Managing the Laminitic and Foundered Horse with Sole Support

by Tabb Pig, Certified Journeyman Farrier

When an equine athlete experiences an episode of Laminitis or Founder it can be a

painful experience. While there are numerous studies and articles on the causes of these

two maladies, there is also a general consensus on what the hoof capsule experiences

after the episodes occur.

When a horse experiences a bout of Laminitis, whether through injury, overfeeding or

pulling off your fingernail in an accident.

The Anatomy of Laminitis and Founder

The relationship between the sensitive and insensitive lamina inside the hoof wall are like

interlacing fingers in a tight hold; once they start to loosen, it does not take much to pull

them apart. At this point it would be described as Founder. In acute stages of Founder,

the hoof’s exterior would not show signs or symptoms of the disease. Once the bone has

rotated, Founder can be detected by an x-ray. Because the fragile attachment of the

lamina is the support of the horse’s body weight, it is critical to get a hoof care team

involved to address the issue fast. Proper diagnosis and treatment are crucial to recovery.

for a laminitic horse is a heart bar. Application of a heart bar shoe should be a very

precise procedure, requiring training and x-rays for proper placement. If necessary, a vet

may call for pads. In some cases, pads may allow sand and moisture to collect under the

pad, which can be trapped between the pad and the foot. If the horse abscesses, the shoe

will have to be removed for treatment. With any of these applications, the coffin bone

and sole have limited support. Without solar or frog support, there will still be stress on

the interior lamina.

When a farrier shoes the horse, all of the weight is placed on the hoof wall. When the

horse moves, the coffin bone and sole are moving downward toward the ground. This

creates more stress on the already inflamed lamina. The goal is to minimize stress, and

support the bone column and sole. During this phase the hoof care team strives to relieve

the stress between the hoof wall and the lamina. The most effective way to do that is to

protect the hoof with a pad or a pour-in pad. These packages are designed to increase

surface area for weight bearing so that the sole can take on some of the horse’s weight,

and not just the hoof wall. Historically, it was thought that anything you put underneath a

pad would help protect and cushion the sole of the horse. This, however, is not always the

case. For instance traditional silicone from the hardware store has been used under a pad,

The best alternative to traditional pads and silicone filling is a liquid pour-in pad made of

urethane adhesive. Products like Vettec’s Equi-Pak offer a versatile solution that is easy

to apply, sets quickly and produces a soft, resilient supportive pad material. Advantages

of pour-in pad materials include:

 an immediate bond to the sole, sealing out moisture and debris.

 the pour-in pad material can be filled to ground level for maximum support and

effectively absorbs concussion, instead of sending it up the leg like silicone

products.

 support to the boney column by loading the entire solar surface with a pour-in

pad, but also positions the weight-bearing load over the entire ground surface and

so that if you do not want to cover an area that may be sensitive, it can be blocked out.

Even if the whole sole cannot be covered, a half pad is 50% more support than not having

any.

Conclusion

Managing a horse’s acute Founder or Laminitis can be a challenge, and it’s important to

have a good team in place to diagnose, manage the treatment and ensure recovery of the

equine athlete. There are a number of treatments on the market today, but consider ones

that will help relieve the internal stresses within the hoof capsule and support the boney

column, providing a speedier recovery and a more comfortable horse. Using liquid pad