Posted by Derin Foor on July 25, 2001 at 16:22:20:
In Reply to: sinker?! posted by Kim Otterson on July 25, 2001 at 13:22:35:
: A horse, I've trimmed for a year or so has been lame for about a month. They asked me to take a look & I couldn't find an obvious problem & recommended that they call a vet out. They did. He diagnosed laminitis, based, I guess, on a slight digital pulse. (The horse appeared to be lame on the LF). He prescribed 10 dys. of Bute. After 14 dys, the horse was about the same & the owner called me again. I went & looked at him. He looked about the same, somewhat lame on the LF. I honestly thought it was a abcess that was having trouble breaking out, because the horse has tough feet & it's been really dry around here. Told the owner I still couldn't see anything I was sure of, better call the vet again. This time he x-rayed. Says the RF is fine & the LF is a "sinker". I'm perplexed, both as to what's actually going on & as to what to do next. Any suggestions?
Hi Kim,
10 days of bute to treat laminitis?.....WOW, what a great vet this must be!?!?......this reminds me of a recent posting where Patty took a little heat for criticizing a vet/diagnosis....but if the vet is not familiar with treating laminitis and founder then they have no business doing so and should refer these horses elsewhere....same goes for the farriers.....I suppose we should note for fairness sake, that we haven't heard the vet's side of this.....but why would masking the pain be the proper treatment EVER???....if he felt like the horse was laminitic he should have used hoof testers, blocks, x-rays etc not only to properly diagnose the condition, but also to protect himself from a malpractice standpoint
this is what I would suggest....meet with the vet, look at the x-rays together, and come up with a plan that the two of you agree on.....without seeing the x-rays I would think that the horse should be shod with a pad (probably a degree pad) and have proper caudal support added in the form of impression material placed from just behind the point of the frog to the heels
hope this helps ~~~~~~ Derin