S4/ PP) N' L !-) N) 4 ) S C/ L$

The earliest signs of laminitis are subtle—general discomfort, a strong pulse in the arteries (on the fetlock and pastern) supplying the hooves, rapid breathing and/or slight fever—but noticing them can make the difference between dealing with an episode of laminitis or averting it.

If you suspect your horse is developing laminitis, do two things immediately: Call the veterinarian and get some ice. Research has shown that icing hooves in the earliest stages of laminitis can help stop the process. However, it’s not a simple matter of placing a pack of frozen peas on a horse’s hooves. You’ll need to stand the horse in a water/ ice slurry maintained between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit (painfully cold to a bare hand) for 24 hours or longer.

If you have an at-risk horse, you may want to have some items on hand so you can commence icing in a hurry if need be. Or, at least have a plan for quickly getting those items.

The easiest way to keep a horse’s hooves cold enough is to apply boots specially designed for this purpose. But any sturdy bucket can be used to ice hooves, if you can get your horse to stand in it long enough. A large, rubber ground-feeding pan or trough may be a better alternative because it will allow the horse to move a bit without knocking it over. You could also use a large, heavy-duty plastic storage bin or, in a pinch, a child’s plastic wading pool.

You’ll need to replenish the ice in the slurry continually, which will likely require regular, round-the-clock runs to an ice supplier.