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Lio's Recovery From Chronic Laminitis
My precious Hawaiian horse, Lio, was stricken with laminitic events starting April '06 caused by poor trimming with long, cracked toes and high heels plus bad veterinary advice and a completely wrong diet. The list of my mistakes is huge and I'm willing to share them with anyone who wants to learn what NOT to do.
By June Lio was in so much pain that I was ready to give up, do the humane thing and put him to sleep. Another vet I called in to "do the deed", Dr. Dave Almond D.V.M., told me about a local farrier who was trying the Equine Digital Support System. He put Lio in styrofoam pads and give me treatment and dietary information. Eventually he put him in the EDSS shoes and got him back on his feet and I realized that there was Hope For Soundness!
Lio's Right Front Foot November 10, 2006
(EDSS shoe set by local farrier)
The x-rays already show major improvement in RF P3
(Below left was taken June '06 and right was taken Nov '06)
(In retrospect, as a certified farrier myself, I now know that the heels were still too long)
All totaled, Lio spent EIGHT months on 4 grams of bute daily waiting for a miracle. I needed to keep his pain level down and his gut healthy so I gave him the Dynamite probiotic and apple cider vinegar with his new safe, green diet. He had bed sores the size of dinner plates on his hips and there were days he couldn't get up at all. Even with the shoes, Lio wasn't improving! Miracle of miracles, I heard that there was going to be a Natural Balance SoundFest clinic here on the Big Island and that Gene Ovnicek was coming!
On December 11, 2006, Gene brought his whole family over to Harmony Farm to treat Lio -- sons Cody and Chad helped while the grandchildren romped.
Gene resectioned Lio's feet, derotated his heels and rebuilt the lateral and medial walls with glue so his hooves could grow normally.
Gene used the EDSS shoes with cuffs and Lio jumped in the air for joy! He was finally out of pain!
Lio says "thank you, Gene!"
Even though Gene had showed the local farriers the Natural Balance protocol, they didn't keep Lio's heels derotated and he started going backwards AGAIN. At that point I took matters and tools into my own hands and went to get my Natural Balance certification. Becoming a Hoof Care Practitioner has been an amazing journey -- this path that I set out on so long ago. The first horse I had as a kid had to be put down for laminitis and now, all these years later, I realize that today I could fix him......
THERE IS A CURE FOR LAMINITIS
It takes the cooperation and commitment between the farrier and the owner to rehabilitate a horse with laminitis and all of the complications that go with the pathology. The key to success is to keep each hoof trimmed in perfect balance and give it time to remodel, as only the wondrous, living body can do!
Sadly, I am reminded of Barbaro who lost his gallant fight against laminitis. He had every innovation known to modern veterinary science with a state-of-the-art recovery room/stall. Yet my horse survived. If Barbaro had been barefoot or wearing Natural Balance shoes, chances are that his RR leg would not have fractured. Traditional horseshoes force the hoof to land toe first against a concussive plate of steel with every stride, therefore the weight loads when the bones and ligaments are not in perfect alignment. This causes enormous pressure on all the joints and stress/spiral fractures of the bones. The consequences of the impact and vibration of weight slamming against the metal shoes, even on fluffy racetracks, is proof enough that Mother Nature gave horses the perfect hooves. Shoes are the LEADING CAUSE OF LAMENESS. The Associated Press reports that an average of three horses are put down EVERY day on America's racetracks.
Read about one of my clients, Roz, who was hit by a car and suffered a fracture in her RR leg. Unlike Barbaro, Roz' LR bare hoof held her up and did not develop laminitis!
Updated 022310