b'STEP BY STEP horses are overweight or might be prone to endocrine disease, relying on both foot and blood monitoring to try to identify Critical Early Intervention cases before a major problem develops.The key to managing an EMS horses feet and warding off laminitis lies within.Subtle Signs of Trouble If you have a horse or pony that fitsYou and your farrier can monitor a into the high-risk category for laminitis,variety of aspects of your horses hooves, its worthwhile to get X rays of the frontnot the least of which are his white line COURTESY TRAVIS BURNS/DR. R. SCOTT PLEASANTfeet occasionally, at the guidance of yourand sole. In addition to laminitis, EMS veterinarian, just to see whats going on,horses are prone to white line disease (an says van Eps. By the time there is pathol- infection of the inner hoof wall tissues) ogy (disease or damage) in the foot, itsand abscesses, the former of which is often too late. What weve found over theparticularly tricky to manage. years with laminitis is that once a horseYour farrier might notice that the white experiences this, the changes in the feetline in your horses front feet is getting are essentially irreversible. The feet canwider or that the soles natural arch is be managed, but there is only so muchflattening. The horse used to be comfort-you can do. Thus, prevention and limitingable when the farrier worked, but now, Use ice boots to cool feet continuously for the progression of the disease is key. first couple of days of an acute bout of laminitis. when he or she picks up one foot, the With horses prone to endocrine dis- horse doesnt want to stand on the other ease, Rucker says she typically takes lat- bone is made up of the horn and lamellarfor very long. All these things point eral (from the side) radiographs annuallydermis. We can compare this width/depthtoward the fact that this horse has a prob-as part of a preventive health program. from year to year, to make sure it hasntlem, says Rucker. It might be laminitis We also measure the width of the hoofchanged and the horse isnt starting toor something else, but these are the kinds wall, which includes the hard outer horndevelop clinical laminitis. of things we watch for.and also the soft tissuethe lamellae andShe says she tries to help owners be- If white line disease has set in, your dermis, she says. The distance from thecome more aware of potential problemsfarrier will debride (remove the dead outermost point of the wall to the coffinand talks to them about the fact theirand damaged tissue) the affected area to expose it to UV light and air. You can then take steps to keep the feet clean and dry and treat the debrided pockets topically with astringents.If its Laminitis, Also pay attention to your horses hoof growth. If the heels are outgrowing the its time totoewith uneven hoof growththis is also a clue, says Rucker. The owner can kick the bucket help keep track of this, looking for a wide white line or a flattening or prolapsed sole and checking growth rings of the New scientific study proves IceHorseshoof. If those rings are wider at the heel Laminitis boot is better by miles. than at the toe, these are things that sug-Something as serious as Laminitis needs thegest the horse is having a problem. And, of course, there are the telltale best treatment there is. New scientificsigns of an early case of laminitis: an veterinary research confirms IceHorses dryincreased pulse in the feet; the horse not cryotherapy is a much more effective coldwanting to walk forward or turn because his feet are sore; and shifting weight from therapy treatment than ice water buckets,foot to foot.gels or compression-based cold therapies. Once you notice changes, Burns says Why risk using anything less? the principles of hoof care for these horses are simple. We just go back to basics to maintain as much sole depth as possible, to keep the horse comfortable, he says, adding that horses with insuf-ficient sole depth become sore and tender very readily.He says hell also trim the horses toe back to make sure the dorsal (outer/front-The only cold therapy treatment approved by the USEF. See icehorse.net for more information. facing) hoof wall aligns with the dorsal surface of the distal phalanx (coffin bone) 52TheHorse.comTHE HORSE March 2018'