Spring is here with green grass and sore hooves
A day in the life of a horse doctor
Hi dear Reader!
How are you doing? It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote. I apologize for that. I’ve been meaning too but by the time Sunday rolls around I am exhausted from work and life stuff.
This picture has nothing to do with this week’s letter. It is Little Bock 1 with Amber in the winter. It has been raining here this week so everything is mud. I just thought it was cute.
This time of the year, I see a lot of horses that have laminitis or have foundered. In Minnesota, spring and early part of winter are our at risk times. What happens is that the horses eat the grass that has a lot of sugar. They get an insulin spike that their body can’t deal with that throws their body into an inflammatory response. In horses, inflammation likes to settle in their feet. Laminitis is the early stage where there is inflammation within the hoof capsule. (It is technically inflammation of the laminae that hold the coffin bone of the hoof to the hard part of the hoof.) The horse are very painful and can’t walk. Founder is when the inflammation breaks down the soft tissue that supports the bones within the hoof capsule. The coffin bone can rotate, which is bad, or it can “sink” which is really bad.
Thankfully, I see most of my clients several times a year so the appointment usually goes like this:
“Anything going on with Becky?” I ask during the physical exam of a chunky Becky.
“Not too much.” The owner looks at her horse and frowns. “Well, she has been walking a little weird. Must be her arthritis acting up.”
At this point, I usually have hubby carefully walk the horse back and forth in a small figure 8. A horse with laminitis has a distinct gait and will hesitate to do tight turns. Then, I’ll feel the lower legs and feet. The horse’s pulse will be very strong when normally it is hard to find, the feet will be hot, and the horse will be sore to hoof testers.
“Has Becky been on grass?”
“Yep, about 3 hours a day. She just loves it.” The owner pets Becky’s head and feeds her a sugar cube.
“I’m sure she does, but she isn’t able to handle the sugars in the spring grass.”
“You think she has laminitis.” Her smile slips into a frown. “I thought she’d be fine.”
At this point, we discuss taking x-rays of her front feet to see what the bones and soft tissue is doing and doing blood work to test insulin, blood sugar, and a few other metabolic diseases.
Laminitis has been around for a long time. We have some new treatment options but we use a lot of the same principles that were around 100 years ago. Once I read a James Herriot novel where he was treating a horse with laminitis, he had the horse stand in a cold creek for hours.
Currently, I recommend icing the hooves to bring down the inflammation. I put the horse on pain medications and put them somewhere to stand that is very soft and supportive. We also will put special shoes on them and if their bloodwork supports it, medications for the high insulin. We try to control the insulin levels with pasture management and exercise.
In Becky’s case, she was moved to a dry lot with only low sugar hay and special shoes. Her feet were iced several times a day and she lost about 100 pounds. She is now comfortable and back being a riding horse. It will be a few more weeks before she can go back on pasture. The sugar levels in the grass usually go down at the end of June in Minnesota.
Besides work, the family is doing great. The girls and I had a girls’ day yesterday. We went to our local farmer’s market to buy multi-colored eggs, cute little crocheted chicks, and chocolate chip cookies. The cookies didn’t make it home. The girls ate them all right after we bought them. Little Bock 1 carried her little chick cupped in her hand and made cheeping noises all day. She even set it on a swing at the playground and gently pushed it back and forth. Little Bock 2 was more into the cookies than the little chick.
As for writing, I am almost done with the first draft of Cassandra and Trevor’s story. I can’t wait to share it with you!
This week I have a story to share that is a little bit different. This is a short story that is a steampunk western. It may or may not have zombies in it. It is also free.
Book Blurb:
This prequel short story to "The Adventures of Bodacious Creed" reveals how Anna Lynn Boyd, young brothel madam and secret inventor, resurrected her pet cat, met her partner Jonny, and how Jonny became mute. There's science, adventure, heartbreak, and love in this tale that won an honorable mention in the Writers of the Future Contest.
That’s all I have for this week. I hope you have a good one! Hugs,
Allie
PS leave a comment or hit reply to let me know your thoughts!