Australian Fire Survivor Horses Now in Danger of Heat-Induced Laminitis

This has to be the animal-lover's photo of the year; a firefighter in the Australian state of Victoria shares his bottle of spring water with a burned koala. (photo links to Horse Deals Australia blog)

The numbers are staggering. Wildlife and public health officials in Australia estimate that as many as one million animals may have been killed in the wildfires that ripped through the state of Victoria last weekend. As if that news isn't bad enough, there may be a double whammy coming for horses who had to stand on the scorched earth: the fire in the bush is over, but the fire in the feet may be only beginning.

We know that rapid and continual cooling by the icing of the horse's lower limb and digit ("cryotherapy") can clinically prevent laminitis, as proven in studies by the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit at the University of Queensland, directed by Dr. Chris Pollitt.

But can the inverse be true? Can heat cause laminitis?

Dr. Pollitt is flying south to Victoria to help with rescue efforts and provide veterinary services for the hundreds of horses displaced or injured by the wild bushfires that ripped through the countryside in Victoria.

The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Veterinary Science in Victoria is providing free care to pets and horses injured in the recent fires. Professor Ken Hinchcliff, Dean of the Faculty there, says that veterinary clinic staff at the university are deeply concerned.

Dean Lewis of the Victoria Farriers Association has spoken up about the danger of horses "losing their hoof capsules" and has offered the services of his member farriers to help with rescue operations.

One of the things that touched me was that the rescue center are having trouble feeding the horses, and put out a call for soft lucerne (alfalfa) hay. So many horses have burned muzzles that it is painful for them to eat regular hay with its stiff stalks poking their burnt flesh.

The burns on this cat's paws are typical of what pets and livestock have experienced. This cat is receiving veterinary care at the Victoria Animal Aid fire assistance center.

Triple R Equine Welfare Inc. (TREW) warns horse owners and anyone wishing to help, "The immediate threat to horses left stranded in burnt properties is damage to hooves. Prolonged exposure to hot ground will cause a low grade overheating, that develops into heat induced laminitis. The prognosis for horses suffering this condition will be extremely poor. It is imperative the we move swiftly to relocate horses off burnt properties."

The textbook Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue by Gimenez, Gimenez, and May (Wiley-Blackwell 2008) offers some insight into what body conditions of a burn victim horse may contribute to laminitis and hoof capsule detachment:

"Thermal injury produces local and systemic responses. In the local (skin, which would include the hoof) response, inflammation is the primary reaction, caused by damaged, leaking tissues and blood vessels. Tissue fluid and electrolyte shifts cause inflammation and fluid loss...

"Tissue injury continues for 24-48 hours after the initial thermal injury, therefore the burn will increase in severity over that period of time. Necrosis (death) of the dermis and epidermis in full-thickness burns creates a hard, leathery charred appearance to the skin; this is called eschar (Pascoe 1999). As the eschar sloughs, it creates an increase in open wounds."

It's pretty straightforward to think that burned hooves are a danger in themselves, even though farriers routinely hot-fit hooves and prolonged hot fitting has not been shown to be a danger to hooves. Burned coronets would affect the blood supply to the lamina within the hoof, which would probably already be decreased by the inflammation, edema, and compromised circulation.

Let's keep all the Australians--two-legged and four-legged in our thoughts, and hope that we can learn something about laminitis and how to prevent and treat it in future forest fire emergencies.

Sam the Water Guzzling Koala is recovering at a shelter; she too has extensive burns on her feet. It looks like she's been to the hairdresser, too.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Rockin' Gooseneck Shoe: Dr Ric Redden Helps a Foundered Belgian Mare in Florida

(edited from a longer article received as a press release)

On May 23, 2008, a Belgian mare named Princess was saved from going to slaughter. She went home from the kill auction with Victoria McCullough of the Triumph Project, a horse rescue program in Loxahatchee, Florida. The Triumph Project rehabilitates and rehomes slaughter-bound horses purchased at auctions, particularly the one in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

It did not take long for Victoria to find the problem with Princess, who had a severe rotation in her front hooves as a result of the disease of laminitis.

Months later, Victoria asked the question "Have we done all we can?" She put out calls for experts who might be able to help Princess. She told Dr. Mike Gerard, "I need an answer, I can deal with whatever it is, but I need to know an answer." Dr. Gerard's answer was three words: "Dr. Ric Redden".

Dr. Redden owns the International Equine Podiatry Center (IEPC) in Versailles, Kentucky, and is a leading laminitis consulting veterinarian and pathmaker in new treatments for laminitis in horses.

That was last Wednesday. Within eight hours of her telephone call, Dr. Redden arrived at Victoria's farm to help Princess.

Quotes about the procedure from the Triumph Project's press release:

"Dr. Redden evaluated Princess and her x-rays, then went to work designing a set of shoes called Aluminum Rock and Road Rail Shoes with a Gooseneck. These shoes will allow the pressure to be taken off of the tendon with the mechanical movement of the shoe.

"The shoe was fabricated by cutting a rail shoe in half, fabricating the gooseneck out of plate aluminum, then riveting and welding the three parts together. When the shoe was applied to the hoof it touched the foot at the heels and the hoof wall, alleviating the pressure on the toe and quarters.

"The shoe was attached to the foot using e-head nails in a sole nailing procedure. The gooseneck was attached using Phillips head screws. Adhere (urethane-based adhesive) and hoof putty were applied to the gap in the quarters. This shoeing application allows the navicular bone free from pressure so that the lamina can heal. This should have a positive effect on the now negative angle of the navicular bone. When the procedure was complete radiographs were taken of the hoof. Princess will be re-shod in approximately six weeks.

