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About LAMINITIS & Prevention
Action – For horses and ponies actually suffering from laminitis feed L94 at 100 ml per day for ten days and if necessary at 50 ml per day for 20 days thereafter. As soon as the L94 is being accepted (about a couple of days) start feeding Founderfrei. When Laminitis is particularly persistent use Founderfrei + Arginine.
Recovering from an attack of laminitis takes time however if gradual recovery seems to ‘stick’ feed Cope Concentrate at two teaspoonfuls per day in addition to the Founderfrei.
More information
Laminitis is inflammation of the sensitive laminae of the foot and most commonly occurs in overweight ponies and horses kept at grass especially during periods of rapid grass growth or dramatic lifestyle change. It is also associated with excessive consumption of carbohydrates (grains and complex carbs) or with toxaemia (build up of toxins and Liver 'overload'). Excessive work on hard ground can trigger Laminitis.
The symptoms of Laminitis are usually only indicated in the forefeet. The horse or pony will show reluctance to move and stands with the hind feet well under the body with the forefeet being rocked back on the heels to take weight off the toes. The feet are hot and the pulse of the digital artery can be felt at the level of the fetlock joint. The pony or horse can display a thick and weighty crest (top portion of the mid neck).
Laminitis is caused by change and change is likely to occur however constant we try to be in the management of our ponies and indeed horses. In Florida big warm bloods can go down with laminitis due to the heat and changes in barometric pressure during the hurricane season. It is most common in the UK when it rains after a dry spell and in autumn it is common when we get the first cold rains of winter. Feeding is fraught with problems due to the fact changes can easily occur, whether it be a grasses trying to flower, or suddenly too much bucket feed. In the forest, where laminitis in the ponies is very rare, it can suddenly occur when well meaning people in cars feed the contents of their picnics to them. Anxiety of parting, changes in management and the environment can all take there toll so what can we do to stop it occurring besides being vigilant about not causing change?
One thing that will help is to feed Founderfrei on a daily basis, certainly during high risk periods or as a daily prevention.
1. Founderfrei helps to maintain stable gut flora by increasing the buffering effect against sudden changes in pH so limiting gastric trauma which in turn leads to unacceptable levels of cell wall debris entering the blood stream and causing endotoxaemia which in turn creates a rise in venal restrictors which can lead to arterial shunt, cell necrosis, and a lowing tissue support to the Pedal bone thus resulting in the onset of Founder.
2. Founderfrei will also help maintain hepatic function during overload, if we fail to stop sudden ascendancies and decendancies in gut flora, the liver can be quickly overloaded therefore it is essential to also help to gently stimulate liver function to deaminise surplus peptides and help in voidance of toxins. Avoiding metabolic slow down with causes stagnation or congestion is very important in helping to prevent Laminitis.
3. Finally as a 'long stop' Founderfrei will helps to gently cleanse (detoxify) the blood should the liver not be quite able to stop spill-over of toxins getting in to the blood stream which raise catecholamine levels changing pressure and causing painful inflammation.
By helping in three areas Founderfrei is designed to curtail the domino effect that results in laminitis.
Action
Action – For horses and ponies actually suffering from laminitis feed L94 at 100 ml per day for ten days and if necessary at 50 ml per day for 20 days thereafter. As soon as the L94 is being accepted (about a couple of days) start feeding Founderfrei. When Laminitis is particularly persistent use Founderfrei + Arginine.
Recovering from an attack of laminitis takes time however if gradual recovery seems to ‘stick’ feed Cope Concentrate at two teaspoonfuls per day in addition to the Founderfrei.
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