Recognising Symptoms of Laminitis
Acute laminitis must be treated as a veterinary emergency - your prompt actions in the first few hours can make a significant difference to the prognosis and future life of your pony. Always call your vet and hoofcare professional as soon as you suspect laminitis.
Laminitis can affect just one foot - as is often the case where severe lameness on one side causes laminitis in the weight bearing foot. It can affect both front feet, or all four feet.
Most cases of laminitis are in the forefeet because they carry 65-70% of the horse's body weight. If all four feeet are affected then the front feet are usually the worst and more painful.
It can take up to 40 hours from the events that initiate blood flow restriction to the time when foot pain becomes clearly noticeable.
The signs are often mild at first with the horse merely shifting his weight form one foot to another. Sometimes this may be all the discomfort that a horse shows.
In a severe bout of acute laminitis, the signs progress rapidly - over a couple of hours - to a shuffling stilted gait. The horse can then become so sore that it is reluctant to move. The horse may lie down and refuse to get up.
Symptoms of Acute Laminitis
Heat in the hoof
Most people check the hoof wall for warmth and assume there is no problem if the hoof wall is cool. In the early stages of Laminitis when the blood flow to the hoof wall is restricted, the hoof wall may well feel cool or even cold. Later, when secondary inflamation develops the hoof wall may feel warmer. The air temperature may also affect the temperature of the hoof wall. Therefore the hoof wall temperature can be deceptive and should not be relied on.
Pulses
A more reliable indicator is an increase in the pulse in the branches of the digital artery. Laminitis causes a strong, often bounding, pulse in the arteries of the affected feet. This pulse can often be detected before the horse shows any pain. Strong pulses are a reflection of the changes in blood flow happening in the feet.
Finding the digital pulse.
The digital arteries run down each side of the leg, in the groove between the suspensory ligament and the flexor tendons (toward the back of the leg). They are easiest to feel as they run beside the sesamoid bones, toward the back of the fetlock. (It is very difficult to feel a pulse unless the artery can be pressed against a bony surface.)
To locate the arteries, cup the back of the fetlock, placing the thumb on one side and the first two fingers on the other. Slowly move the fingers and thumb toward the back of the fetlock, pressing lightly until the pulses are felt.
These arteries are quite small in diameter (about 1/8 inch, or 3 mm), and too much pressure blocks them, making it impossible to feel a pulse. However, too little pressure makes it difficult to find the arteries, so the pressure should begin lightly, and gradually increase until the pulse is felt. As a guide, it takes about the same amount of finger pressure as that needed to feel a pulse at a person's wrist.
You cannot feel a pulse with you thumb - your own pulse gets in the way - use your index and middle fingers.
Also a horse's resting heart rate is much lower than ours - so be patient - it will be along in a few seconds!
Practice being able to find the digital pulse - so that you can check it regularly.
Pulse pressure in the digital arteries is increased - even thought the blood flow is being reduced to the basement membrane and laminae. That sounds counterintuitive - but it makes sense when you view the blood vessel network in the hoof like a roads system. If the exit from town is blocked, the traffic builds up right across town and quickly results in a traffic jam.
The same effect happens in the feet - obstruction of outflow in the veins causes blockage in the capilaries and an increase in the pulse pressure in the arteries that supply the feet. That's what you can feel.
However - an increase in pulse pressure in the digital arteries can indicate other hoof problems - such as abscesses.
Early signs and symptoms
Very often a laminitis episode is preceded by signs that the pony is getting into difficulties. When the laminitis is caused by too much grass for examle, the overload of fructans can cause various other symptoms. Once you get to know your pony's normal behaviour and habits, you will soon be able to spot when something is out of the ordinary for them.
Some horses can grumble on for a long time with low grade symptoms.
Some signs you may observe are:
Reluctance to walk over uneven surfaces
Reluctance to go forward - often interpreted as "just being lazy"
Stumbling
Refusing to jump, or jumping and stumbling
Habitual resting of one foot
Reluctance to stand on one foot when other foot being picked up
Lying down more than normal
Irritable behaviour - may get to the point of biting
Looks distracted or preoccupied - perhaps eyes wider, preoccupation may show as jumpiness when approached.
Skin is itchy - rubbing against gate posts, stable doors, or you. Especially under the tail.
Failure to "keep up with the herd" - if your feet are sore it may be easier to just eat where you are rather than keep up with a moving herd.
If you have concerns about your horse or ponies health then discuss it with your vet.
Remember your actions in the first few hours can make a world of difference to the outcome for your horse.