Founder - Being Informed Can Save a Horse's Life
A few months ago an anomymous caller left a message on my answering machine - informing me that once a horse had foundered it could not be helped. She rudely asked that I stop claiming that there might be hope for foundered horses. And I believe her words were "once they are lame, they're lame."
Many horses are needlessly euthanized or slaughtered due to this type of ignorance.
Founder is a type of lameness (laminitis being the first stage) affecting the foot. The suspension of the coffin bone is damaged and the bone drops forward and down causing pain in the frontal toe region. This is why a foundered horse will place its feet out in front and lean back on its heels in order to take pressure off the front of the hoof.
It has been thought in the past that this condition could not be fully healed and the horse could only be kept 'comfortable' with corrective shoeing and/or drugs such as anti-inflammatories or pain killers and antibiotics. However, it has been proven that the natural barefoot way of trimming has been very successful in treating this acute and chronic lameness. (I would describe the natural way of trimming as method of trimming a horse's hoof to resemble the way a wild horse would wear down its own feet in its natural environment.) In most cases horses treated with this sensible and holistic method have been able to return to a normal, active life. With the correct trim the damaged hoof is able to, through growth, be replaced with strong and healthy hoof material. This enables the horse to return to its sound state permanently.
Hoof care professions such as Dr. H Strasser from Germany and Jamie Jackson of the United States have brought the natural barefoot trim into the light and thanks to their research many horses are sound and being ridden again. Unfortunately, however, some horses have been left too long unattended and their condition cannnot be reversed.)
Founder does not occur overnight, nor can it be healed overnight. In some cases it may take up to 2 years for a horse to be completely healed. As a hoof care speicalist, I have seen many foundered horses. Many owners will confirm that their horses' hooves, whether cracked, foundered, contracted heels, navicular, or whatever the problem, have benefited from the natural barefoot trim. With happy customers and sound ponies, donkeys, and horses the results speak for themselves.
So I say to that anonymous caller, it's ok to fear the unknown, but please get all the facts before you accuse. Knowledge is power, and if we have the power to save horses from needless pain and suffering why wouldn't we help?