"Kelly McGee, a local (farrier) was called and immediately arrived at Victoria's farm to assist Dr. Redden; some of the local equine-specialist veterinarians also attended. According to Brad Gaver of Pure Thoughts Inc., who is also a farrier, "It was a a privilege to be able to observe and learn from such an out-of-the-box and free-thinking individual who wants to share his knowledge for the benefit of all horses."

What's next for Princess? Jennifer Swan, director of the non-profit, says that Princess is doing well, a week after the initial shoeing. "She is a little more comfortable every day," she said on January 28th . "Dr Redden had digital xrays done on Saturday and sent up to him so he can make a mold and design the next shoe. His plan is to design a shoe that does not need to be nailed in."

Note to readers: This video shows only highlights of the procedure and hints at the shoe design and application. Heel nailing and screwing goosenecks into backed-up toes is a procedure only for the most skilled laminitis experts to attempt. Precise radiographs are required. The video does not go into details about diagnostic tests such as venograms that may have been performed before the filming began. This video is posted here only to show how Dr. Redden helped this horse; he might treat another horse very differently. The hope is that checking in with Dr. Redden on a case like this will be valuable to people who need to know about new options for laminitis. This is not a "how-to" video!

Thanks to Dr Redden, Kelly McGhee and the Triumph Project for cooperating in the work on Princess and for sharing this video. Special thanks to Jennifer Swanson of Pure Thoughts Horse & Foal Rescue.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Strasser Trimmer's Conviction on Cruelty Charges in England Loosened on Appeal

Joanne Kowalski (left) with Hiltrud Strasser DVM outside a British courthouse during Ms. Kowalski's first trial for cruelty by means of radically trimming the hooves of a foundered pony. An appeals court lessened charges against the trimmer.

Amazing news from England today. A hoof trimmer who worked on a foundered pony following instructions from German veterinarian Hiltrud Strasser has had her conviction and sentence softened considerably.

Josephine Kowalski had been convicted of cruelty and of intentionally not seeking veterinary care that might have spared the pony some pain. She had been charged with 100 hours of community service and 10,000 pounds (about $20,000) in restitution.

Kowalski appealed and, after serving 30 hours of community service, was cleared of charges in a British appeals court, although she still appears to have been reprimanded for not seeking a veterinarian to medicate the pony.

This story is painful to read, but if you would like to, here's a link to the British newspaper.

Duct Tape Laminitis Treatment for Ex-Racehorse Wins Prize

Dan Gardner, a retired farrier from Gladstone, Virginia, took home the $5,000 grand prize and a year’s supply of duct tape in this year's "How Duct Tape Saved the Day" competition sponsored by Henkel Corporation's Duck® brand duct tape.

While Dan's use of duct tape may be commonplace to most Hoof Blog readers, it was a novel use for the judges at Henkel.

Here's Dan's story:

"In 2003, I was volunteer working at a local equine rescue center. One day a winning Thoroughbred horse, named Early Start arrived at the facility. He had broken down on the track and for some time had been left unattended. He subsequently foundered which means the wall of his hoof and the internal tissue and bone had separated causing serious lameness.

"The choices were obvious. The humane thing to do would have been to destroy the horse, but the rescue facility wanted to try and save him. As a retired farrier, I took on the task. Beginning that day, I used a disposal infant diaper with antibiotic salve to protect and cushion the foot and wrapped the dressing with duct tape. Duct tape is the only suitable wrap that can withstand the wear until the next daily treatment.

"It took over 2 years and hundreds of rolls of duct tape to bring Early Start to a complete recovery. Today, he 10 and he is my youngest daughter's foxhunter and event horse. Simply, duct tape saved everyday for Early Start making my family and this horse winners for life."

(Remember: he's telling about using the tape; obviously trimming was done and other care was given to aid the horse's recovery; duct tape and diapers alone can't do it!)

Second prize went to a woman from a search-and-rescue posse in the Arizona desert who duct-taped her horse's shoe back on while searching for a lost child.

Autumn Laminitis Warning: Restrict Grazing During Fall Months When Grass Risk is as High as Spring

(The following health alert was received from Spillers Feed/Waltham Trust and is not an original post.)

We all know that spring is a dangerous time for laminitis but it is important to remember that the second flush of grass in autumn can be just as risky. We get numerous calls during the autumn from worried owners wanting to know what they can safely feed laminitis prone ponies and how to manage those that have suffered a further attack.

Laminitis is second only to colic as the most common reason for presenting a horse for veterinary treatment. In a recent study in the UK it was found that over 1 in 10 horses were affected by laminitis with a greater prevalence during times of high grass growth. Work completed in the USA has also found that an overload of lush grass or cereals ("grain") is the cause of laminitis in more than 50% of the cases reported.

Recent research has identified a grass-storage carbohydrate called "fructan" as a possible trigger for laminitis; however, the level of fructan in pasture is difficult to estimate, as it varies because of the type of grass and the climatic conditions. Until further work is done to more accurately assess fructan concentrations in grassland and the exact mechanisms are identified as to how a hindgut disturbance can cause laminitis, the best way of reducing the risk is to follow these simple guidelines:

1. Restrict access to pasture at high risk times (spring and autumn) by strip grazing, grazing ponies with sheep and turning out in a bare paddock. In the case of known laminitics, avoid all grazing;
2. Turn your horse or pony out at night, as this is when the fructan concentrations are likely to be at their lowest;
3. Feed a high fibre, low starch diet. Choose a feed approved by The Laminitis Trust such as SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® or High Fibre Cubes;
4. Put your pony on a diet to reduce bodyweight if he is overweight, but do not starve him;
5. Don’t feed high cereal (grain) mixes as these can increase the risk of another attack.

To learn more about insulin resistance in horses, visit
http://www.ecmagazine.net/ecSummer06/insulinResistance.htm