"Sometimes, the quickest way to learn about something is to experience it. That is how I learned about laminitis. The
victim - my 12-year-old mare. The culprit - the lush spring grass in her pasture!"
|
There are many different factors or events that can cause laminitis. Probably the most familiar one is when your
horse makes a midnight raid on the feed bin whose door was inadvertently left open (yea, been there, done that).
Another common cause of laminitis is retained placenta in your foaling mare. This is the reason why it is so very
important to be sure your mare cleans promptly after foaling. Other causes are allowing a hot horse to drink a
large amount of cold water, obesity, and trauma to the feet such as running long distances on hard surfaces.
Anything physical or emotional that causes stress or shock to your horse's system can result in laminitis. In my
opinion, however, grass is the biggest threat of all because it is hard to predict. It may come on suddenly or
over a long period of time. Not all horses will founder on grass and not all grass will founder a horse. The grass
that my mare foundered on is the same pasture she grazed in every spring. But I suspect that it was a combination
of different things that made the grass more toxic that particular spring. The pasture had been fertilized earlier
and it was a wetter than normal spring. Both of these occurrences combined to make the grass grow more rapidly and
lush than usual. But, again, not every horse is affected by these conditions. A friend of mine once made the
comment, "You never see a skinny horse founder on grass." There is a lot of truth to this. Horses that are
susceptible to founder are usually "easy keepers." My horse gets fat just looking at food. A lot of these horses
will have a thick, cresty neck. Most ponies seem to fall into this category and as a result, are usually more
prone to founder than horses. So, if your horse fits this description, be on guard, especially in the spring when
the grass is abundant and lush.
Read the rest of this story...
|
