Karen Briggs wrote:

, keeping him on a deep bed, and limiting his

turnout. I know he should probably be on complete stall rest but
there's
his mental health to consider as well; he's never been one for being
cooped up. Fortunately at 29 years old he's a pretty sensible soul;

Yes he is, let him out! movement is important for returning the blood
circulation to his hooves.

at least get to spend some social time (they both have the

summer
itchies, it seems, so there's a lot of communal grooming going on!).

Social time is very important for horses. Without it thay can become
depressed and worsen their own chances of recovery.

Please go to the following site and at least read sections 3 and 4.
http://members.screenz.com/gretchenfathauer/Default.com

I know I may sound like a radical but the conventional methods of
treating founder do not work in the long run. They are only a temporary
"fix" before the next more radical treatment, also temporary, is needed.
I know this from experience, I currently have on my farm an 18 yr old
who has had navicular, ringbone and foundered at least twice. After
treating him myself with frequent proper barefoot trims and 24/7 turn
out, he is completely sound. He will start back into light work next
week after ten years as a lame horse.
Mary

Hi All,

Just wanted to thank you all for your useful input into my situation with
my pony, Pokey -- and for your good wishes, too. When it became clear to
me that he was not going to be a priority for my current vet, I started
making inquiries and found another vet who came well-recommended by my
farrier for founder problems, and who was obliging enough to come out the
same day. (And wonder of wonders, he had a box of Equipalazone in his
truck, which solves the problem of getting bute into Pokey. It had been
discontinued in Canada, and I was running perilously low on my supply, but
apparently the drug company has had a change of heart and re-introduced it.
Thank goodness, because Poke started turning up his nose at the regular
bute in his dinner a couple of days into our ordeal, and the last thing I
need is for him to go off his feed!)

Dr. Henderson recommended the styrofoam blocks a couple of you suggested;
my pony looks a bit like Elton John, with bright pink styrofoam 'platform
shoes' secured to his hooves with duct tape (and I hate to think what the
duct tape is doing for his hoof wall in the long term), but they do seem to
ease his discomfort. I stopped soaking his feet in ice water about six
days in; we'd pretty much gotten through the acute inflammatory phase by
that point, I figured, and he hadn't had much heat in his feet to begin
with, so I wasn't sure how much good it was doing. So now we're just
staying on 4g of bute a day (will begin tapering that in a couple more days
to gauge his discomfort level), changing the styrofoam blocks every day or
two as they scrunch down, keeping him on a deep bed, and limiting his
turnout. I know he should probably be on complete stall rest but there's
his mental health to consider as well; he's never been one for being
cooped up. Fortunately at 29 years old he's a pretty sensible soul; when
he's outside he just wanders slowly and grazes. Doesn't try any
shenanigans which would make him more sore. And he and my Thoroughbred,
Toddy, at least get to spend some social time (they both have the summer
itchies, it seems, so there's a lot of communal grooming going on!).

So he's no worse than he was a week ago, but I'm not sure he's any better,
either. His attitude is remaining bright, and I think he's spending less
time lying down, but that's a little hard to tell for sure. Will have the
vet out again this week for an assessment, and I think by next week we'll
be able to do some radiographs and know what we're really up against in
terms of sinking and/or rotation. For now, I keep promising him it'll get
better and hope they're not just hollow words.

Wish you luck with your very special pony. You've helped so many of
us with our horses with your great articles, especially us worry-
warts -

Thanks -- actually I'm finding it a bit ironic. I've written about founder
in the past, but it's been purely academic; to have it happen in your own
barn is another matter altogether! And I'm probably the biggest worrywart
of all .... I mean, I dedicated a *book* to this pony, so you can imagine
what he means to me.

(I just read the "treats"
article, and am glad to know I'm not the only one with a mare who
gets put out if the boys are fed first....)

Oh, Poppy was quite a diva. <G> Actually I just sold her last month ... I
just wasn't finding time to ride her enough to do her justice ... and now
I'm kicking myself! I have only the two in my barn now, Toddy and Pokey
(both of whom I'll never part with), so that means that Toddy has to stay
in and babysit Poke when he's inside; if he's outside by himself he runs
up and down the fenceline and screams his fool head off. (Thoroughbreds.
Sheesh.) And he is Not Amused about being inside for most of the day, let
me tell you. The state of his stall every day is appalling; mucking has
become quite an adventure. I may have to see if I can borrow a babysitter
pony from someone for a few weeks (though that's risky, too ... Toddy's an
A-type, super-macho personality and I'd hate to see him beat up someone's
poor Shetland!). Thank goodness that Pokey is such a good patient; he's
always been the dignified one.

Thanks, everyone; I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,
Karen.



****************************************************************
KAREN BRIGGS, freelance journalist
.... specializing in equine subjects ....
1998 American Horse Publications award winner
Author of "Understanding Equine Nutrition" and "Crazy for Horses"

briggs@... briggs@...
RR #2, Orangeville, Ontario L9W 2Y9 Canada.
phone (519) 942-4649 / fax (519) 942-0454

"Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other.
Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then."
-- Katharine Hepburn
****************************************************************