one eventually got sound enough for most uses of light riding.
Same horse as above post mortum coffin bone
This coffin bone shows the amount of loss of bone on the dorsal and solar surfaces, and the addition of bone at the attachment process for the lateral cartilage (sidebone). This was my pony, Cody's feet. He died of a pulmonary embolism, ten years after the vet said he should be destroyed due to founder. Cody taught me a lot! I made mistakes with his trimming as I learned and tried different things. But the fact that he was sound and happy when his coffin bones looked this bad is a testament to the fact that he did have some good attachment. Below are some other views of this coffin bone.
See how there is no concavity left in this coffin bone? Now look below and see this foot before I boiled it out and you can see the hoof as it was when the horse died.
See how there is no concavity left in this coffin bone? Now look below and see this foot before I boiled it out and you can see the hoof as it was when the horse died.
no concavity left.
post mortum oblique view showing concavity
#3 Sugar (Jubilee's daughter)
This is the 14 yr old daughter of Jubilee. both horses were chronic founder cases but Sugar, unlike her mother, had severe joint adaptation.She also recovered enough to be sold to a new owner who later called me and told me how much she loved the horse!
Sugar's RF
Like Jubilee, Sugar's feet were experiencing "meltdown". I have noticed that when the hoof goes through this much loss of attachment, it looks like a foot with no contraction. Of course you would see that the bottom of the hoof was flat on the ground! The horn tends to look plastic and a dead color.
Sugar's RF after re-attachment
As you can see, the foot looks quite a bit smaller! But remember, the hoof is a cast of the coffin bone and Sugar has an itty bitty coffin bone. Some of the landmarks of re-attachement you can see on the lateral view are the lateral cartilages which in the foundered stage had sunk down into the hoof capsule. In the sole view, you could see that the hoof now has concavity and that is also an indication of re-attachment. In the frontal view below, you can see the laminar wedge which would continue to grow out as re-growth of healthier lamina grows down.
Sugar's LF frontal view after re-attachment
Here you can clearly see the laminar wedge at the toe. As the attachment grows down from the top, the laminar wedge will get less pronounced. The wrinkle right at the coronet would indicate some additional trauma and from the lateral view, it is evident that the heel needed to be lowered more.
#4 Quarter horse LF frontal view Before
I began trimming this horse after the owner had been trimming it. This shows the before trim which the owner had done. The horse had been foundered from systemic poisoning by grass and alfalfa 3 years previously and thus had laminitis in all four feet. With x-rays, we could see that this horse was in a similar state of founder as the two Tenn. Walkers above. The coffin bone had a ski tip and had dropped within the hoof capsule. Looking at this view, you can see the wavy hairline indicating poor attachment.
#4 LF frontal view AFTER 2nd trim
Amazingly, in just two weeks, there has been significant improvement. With the advantage of seeing the x-rays, I was able to know exactly how far I could lower the heels and back up the toe. But I credit the owner with her dilligent walking and the first trim I did that allowed blood flow to heal the hoof with this dramatic improvement. It takes this kind of commitment to bring a severe case back. I suspect we will have reattachment in just 3 months, maybe less!
#4 LF frontal 3rd trim
Mare continues to improve.
#4 LF lateral view Before 1st trim
Though the owner had been trying, she was just not getting enough of the trim correct to make improvements.
#4 LF lateral view After 2nd trim
Even with this photo, I can see that I would like to lower the heel even more. The bulb and frog were very full and that prevented me from lowering it as much as I wanted. I also could have backed the toe up even more. Sometimes you do as much as you can and it's still not enough!
#4 LF Lateral 3rd trim
Improvement continues. Toe has been backed up to appropriate breakover as toe height continues to build.
#4 solar view Before 1st trim
And here you can see how full the frog was. Also note thos honker bars which were weight bearing. Otherwise, the foot is not contracted. But what you can't see in the view is how there was no concavity around the tip of the frog.
#4 LF solar view After 2nd trim
Here I trimmed the frog & bars down very far and backed the toe up. What we are always trying to do is get the coffin bone ground parallel and have good hoof mechanism.
