Customer Reviews

Founder: Prevention and Cure the Natural Way

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think every horse owner should read this book carefully, for two reasons. First, it will challenge your management practices and possibly prevent you from ever having to deal with a foundered horse. Second, if one of your horses ever does experience founder, Jackson offers a proven recovery process, and you will need to comprehend it before you call your vet and/or farrier.

Founder causes the death of a scandalously high number of horses and condemns many more to a lifetime of suffering. It remains a mystery, and veterinary research and treatment is all over the map. Jackson developed his philosophy by observing wild mustangs, who unlike their domestic brethren, almost never suffer founder. The author's conclusion is that this difference is completely due to life-style rather than genetics. Consequently, you can prevent founder by creating an environment for your horses that mimics life in the wild, and by managing the horse's hoofs to simulate the mustang hoof.

The foot of a healthy horse suspends the coffin bone in the hoof capsule with a thick concave sole between the coffin bone and the ground. In founder, the laminae attaching the hoof wall to the coffin bone lets go, allowing the coffin bone to drop. In extreme cases the coffin bone will drop so far that it penetrates the sole of the foot. Some times the hoof will be completely sloughed off the foot. Jackson's approach to treating founder is refreshingly common sense. Horses grow new hoofs from the hairline down in about nine months anyway, so with help (proper diet, frequent trimming, and exercise) there's no reason he can't be better than new in a year or less, even in severe cases.

A former farrier, Jackson no longer believes in shoeing, and has founded a promising barefoot movement. Adherents believe that most horses will never need shoes if their hoofs are properly trimmed, and that horses that need protection would be better served by wearing hoof boots.

Negatives: First, Jackson's advice varies from the authoritative to the speculative, and he doesn't distinguish. For example, working from the wild horse model and drawing on years of trial and error in trimming, the author makes a persuasive case that your horse is better off without shoes. He loses me when he argues that the use of bute, tranquilizers, vaccinations and worming medications somehow present a founder risk.

I can see why a horse would be healthier in a large dry lot eating free-choice grass hay than either stall confinement or knee deep in alfalfa pasture. I'm less convinced that neither my hay nor my pasture grass can contain any trace of legumes or fescue, particularly when Jackson thinks it's fine to feed controlled quantities of oats, carrots, apples, and sugar treats. Even though Jackson admits that no good studies exist on wild mustang diet, he is uniformly categorical in his recommendations.

Second, in the case study presented in the book, the horse experiences significant pain following trimming. Jackson seems to regard that as normal. The most successful of Jackson's disciples, Pete Ramey, says even foundered horses should be more comfortable following a trim, not less. For that reason I would steer anyone who wants to learn to do their own trimming to start with Ramey's book, Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You. For a preview and additional information on learning to trim, type Ramey's name into google - you'll find a lot of resources on the web.

Third and last in the negative category, Jackson falls into kind of a marketing speak, which I found distracting. I have a personal loathing for the word holistic, and the author finds a need to insert on just about every other page. It's a different way of managing livestock, not a religion. (Interestingly, Jackson has no use for magnets, massage, acupuncture, herbal drenches, etc., all of which some would consider holistic.)

Negatives aside, this is an important book and part of an important movement. Ramey does trimming clinics around the country, and he admits veterinarians free. Jackson has published papers with farriers' associations. Clinician Clinton Anderson promotes Ramey's work and has converted all his horses back to running barefoot. I hope that large-scale university research is coming. We could be headed for a revolution in horse care.

Until the revolution comes, if your horse founders, you need this book. Better yet, if you read this book you probably won't have to worry about founder.

This book is amazing, as an owner of a foundered horse, it summarized a way for me to CURE my horse of founder. Jaime Jackson is an experienced farrier who spent years studying wild horses, with an interest in what makes them more sound than our domestic horses. His keep-it-simple, logical approach to treating founder is refreshing. I read about his approach to "natural" horsekeeping, and adopted his practices to my best ability, and my horses are all happy, sound and founder-free. My 24 year old, previously foundered, Missouri Fox Trotter is now sound to ride without horseshoes! I would have never dreamed that this is possible. He has NEVER gone without shoes. Anyone who has tried "conventional" founder and navicular treatment for their horses should read this book. His "resources" section is empowering to the horse owner! Jaime Jackson and Dr. Strasser will eventually change the way many people keep horses. I know I will not need to ever nail on a horse shoe again after reading this book and researching Jaime Jackson's "resource section" in this book. Great work Mr. Jackson!

This book has literaly been a life saver! I was told that my serevely neglected 20 yr old Assateague pony would never walk again and that the humane thing to do would be to put him down. he had 90% rotation in both front feet and could only stand for an hour at a time. he is now comfortable, walking, and is on his way to being sound to ride! this book gave us hope that there is a better way to treat foundered horses and that even the most severe cases are reversable. it is a long road, with no overnight cures, but the results are more than worth it. never give up hope!

My horse suffered trim and grass founder just a month ago. I knew what founder was, but never had a horse that suffered it.

After a month of scouring the internet looking for what a horse goes through as it heals from this terrible condition and coming up empty, I found this little book.

This book gave a me a roadmap of what to expect from my horse as he begins to heal, the set-backs, what I can do to help him heal, and what I need to do to make sure he doesn't suffer this again. Things my vet didn't bother to tell me other than the bute and the duct tape/padding prescription, etc.

I don't agree with every thing Mr. Jackson suggests, but I have a clear picture of what my horse is suffering and how to help him get through this. That knowledge takes a terrible burden off me not knowing exactly what we were facing and also knowing that my horse can come through this condition alive and whole. That founder isn't a death sentence.

Some good information here but some of it has been outdated, particularly with the research by Kathryn Watts (safergrass.org) - that free choice hay herein recommended may be making things worse. Other information pertinent to the discussion is alluded to but you have to pay again for this as it is in other publications by the same author.

This book was wonderful. Very helpful and informative. Much of the book is now highlighted with information I will refer back to. Tried the suggestion for treating "White Line Disease" and it appears to help. For years I have withstood the "shoes are necessary" thought process so often presented, and have only had shoes put on a couple of times under a strong recommendation of a vet(for a quarter crack.) Now there is documented evidence that my thoughts were not incorrect. THANK YOU! Because of the quality of this book, I have just ordered Jaime's (3) DVD's on Natural Horse Trims. While a little nervous about starting this process myself, if his videos are as good as his book, I'm sure it will work out. I definitly recommend this book to anyone looking to improve the health and well-being of their horses.

I have a horse that founders on grass very easily. The last time it happened I was sure he was lame for life. It was at this time that I got this book and read about horses with much worses cases that have been cured. We are lucky that we already had a practitioner of natural hoof care (trimming only). Working with him and what we learn from the book is allowing is to get this horse back to good health and hopefully keep him there. It's a small book but well worth the money.

Excellent Read. I have read it three times and still learn new ideas every time.

When my hourse foundered, I started a search for answers. I was amazed at the conflicting advice I received. I heard a lot about "bute", but as a chiropractor, I spent my career teaching people to get to always seek the "cause" of sickness, and not to just cover up symptoms with drugs. So, giving the horse "bute" and hoping for the best didn't make sense to me. Then I got Mr. Jackson's book, "Founder". He explores the sourses of founder and the natural ways to help. Change a horse's lifestyle to one that is more natural, and your chances of success skyrocket.
Mr. Jackson is not afraid to tell it like it is, even if it goes against the grain. My horse foundered a few days after a set of vaccinations.

From the soil we come & to the soil we shall return. Everything we try to influence forgetting the soil is forgetting cause and addressing the problem.