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Study: Do Laminitic Horses Move Differently, And If So, How Should We Shoe Them?

German researchers created a study to compare hoof loading patterns of laminitic and sound horses. They used 16 sound horses and ponies as controls, 17 animals that had recently recovered from laminitis and 21 animals that had recovered from laminitis 6 to 12 weeks before.

The scientists placed an instrumented boot on the horses and had them walk across a level, concrete surface with a pressure sensor.

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The sound horses bore the most weight (peak loading) at the toe during mid-stance; the laminitis horses showed peak loading at breakover, when the hoof goes from full loading to leaving the ground. Interestingly, the laminitic group did not show an increase in loading in the heel region; the middle hoof bore most of the weight in loading.

The study team concluded that laminitic horses should be shod with support focused on the middle of the hoof, frog and heel. They should also be shod with the intent to ease breakover, which should reduce loading of the damaged lamellae in the toe.

Simple Ways To Prevent Tendon And Ligament Injuries In Horses

Horses seem to seek out ways to hurt themselves and injuries to tendons and ligaments in the limbs are common., says Dr. David Ramey, owner of Ramey Equine and an internationally recognized researcher, author and lecturer. Though tendon and ligament injuries tend to heal well, it can take multiple months, as well as a lot effort and money, to get the horse to his performance level pre-injury.

There are multiple ways to help prevent tendon and ligament injuries, though some are often overlooked. These include:

Adequate nutrition. Proper nutrition to maintain horse health is essential. Thus far, there have been no supplements that have proven to prevent tendon and ligament injuries.
Correct body condition. Tendons and ligaments are more likely to be damaged when a horse is overweight as it placed additional strain on supporting structures.
Proper shoeing and trimming. Trimming or shoeing a horse in the most-simple manner is generally associated with more soundness.
Leg wraps and bandages. Boots and bandages, even when applied properly, cannot stop a tendon or ligament injury.
Walk. Warming up a horse at the walk makes it harder for tendons and ligaments to become damaged at faster speeds.
Systemic training. Tendons and ligaments are more-often damaged in horses that are asked to perform athletic endeavors like running, jumping or sliding. Keys to help keep a horse's legs injury-free include: don't do too much too quickly; work him regularly; cross train when possible; and don't overtrain—strong tissues come from stressing them and then allowing them time to rest and repair.
Proper footing. Horses should not be worked for extended amounts of time in deep, soft ground.
Address issues. If a horse is sore, address the issue to prevent compensation complications in tendons and ligaments.

Unintentionally Overweight: Many Owners Promote Horse-Human Bond With Calories

Equine obesity is considered one of the most pressing welfare concerns for horses in Britain, as many horse owners are unable to recognize that their horses are overweight, a new study shows.

University of Liverpool veterinarians Drs. Tamzin Furtado, Elizabeth Perkins, Gina Pinchbeck, Catherine McGowan, Francine Watkins and Robert Christley found that between 31 and 54 percent of Britain's horses are overweight. More horses than ever are being used as hobbies, meaning that the horse-human relationship and the ability to care of the horse well are central to horse ownership.

Ownership in this manner, which focuses on relationships and time spent together, brings complex dynamics regarding weight into play. Canine obesity is intricately tied to the human-animal bond, in which the dog is “humanized,” blending the line between human and animal. The scientists set out to determine if the same forces were at play in the horse-human bond that might cause owners to feed their horses too much.

British horse owners consistently underestimate how much their animal weighs and they believe a horse's weight is affected by his job and breed. For example, owners may believe that a show horse can be fatter than an event horse and that a draft breed can consistently weigh more than a lighter breed.

To study the issue, the researchers used 16 threads on online discussion boards, and completed 28 interviews with leisure horse owners, and 19 interviews with equine professionals; they also used two focus groups made up of 21 additional horse owners. They discovered that owners found it difficult to determine what “fat” is compare to how they think a horse should look.

When the owners became aware that the horse's weight could be a threat to their health, but could also be changed, they likened the challenge of removing the weight to a war. They believed weight management was difficult and that it would negatively affect the horse-human relationship.

Once an owner recognized that their horse was overweight, they had to shift how they saw the horse—the extra weight not longer indicated that the horse was in good health; it represented a health problem. How the owners thought the horse looked with regards to weight were reflected in the language owners used.

Though owners knew what steps should be taken to remove excess weight from their horses, such as ramping up exercise or limiting caloric intake, they were sometimes reluctant to take the necessary steps for fear of damaging the horse-human bond, the researchers report. The conclude that adjusting the social norm of overweight horses being OK could be done by celebrating and promoting healthy horse weight. They note that management strategies that maximize horse welfare, like living in herds or turnout on dry lots, would make weight management more positive.

Read the full article here.