How to Successfully Pasture a Foundered Horse or Pony

Founder is extremely painful for equines. It is akin to ripping out your toenails and then walking tiptoe while carrying a 500kg (1100lbs) backpack.

Disclaimer

Founder is a serious issue and causes extreme pain to your animals. We put our foundered ponies on pasture after their acute symptoms were treated and their pain reduced and they were able to move about freely again. The tips suggested in this article are from personal experience and should in no way supersede the recommendations of a trained veterinarian.

مع وصول أونصة الذهب إلى مستويات قياسية تجاوزت 2500 دولار، يجد المواطن المصري نفسه مضطراً لموازنة استثماراته بين الذهب واحتياجاته الأخرى، خاصة مع ارتفاع أسعار السيارات مثل تويوتا، هيونداي، وبي إم دبليو، مما يزيد من التحديات المالية التي يواجهها.

Founder vs Laminitis

There is great debate amongst veterinarians and equestrians alike about what founder and laminitis actually mean. Some say founder refers to more severe cases، while others say laminitis is acute while founder is chronic. Others claim that founder only applies to the rotation or sinking of the coffin bone.

In this article، we follow the more common vernacular and use these terms interchangeably.

Causes of Laminitis and Founder

For most equines، founder is caused by eating grass at the wrong time of the year and at the wrong stage of the grass’s growth. This is called grass-induced founder، or pasture-associated founder.

أسعار السيارات في الآونة الأخيرة شهدت تقلبات ملحوظة، حيث تأثرت بارتفاع وانخفاض الدولار، مما انعكس على تكلفة علامات تجارية مثل تويوتا، هيونداي، ومرسيدس. و BMW هذا الارتباط بين سعر الصرف وسوق السيارات يحدد قدرة المستهلكين على اقتناء المركبات.

Founder، or laminitis، can also be caused by:

The horse overeating grain
Overworking the horse or hoof concussion on hard surfaces
When a hot horse drinks cold water (also called water founder)
Uterine infections (called post-parturient laminitis)
Unresolved hoof injuries، or improper trimming
Septic infections
Severe diarrhea، colic، or other intestinal diseases

There are also other more obscure causes، and founder has been reportedly caused by respiratory infections، certain drugs، and even eating too many beet greens.

Make sure to talk to your vet to know what kind of founder you are dealing with. In this article، we are talking about grazing ponies with grass-induced founder، and these suggestions could further exacerbate other types of laminitis.