Last program I talked about the disease founder in horses, also called laminitis.  I mentioned some of the potential causes of founder, such as excessive consumption of grain or green grass, colic, diarrhea, or any severe systemic disease.  However, sometimes the cause is impossible to determine and even though your vet may have an idea, there is no method of being for sure in some cases.  Probably more money has been spent studying founder than any other equine disease, and yet the mechanism of how the disease occurs is still not completely understood.  Consequently, this makes founder very difficult to treat when the reason it occurs is unknown.  Dr. Bill Moyer, head of the Large Animal Clinic at A&M, indicates that by the time the horse is showing symptoms of laminitis, structural and vascular damage has already occurred in the foot and the disease has a head start on any treatment.  Also, the damage may be so severe that the treatment may fail regardless of which treatment is chosen. 

As far as treatment, Dr. Moyer indicates no controlled studies exist to let us know what is the best method of treating horses with founder.  It is important to know that regardless of how the horse appears initially, it is impossible to predict the final outcome of this disease.  Some horses will require special farrier and veterinary care for the rest of their lives and this can lead to considerable expense.  Even if the horse gets through the initial episode, the disease can recur at any point.  In summary, founder is a serious disease that we do not know for sure what causes it and how to treat it.  However, next program i am going to talk about what we believe are our best treatment options