Lamnitis - Shaking legs in rain

Question
Hi, my horse had Lamnitis in May, hes has gone lame a few times after having his feet trimmed, which is undstandable, i left him out yesterday in the rain and when i brought him him he was shaking on the chest and legs, he has done this before and went down lame, have you got any clues as what this could be, i put him to bed with a think rug traveling boots to keep he legs warm and bute.

Answer
Hi Rhea ... his body is probabaly very taxed due to the laminitis. Rain will soak a horse down to the skin which then inhibits the body's natural defense against weather. Under each hair on the body is a cell/nerve that tells the coat what to do dependant upon the external environment. Cold temps?  The fur raises to catch the body heat. Hot temps? The fur attempts to protect the body. It's all part of the body's thermoregulatory system. BUT .. that being said, if the horse is compromised immune-wise by outside stressors or inside metabolic issues then the protective systems just cannot function optimally.

One of the BEST ways to help keep a horse warm is the digestion of hay/forage. I would make sure the horse has plenty of hay to eat and if he still shivers after eating hay then you need to have a vet examine to see what the underlying cause is.

If lame after trims then I would say the farrier or trimmer needs to look at his or her trim to see what is going wrong and adjust accordingly. The shaking MIGHT be resultant of pain ... that would be something to consider also. Rather than just plying him with Bute for pain, please try to find out the underlying cause of this. Talk to both your farrier/trimmer and your vet - work as a team to help your horse.

Best always,
Gwen