Laminitis

I have been learning a lot. I thought that only draft crosses or heavier set quarter horses were prone ( more so ) to Laminitis, Founder or Seedy toe and that Thoroughbreds etc wouldn't be.

Turns out I was wrong and Laminitis is actually quite common in Thoroughbreds do to track injuries such as tendons causing uneven weight distribution.

Then you add on to that the fact they are pretty far from the natural environment of a pasture horse. Wet mud, dry grasses and forage. They are typically kept in box stalls and fed high protein feed for high energy, but this high sugar can lead to founder and even worse Metabolic Syndrome which is comparable to Type ll diabetes in humans.

Here I thought they had it made with personal trainers, dietitians and farriers. They would be paraded around in all these lavish sheets with bright colored leg wraps. Turns out those sheets are called coolers and are worn to prevent the horse from catching a chill after a race so that it Won't get sick and die ( there goes someone's investment ) so as long as they are still bringing in money everything appears to be fine aside from the obvious concerns of heart attacks or legs breaking.

I made a mistake when I was a kid never asking what happens to those ' retired ' racehorse that become an expense instead of an asset. Well, some are lucky enough to get a second chance at a life as a pleasure horse, dressage horse or hunter, jumper etc ( depending on whether it not they have sustained injuries ) but what happens to the ones that don't? Well, I'll post the video another day but am sure we get the idea.

Picture 1 racehorse - is a chart explaining Laminitis and Picture 2 is of the fat deposit resulting from Metabolic Syndrome.