A few of my horses do not tolerate grass during certain times of the year. My easy keepers are especially prone to mild cases of grass founder or laminitis, especially since all of my horses are barefoot year round. This mild laminitis usually occurs in the spring when the first new grass is starting to sprout, but can also crop up anytime we have a large amount of rain, followed by mild temperatures. Since this type of mild laminitis does not cause any loss of appetite or other symptoms of a serious illness, it can be hard to detect. but I have listed the most noticeble symptoms below.
- Tenderness when walking on hard surfaces
- Shortness of stride
- Heat in the hoof
- Increase pulse rate as checked in the pastern
- Lying down to rest more frequently
If I have a horse showing a combination of two or more symptoms, I take the following precautionary measures until the symptoms subside.
- I restrict the horse from access to grass by moving them to a dry lot paddock
- I switch their grain ration to a small amount of plain oats (1 to 2 cups per day)
- I give them 1 to 2 scoops of MOP from Advanced Biological Concepts to help detoxify their system
- I give them grass hay with no legume content – no alfalfa or clover
- I try to leave them free to move around in their paddock 24/7
- To further stimulate a healing blood flow to their feet I hand walk them or lunge them lightly
I have had good success with clearing up the soreness in their feet within two weeks of starting the precautionary measures. I then gradually allow them to graze, starting with only allowing them access to grass for one to two hours in the early morning when the grass has the lowest sugar content, and slowly increasing their grazing time over a period of two to three weeks.
I learned the hard way that shod horses will tolerate a lot of pain in their feet due to grass founder but that this discomfort will affect their personality in other ways. I have a Hanovarian school master who wore shoes all of his life before I purchased him at the age of 17. I continued to keep shoes on him for the first 2 years that I owned him, and struggled with his frequent spooks and unpredictable behavior under saddle. A friend of mine told me about the ‘barefoot’ trim method that she had learned to use on her own horse. I decided to try this and had my existing farrier pull my Hanovarians shoes. He went dead lame! After consulation with several other people who were using the barefoot trimming method on their horses, I learned that my horse had a chonic case of grass founder, causing him much discomfort. Once I used the above measures to remove the heat and soreness from his feet, plus finding a good farrier that knew the correct barefoot trimming methods, my Hanovarian’s disposition improved greatly. He has become a wonderful school master, trail horse, and friend. I highly recommend reading the following books to learn more about founder prevention and barefoot trimming.
- Out of the Box, by Cindy “Hawk” Sullivan
- Founder Prevention & Cure, by Jamie Jackson
- Horse Onwers Guide to Natural Hoof Care, by Jamie Jackson
- The Natural Horse, by Jamie Jackson
- Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You, by Pete Ramey
Happy Trails!
