Cross Breeds

how do wild horses deal with founder?

I was just wondering as scientist have found evidence of animals with it even in prehistoric times, I'm not sure how acute it is and from what I read it was not what caused the animals death. Anyone know of founder just going away on its own? How can you tell if a horse is painful ? Someone had a mare with it really bad and I guess was still working her : ( they got fined for animal cruelity it was on animal cops

Public Comments

1. Wild horses rarely if ever get founder. Founder, or laminitis, can be caused by bingeing on foods that are too rich for them - apples, really rich hay or grass, grain, etc. A horse is built to eat natural grass all day long, since grass isn't very nutritious on it's own. In the wild, a horse would almost never eat apples or grain, and certainly not in large enough quantities to make them founder. I believe founder can go away on it's own, but I don't know for sure.
2. I would have to say, if a wild horse were to founder, they would ultimately die, either from starvation (from being to painful to follow the herd to their feeding grounds) or from preditors (being foundered their ability to out run or out manuver their natural predators is extreemly affected). Founder its self will not cause death, but it will lead to their death in the end. Survival of the fittest, and a foundered horse is not fit, and will die. I know of a few domestic horses (one being my own) who has gotten better after foundering, do I think it went away on its own? NO, we had to do extensive corrective shoing (some times filing - so he'd be barefoot) and a ton of nutritional suplementation, and pain management to allow him to be pain free and restore a good portion of his mobility. It will be clear as day, that a foundered horse is painful. Usually they will have their front feet streched out infront of them, trying to alievate the pain and weight off their front end, they will look like they are almost sitting down, all their weight will be back on their hind end, and they look extreemly uncomfortable. A founder horse should receive treatment ASAP, pain management, corrective shoeing and re adjustment of their feed and nutrience ( supplement etc). All pending on what exactly instigated the founder (excercise - feed)
3. I would have to say that if wild horse were develop founder, which I could see as being very rare in wild horses -- that they would ultimately be unable to keep up with the herd, not able to move to better grazing grounds, and would most likely die from a predatory attack before they starved to death. When a horse is painful to his feet from founder, he will stand with a "saw horse" stance, front feet jutting out in front of him and his weight shifted back onto his heels as much as he can. He will lay down a lot. And in the wild, without medical intervention like a domestic horse would get, he would gain no relief from the pain and pressure in his feet. Laying down in the wild and not being to get up and run would be a death sentence for a horse.