What REALLY Causes Founder in Horses?

by C. Scott Kroeger
Reference: Concepts from A Lifetime of Soundness by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, pages 151 - 157

The word "founder" is described in the dictionary as that which separates or collapses from within itself. As it employed in the equine world it usually has to do with inflammation of the hoof and a horse or other equine that is standing in a peculiar way with front and back feet well forward of a normal stance.

A quick look around the Internet produced the following "causes" for founder...

• diseases which affect the horse’s intestines such as colic or diarrhoea.
• (too much) Grain
• Water in an overheated state
• Digestive upsets due to grain overload or sudden changes in the diet
• Sudden access to lush pasture (spring grass)
• High fever
• Colic (horses with damaged intestine)
• Retained placenta
• Excessive concussion to the feet when walking on pavement, often known as "road founder"
• Bedded on black walnut shavings or ingestion of black walnut shavings
• Excessive weight bearing on one leg due to injury of opposite leg
• Gram negative bacterial infections with endotoxemia
• Obesity
• Etc.

But let it be said that NONE of the above is the cause of founder. Another term that is associated with founder is Laminitis. Laminitis is an inflammation and/or weakening of the connection between the coffin bone and the hoof wall. In an acute stage, this connection can be lost and a separation occurs between the coffin bone and the laminar wall of the hoof. When the right kinds of forces or conditions are placed upon the foot or upon the body, the coffin bone may then rotate away and downward onto the solar corium and even produce sole penetration.

The actual cause of founder in equines is due to improper hoof shape and condition. The normal position for the coffin bone is to be ground parallel. But if a hoof is made steeper, (by having long heels, wedge pads or other types of orthopaedic shoeing), the joint surface moves closer to the wall of the toe, causing the weight to come down further forward, putting great stress on the laminar corium on the frontal wall. The more pressure on the frontal walls...the more inflammation occurs.

This situation may be in existence for a long time in both shod or unshod horses. It may even allow for reasonable use of your horse for a time. But due to the eventual starvation of oxygen and nutrients, the quality of the horn produced deteriorates setting the stage for a "trigger" to upset everything. It is the proverbial "straw that breaks the camel's back". The bullet points listed above are (individually or in combination) simply triggers to a founder situation that was already long in development.

When acute laminitis is present, the animal is in severe pain on the toe area and seeks to rock onto the heels to relieve pain. Taking away of the above bullet points will not "cure" the problem. Neither will shoes, wedge pads, or orthopaedic shoeing address the problem. Only placing the horse in natural living conditions with frequent physiologically correct trimming can you restore the deformed hoof to its natural healthy form. The horse must be turned out 24/7 within a herd context with 24 hour access to food and water that it has to walk to, to get. Whether naturally or artificially, the equine must move 15+ kms a day to ensure proper blood circulation is occurring within the foot to bring about healing. The healing process for laminitis and founder is generally long term (1-2 hoof capsule growths for simple cases--to over 2 years in severe cases of dropped coffin bones, joint adaptation and other problems), but can be healed successfully and with soundness if done correctly.

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Last edited: 30 June, 2007
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