Founder?

Ok, my best friend bought a broodmare about a year ago and she is 11 years old. We were told she had never been ridden due to the fact she foundered when she was 1yr old. To our knowledge she has never foundered since. Today I got on her and she rode like a dream, we rode for about an hour. My question is, is it ok to ride a horse that has foundered? We were talking about trying her on the trails after a little more riding experience. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Yes, you can ride a horse that has foundered. And certainly if she has not relapsed in ten years, your prognosis is good, but I wonder what she has been doing for the last ten years. If she has been off of grain and not ridden, then might want to take it easy to begin with.

I'd recommend pairing yourself up with a good farrier and constantly monitoring her condition. Also, horses that have foundered in the past can be more susceptible to other conditions, such as bruising.

As long as you are aware of her condition and care for her accordingly, I see no reason why she can't become a valued riding companion.

Best of luck :)

Horses that have foundered in the past are just fine to ride. Just keep an eye out for lameness, and keep on top of the farrier work and it should be just fine.

Happy riding.

It is perfectly OK to ride a horse when they have foundered, as long as they are OK now. Just take it east to begin with and see how she does. My friend's Connemara mare foundered when she was pregnant, not badly, but we got her all fixxed up and everything was good. When she was ready to get back to work, no problems or anything. She was champion in the hopeful jumpers for the season at the show. Not a problem since.

We had a gelding that foundered before we got him and had been left to stand in a padock for 2 yrs after. When we got him he was really stiff and slightly lame but with constant light work(walking) he came good and with carful feeding never foundered again!

It all depends on was it founder or just laminitis . Have an exray done check to see if there was rotation in the coffin bone . If not ride all day. If there is any rotation have your farrier shoe for that angle. Im betting that this horse is ok . Good luck .

High Fence took the words right out of my mouth.

My friend JUST purchased a.. err.. 4 year old I think.. and she had foundered in the past. She got the Vet out to take X Rays and found out there was some rotation in one hoof, so the farrier examined the X rays and decided on what angles were best for her little mare. This mare is an AQHA Show Horse and has like.. points in almost everything with the exception of Jumping (Reining to English Eq.. she has it all!)

If you decide to purchase the mare, be very aware of the diet you put her on. After a horse has had a particularly bad case of Laminitis/founder they are more prone to founder again (since the bone had already separated once, it can easily separate again).

Good luck hun!!

I found a great book on natural therapies for founder and laminitis here is the website if you want to check it out Laminitis (Founder) Advice