What’s the truth about laminitis?

much research is still required before equine owners can find out just how they can provide their animals with a diet close to what nature intended for them.
Im no expert on treating laminitis but this is the approach I ultimately followed.
I didnt have to adopt barefoot hoof care as my donkeys have never been shod but I did learn better ways to trim their feet following natural hoof care principles. Reducing their heel length has significantly improved both their stance and movement.
Im of the opinion that pain is the bodys way of saying it needs a break so I provided Pepper with a deep bed of triticale straw in his shed with a large bucket of water in easy reach. I limited his access to grazing providing only a small area of grass that had already been heavily grazed.
I gave him antiinflammatory drugs to ease his pain. I tended him four times a day to give him his sedative injections. I also gave him homeopathic remedies for inflammation stress and abscess prevention. I got him to his feet every time I tended him. As he improved it got to the stage that as soon as he saw me hed get to his feet. These days if I see him lying down hes up within seconds of seeing me! I put polystyrene pads on all his feet. Im absolutely sure they helped him.
I fed him a 1 in 4 mix of lucerne and oaten chaff with a tiny bit of oats for the taste. He wouldnt eat chaff at all without oats then and would rather die than eat plain oaten chaff. I gave him a daily dose of Virginiamycin which Ive continued as his hooves grow out. I gave him small quantities of grass hay four times a day.
I also brushed him every day because he couldnt roll. This seemed to make him feel more contented. I let his mate out into the paddock during the day but brought her back to keep him company every evening.
Slowly Pepper recovered but succumbed to abscesses in both his front feet in February. The natural hoof care practitioner cut these out and applied Epsom salts compresses to draw out the infection. This was successful but his recovery was set back by the abscesses.
Today more than fourteen months after I first noticed something was wrong Pepper still has some problems with his feet. This
is not surprising given that it seems quite clear he had chronic laminitis when he first arrived here.
I hope that reading this doesnt confuse or discourage you. I know that you can cure your donkey pony mule or horse of laminitis but you will have to be dedicated to his or her recovery.
I think that the conflicting information about laminitis is indicative that we are now seeing a threshold of change. This can be daunting but can also be seen as an opportunity for learning and adapting.
I hope all equine owners will learn as much as they can about how to prevent and treat laminitis. If we all learn how to look after these animals properly laminitis doesnt have to continue to be the main killer of our equine companions.