Well -- to top off what is amounting to one of the worst weeks of my life, now Trudy has foundered.
I have never experienced this before. She hasn't had any change in diet. She's had pretty much free access to hay all winter and she eats a couple of varieties of Equine Senior. She's pretty fat but has never had any problems in the past. A friend told me that if her feet weren't hot, then it isn't founder. Well, her feet felt normal. But she didn't want to pick up any of them, or go anywhere. She seemed very painful. I thought maybe she had fallen down on the ice or twisted something but she is not getting any better since two days ago when I noticed a problem.
Trudy is 17 this year.
Dr. Cawley came out yesterday, and sure enough, it's founder. We wrapped her feet and put her in a stall. I am soaking hay to feed her. She had a shot of banamine and is now on bute twice a day. Just overnight, her attitude has improved and she is walking a little better too. She's much more bright-eyed than yesterday and thought she should have some candy!
She is due to have x rays on Monday. Here's a pic from today.
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3 comments:
Poor Trudy, she looks like such a sweetheart. Hope her x-rays are okay.
I am so sorry to hear that you had such a rough week, and also that Trudy is too.
Founder is one of my husband's specialties, and we have a "Founder First Aid Kit" that we suggest to owners in our practice. I hope that you do not think me pushy by posting it here, but thought that maybe you could find some help in it, to ease Trudy's discomfort and ease some of the emotional burden on you as well.
For starters, Duct Tape (I swear that stuff makes the world go round, or holds it together at least!)
- High Density Styrafoam. (Can be found at Lowes and Home Depot.) Another fantastic tool is the kick boards that little ones use in pools- the material they are made of is perfect, and provides excellent support to the internal structures of the hoof.
- A sharp knife, and a marker are also needed.
Have Trudy stand on the foam, and trace the outline of her hoof. Cut out with the knife. If she seems HIGHLY uncomfortable, use two layers of the foam.
You can fashion a boot out of the duct tape, and FIRMLY tape the foam into place on her hooves. Leave in place until your vet arrives for the x-rays.
The purpose in this is two-fold: one, it will stop any further rotation of the coffin bone in the hoof capsule, (which may be a moot point by now,) and two it is going to provide cushion to her soles, pressure where pressure is needed most, and allow her feet to get a break. By providing the support to the internal structures, you are going to be able to drop her pain level drastically, allowing her to begin healing.
Again- I sure hope this isn't too pushy-- but just some things we have seen work quite well in the past for our clients.
Best of luck to you both, for a MUCH better week this week!
Nancy - I'm so sorry that things aren't going well and i certainly sympathize with your worries about Trudy. Siete almost foundered, and now, just over two months later, I am finally relaxing about her recovery. Mrs. Mom's suggestion is excellent. We ended up putting shoes on backwards on Siete's front feet. It was really a great idea. The support is excellent. I also changed her diet so she gets no sugar - To give her an alternative to grain in her feed bucket, I use a hay stretcher and a 12% supplement made by Triple Crown. I also sprinkle a little cinnamon on it. The vet put her on a thyroid medication to lose weight, and she's dropped 100 pounds. She's back to being her lively happy self again, after a very long, scary bout of illness. So, have faith - Trudy is lucky that you are aware and caught the problem right away. Please keep us posted on how she's doing.
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