How to Trim Mules With Chronic Laminitis

Laminitis, or founder, is a painful condition common to horses and mules. It occurs when the laminae of the hoof become inflamed -- and if severe enough -- causes the pedal bone in the hoof to rotate out of place. Corrective trimming and sometimes shoeing is required to relieve the pain and allow the hoof to recover. Laminitis can be caused by overfeeding of too-rich food, such as lush grass and grain. It can also be caused by riding on too-rough terrain, watering an overheated horse or mule too soon after riding and poor hoof care. Mules are said to founder less than horses because they have a larger frog area -- the v-shaped area on the underside of the hoof -- but they can still be afflicted with chronic laminitis.

Things You'll Need

  • Phenylbutazone
  • Water
  • Hoof trimmer
  • Veterinarian
  • X-rays
  • Farrier
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the cause of the laminitis and try to remove or reduce the trigger, whether it is overfeeding, overexertion, overwatering or something else. If you catch laminitis in the acute stage, you can prevent damage to the hooves by treating with phenylbutazone, applying cold water to the hooves and keeping the mule walking.

    • 2

      Make an appointment with a veterinarian. Have the vertinarian examine the mule and take an x-ray of the mule's affected hooves; this is done to see if the pedal bone has rotated out of place due to inflammation to the laminae. Depending on the examination and the results of the x-ray, the veterinarian might advise the farrier on how to proceed with corrective trimming.

    • 3

      Make an appointment with your farrier. Go over the results of the x-ray with him, and discuss how he will trim the hooves. The farrier will usually need to trim the hoof to compensate for the rotated pedal bone, striving to make the bone parallel to the ground. It might be advantageous to set up a conference with the veterinarian and farrier to discuss treatment options.

    • 4

      Set up an appointment to begin corrective trimming as soon as possible. For mules with laminitis, veterinarians recommend keeping the mule stabled. The mule should be allowed to move around freely on sandy ground.