Posted by Patty Stiller on July 08, 2003 at 22:19:54:
In Reply to: recent founder-what now? posted by vanessa on July 08, 2003 at 12:58:35:
: Hello, my horse foundered this spring on the amazingly green grass in her pasture. I had a vet come out and wrapped and padded her feet for one week, along with bute,put her in a stall, trimmed and now she is wearing padded shoes on her forefeet. I have taken her out on the lunge a little and she acts perfectly sound now, even though, I am waiting until the end of the summer to start riding her again. My question is, now that she has foundered once on pasture, does that mean I cant put her back out to pasture again? The grass has been cut and has yellowed considerably since spring, but I dont want to chance it happening again. I have heard that once foundered, they are prone to founder again.
There are several metabolic issues you need to check for and correct if needed before deciding if she can be safe on pasture again. The best resource for this information I know is in Yahoo.Go there, click on 'groups',and find EquineCushings. Join that group, it is free.
Even if your horse does not have cushings syndrome, that forum discusses in detail the most recent information concerning metabolic problems which can cause laminitis. These problems are expecially prevalent in ponies, gaited horses like morgans and pasos, arabians and a large prercentage of teenaged and older horses, especially mares. Some of the research results comes in there even before they get formerly published (like that from "safergrass.org" research)
Patty