Pip - Chronic Laminitis

by Jenny
(Ontario)

Pip

Pip is a Shetland Pony who I rescued in 2001 and when he arrived he was in very poor shape. His hooves had not been trimmed for a very long time and he had chronic (long-term) laminitis. He was around 10 years old and had had laminitis for many years. Because of the long-term nature of his laminitis, his coffin bone had deteriorated and so his recovery has been somewhat limited. Having said that he is running around without a care in the world, it is just that his hooves will never be picture perfect.

I have to keep his diet under tight control and so he wears a grazing muzzle to limit his grass intake. I have found that keeping his hooves trimmed on a very regular basis helps avoid and laminitis flare-ups.

He has never had an abscess or needed to wear hoof boots as he grows a lot of hoof and has great concavity.

The top pic shows him the day he arrived and his posture and attitude reflect how uncomfortable he was and the hoof pictures speak for themselves - horribly overgrown. The bottom pic shows him in 2006 - his posture is dramatically improved. I've also included some photos of his feet as they stand in 2009. Because of the internal damage he will never have a truely tight laminar connection (the connection between the coffin bone and the hoof wall) and I have to constantly apply a toe rocker to keep his breakover in the correct position, but he is happy and healthy and maintains a good quality of life.

Pip

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Dec 26, 2009
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Fungus
by: Jenny

Yes, I use Oxine as a fungus treatment and that has since improved the health of his frog, however it made no difference in getting a better toe wall connection hence why I'm pretty sure the cause is internal damage. He's never had a problem with landing heel first - these little guys are very stoic!

Dec 15, 2009
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unrecognized fungus?
by: Heather

I am just wondering if you've treated his frogs for fungus. I can see from the hoof photos he's got a good case of it and it may be why his toe has not come back the way you'd like. Fungus would leave him sore enough in his heels that he'd land toe first, which pulls the toe forward.

I've found raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother to be the most effective fungus treatment.

Just my two cents worth. :)

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