From Grace's owner: "Grace is doing great! She's really walking all over with a nice stride and even trotting and cantering....Thanks for being my hoof person!" Mandy
From Grace's owner: "Grace is doing great! She's really walking all over with a nice stride and even trotting and cantering....Thanks for being my hoof person!" Mandy
#4 LF sole view after 3rd trim
Although it appears that the bar has been trimmed down to the colateral grooves, the bar is still about 1 cm and can be seen only when the frog is pulled to the side. As more bar drops down, I will continue to trim the bar that was shoved up into the capsule but it is trimmed enough for now.
Coffin bone comparison
The coffin bone on the left has concavity while the foundered coffin bone on the right is flattened and convex. This would be similar to the Tenn. Walkers and case #4 above. See the lateral and frontal views of this foundered coffin bone below.
Severe founder in a 6 year old
This is a photograph I secretly took with my phone at an "educational" farrier and vet meeting. Its of a 6 yr. old mare that had suffered a ressection of the toe wall by the vet and was being reshod. The group knew I was a barefoot trimmer, which was kind of like being a black girl at a KKK rally! Its OBVIOUS to me what the mare's problems are besides the insult of the ressection and shoes. It's those honker bars visible on the xray and high heels not to mention serious contraction and SHOES!!! Like the emperor's new clothes, they discussed how much "improved" the horse was as it tip-toed around. Yet the vet confided to me that he didn't think there was any hope and the horse would most likely be euthanized. It would be a tremendous amount of work but I could fix a horse like this. It would be pointless to have told them that though, because the owner would likely trust all those vets and farriers over me, a lowly barefoot trimmer.
#5 slippered founder pony LF lateral Before
When i first saw this pony, it appeared as if someone has cut off part of the slipper foot but there was still a long foot and the pony's coffin joint was hyper-extended. When the owner finally got me to come and trim her, I was impressed at how much better the foot looked with just self trimming. Still there was alot to do.
#5 LF lateral After
I once had a farrier explain that "you need to be really careful, little lady. There's about 7 or 8 different bones in the hoof". WAAAILLL that kind of ignorance is what drives me to explain to owners that there is mainly one bone in the hoof (although the navicular bone is also there and the bottom end of the short pastern is right at the junction of the hair bearing skin and the hoof) This farrier also told me that "it takes a strong back and a weak mind to be a horse shoer!" I couldn't agree more! That's why I am a trained and educated hoofcare professional, not a horse shoer!
The hoof is a cast of the coffin bone. The coffin bone is a uniquely evolved bone that has arteries running thru it and a thick capillary bed, called the corium, surrounding the dorsal, solar and lateral surfaces. This blood-rich 'sock' acts as both an organ of protein excretion, thereby assisting the kidneys and skin in eliminating excess protein, and as a blood pump assisting the small heart. There is evidence too that it serves as a complex hydraulic shock absorption system. That corium is responsible for growing the laminar horn which holds the hoof wall onto the coffin bone. The laminar horn is softer and allows torqueing and flexibility to the hoof as well as moisture control within the hoof horn. It is seen and described at the solar surface of the hoof as the "white line". A healthy hoof has a very tight white line or laminar connection.
This pony has had very long deformed hooves from excess growth and repeated episodes of laminitis (where the laminar corium becomes inflammed and swells releasing serum) causing the laminar horn to stretch. Laminitis comes from toxic poisoning from excess grass or other sources like reaction to vaccinations OR mechanical founder from contraction or excess horn growth. Founder is from repeated laminitis episodes. So when a trimmer removes the excess wall horn and backs the toe up to conform the hoof capsule to the coffin bone, what we see is stretched laminar horn. As the pony grows a new hoof wall from the coronet down, the laminar corium will attempt to repair itself from its stretched-out shape. Damaged corium will be indentified by the body's immune system and walled off with white blood cells. This is a sterile abscess as opposed to an abscess most commonly seen as being formed around introduced bacteria from a wound. In order to bring the feet back to a healthy function and shape, it is necessary to support the body's healing by soaking the hoof in a weak solution of apple cider vinegar and water. This kills bacteria and promotes healthy tissue regeneration.
See the comparison of a microscopic view of healthy laminar corium and the stretched laminar corium from a foundered horse below.
