Laminitis Treatment

If you are reading this article chances are you are looking for a treatment for laminitis. Laminitis is not something that can be taken lightly. If you suspect your horse has laminitis, it is imperative that your vet be called immediately for an emergency visit. The vet will treat it like a colic case and come to the farm immediately. There is only a small window of time to treat the horse before the laminitis becomes advanced. Once laminitis is in the advanced stages it can turn into founder, and that is very bad. Laminitis treatment can stop the progression of laminitis, but once founder sets in oftentimes the most humane thing you can do for your horse is put him down. So what happens once the vet arrives? What can you do to help your horse after your vet has left the farm? Both are good questions.

What Happens When The Vet Arrives?

• The vet will try to determine the cause of laminitis. If it is from too much lush, spring grass or from eating too much feed the owner should know about that, so it makes it easier for the vet to treat. If obvious reasons are not present, the vet will ask detailed questions to try to find exactly what caused the laminitis. Once a cause has been determined the vet can begin treatment.
• Most likely NSAIDs will be administered to reduce pain. Laminitis is extremely painful and the horse will need some measure of relief.
• Anticoagulants and vasodilators will be administered to improve blood flow to the feet and reduce blood pressure.
• If the horse has overeaten, using a nasogastric tube with mineral oil to purge the horses system.
• Administering antiendotoxins to reduce bacterial toxicity.
• Opening and draining any abscesses that may have formed.

What Can You Do After Your Vet Has Left?

• Make sure the horse is comfortable by using a lot of soft bedding to cushion his feet.
• Work with a good farrier. The farrier may use frog supports, corrective trimming or therapeutic pads.
• Finding a good nutrition plan to suit your horses new needs. Laminitis is a nutritional issue and what you were feeding before might not be good for him now.
• Working with your vet to decide how much grazing he can do. Putting him out on dry lot for at least part of the day will be necessary.
• Change his exercise routine. What he was doing before laminitis may not be suitable for him now.

What Else Can You Do?

The most important thing to do for a laminitis in horses is to educate yourself. Guessing what is good for your horse will not work. You need to know exactly what can be done for him to alleviate pain and get him back into a work program. There are many laminitis horse treatments out there. You can look at what I found which truly helped my horse recover and helped me recognize symptoms of laminitis. For this information on laminitis I went to Laminitis Cure. I wish you and your horse years of health and partnership together.