One of the best LAMINITIS case studies we have seen in a very long time is the one about a horse called Caio, a 9 year old Anglo Arab, who had lived and competed in Portugal as an Endurance horse, until moving to Dubai, UAE with his owner Anna.
His case was an extreme example of a horse who was let down by conventional treatment and was facing a very bleak future, until his owner met Natural Hoof Care Practitioner Jan Brooksbank – then Caio’s luck finally changed.
When we feature articles like this, there is nearly always a recurrent theme running through them. When the diagnosis of laminitis is finally given (and sometimes it can take several tests before diagnosis due to lack of knowledge on this subject), all kinds of treatments are used, always ranging from box rest, remedial shoeing (of all shapes and sizes and contraptions)
, drugs by the plenty and sometimes hospitalisation but nearly always isolation.
Well Caio was no different and in the article Jan gives us a timeline of how long it took to heal him once all the conventional treatment had stopped. With some shocking photos of before and after, it is an inspirational read for anyone interested in the subject and wanting some positive and uplifting information.
The picture shows one of Caio’s hooves
, with the toe ‘relieved’ to expose the damaged laminae in a reverse wedged shoe – needless to say this was just one conventional attempt at trying to help Caio which of course didn’t work and the professionals then moved onto even more elaborate contraptions.
This article is a stark reminder that laminitis and it’s effective treatment is so incredibly misunderstood and is one of the main reasons that many horses never make it as far as Caio did…even though his journey was a tough one, his owner never gave up once they could see him starting to improve.
If you want to read this fascinating story, then it’s in Issue 17.
Still available in Print & Online.
Coming up soon in a future issue, we are going to feature the story of Duncan, who some of you have already met in a video we posted up a few days ago. If you haven’t seen the video of Duncan yet, check back a few posts and you will find it. His story is another extreme case of a horse being let down by conventional treatment, until his owner met the right team of people who could guide her to bring Duncan back to health again. Not to be missed, watch this space for more info on the release of that article.
Don’t let laminitis be the end for your horse!
The BHM Team