The hoof is a cast of the coffin bone. The coffin bone is a uniquely evolved bone that has arteries running thru it and a thick capillary bed, called the corium, surrounding the dorsal, solar and lateral surfaces. This blood-rich 'sock' acts as both an organ of protein excretion, thereby assisting the kidneys and skin in eliminating excess protein, and as a blood pump assisting the small heart. There is evidence too that it serves as a complex hydraulic shock absorption system. That corium is responsible for growing the laminar horn which holds the hoof wall onto the coffin bone. The laminar horn is softer and allows torqueing and flexibility to the hoof as well as moisture control within the hoof horn. It is seen and described at the solar surface of the hoof as the "white line". A healthy hoof has a very tight white line or laminar connection.
This pony has had very long deformed hooves from excess growth and repeated episodes of laminitis (where the laminar corium becomes inflammed and swells releasing serum) causing the laminar horn to stretch. Laminitis comes from toxic poisoning from excess grass or other sources like reaction to vaccinations OR mechanical founder from contraction or excess horn growth. Founder is from repeated laminitis episodes. So when a trimmer removes the excess wall horn and backs the toe up to conform the hoof capsule to the coffin bone, what we see is stretched laminar horn. As the pony grows a new hoof wall from the coronet down, the laminar corium will attempt to repair itself from its stretched-out shape. Damaged corium will be indentified by the body's immune system and walled off with white blood cells. This is a sterile abscess as opposed to an abscess most commonly seen as being formed around introduced bacteria from a wound. In order to bring the feet back to a healthy function and shape, it is necessary to support the body's healing by soaking the hoof in a weak solution of apple cider vinegar and water. This kills bacteria and promotes healthy tissue regeneration.
See the comparison of a microscopic view of healthy laminar corium and the stretched laminar corium from a foundered horse below.
Healthy Laminar Corium (below)
Unhealthy laminar corium (below) from a Foundered hoof
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#5 LF frontal view Before trim
Here the hairline can be seen to be wavy. It should be straight and level. you can see the stretched white line and the wavy lines of growth.. Interesting that the wave is very similar to Grace's LF, case #4.
#5 LF frontal After trim
You can really see the stretched white line horn here. It is also called the "laminar wedge". We look at the hairline and know that the coffin bone is not well-suspended because of the dip. Just like in case #4, I expect to see improvement in the hairline as the new wall horn grows. The wall horn grows at a rate of about 1/4 inch per month.
#5 LF sole view Before trim
All horn (wall, frog, sole and bar) grows down and forward. As the heel and toe grow forward. it pulls on the papillae that grow the tubular horn. Everything gets stretched forward and the effect pinches the heels causing contraction.
#5 LF sole view After trim
Here you can see that the foot is indeed contracted. But ponies like this one will have a foot that is more contracted than say a draft or warmblood.
#6 Old Quarter Horse mare
BEFORE TRIM Right Front abscessed extensively whole sole, bar and into wall lamina. Owner has been doing her own trimming for most of the horse's life. I was asked to trim the horse about two years ago and owner wanted to do her own trimming. When this horse began having pain from this abscess about two months ago, she called the vet. Her treatment was to diaper the foot. The owner did not call me until the horse had begun sloughing off the sole.
Title Text.
#6 Quarter Horse mare After trim
Most of the sole sloughed off with new sole of two months growth underneath. Sole had some concavity but toe callous area was indented which would lead me to believe that significant coffin bone damage was done. The coffin bone likely no longer is concave. Active inflammatory stage has been over for two months. This just shows that even when the owners do not know much about trimming, the horse manages to do her own restorative removal of excess horn! Though I was not called during the mare's inflammation, I was able to trim the excess bar and wall horn so that the mare can grow in a better attachment.
#6 RF lateral view BEFORE trim
As if often the case, the owner was more concerned about the bulge near the coronary band than the fact that the coffin bone had lost its connection and suspension all the way around not to mention dissolved and deformed. It would be like being concerned about a cracked windshield on a new car and not even checking to see if the engine was blown! Without an xray, which the owner was not going to do, the coffin bone's shape (distorted) and position (not suspended) cannot be accurately accessed. But I have had enough experience to determine that it is not well suspended and has been damaged and deformed.
#6 RF AFTER trim
Much better joint alignment and although the wall lamina has been stretched and old abscess exit is in the wall, the new wall connection has already grown down about half inch.
#6 bulb view BEFORE trim
This horse's foot is contracted but the walls do diverge. the heels are too high.
#6 bulb view AFTER trim
Here you can see how much heel I trimmed. The bar on one side just lifted off due to an old abscess