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 Health Features - Laminitis
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Not every horse will go through every phase and your aim should be for your horse to receive medical treatment as soon as possible so that he goes through as few phases as possible.
 
Developmental : 20 - 72 hours - Few signs

This is the time between the cause of the laminitis (for example, colic, retained placenta, etc.) and the first appearance of a lameness.

Acute:  34-72 hours - Onset of lameness

This begins with the onset of lameness which can be quite variable in severity. It can affect one, two, or even all four feet, but is most commonly seen in the forefeet only.

Subacute: approx 72 hours after the onset of lameness

If the horse's foot does not show any signs of internal damage on an x-ray, the horse is considered to be in the subacute phase. A "fever ring" on the hoof wall may become apparent as the wall grows down, but otherwise the wall should appear normal. Full recovery may require twelve months.

Chronic: - Founder

Founder or chronic laminitis is the phase in which an x-ray will show that rotation of the pedal bone. This can last anywhere from the nine months it takes to replace the hoof wall, to the lifetime of the horse.

 

x-ray of normal hoof
X-Ray of a normal hoof
-pedal bone is  parallel to hoof wall

 

x-ray showing rotation

 x-ray showing rotation of the bone away from the hoof wall.  Treatment should involve support of the frog and trimming of the hoof to eventually bring the bone back into a parallel position.
 
On This Page

Causes
Common Myths

Symptoms

Treatment

Prognosis

Terms

Links

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Related Pages

Latest on Laminitis

Nutrition

Anatomy

 

 

 
  Causes of Laminitis

  • Obesity  - Overeating on foods rich in carbohydrate or rapidly fermentable fibre i.e. cereals, coarse mixes, rapidly growing or fertilised grass
  • Any illness which involves a toxaemia. This may be a bacterial infection or following the ingestion of plant or chemical toxins.
  • Cushing's Disease. This is a condition which follows an abnormality affecting the pituitary gland in the horse's head. It results in the horse failing to shed its winter coat. The coat becomes long and matted and eventually curly. The horse drinks and eats increased amounts of food while sweating excessively and losing weight. All Cushing's cases suffer laminitis.
  • Weight-bearing laminitis. When the horse is severely lame on one leg and has to put all his weight on the contra-lateral limb they often suffer from founder in the weightbearing limb. This is particularly common in hind feet.
  • Concussive laminitis (road founder). When horses are subjected to fast or prolonged work on hard surfaces they may develop laminitis as a result of trauma to the laminae, particularly if their horn quality is poor.
  • Hormonal problems. Animals which are "good doers" may be hypothyroid or have an abnormal peripheral cortisol enzyme system. The latter condition, recently described has been called obesity related laminitis or peripheral Cushing's disease.
  • Others develop laminitis when they are in season.
  • Cold weather. A few horses show laminitis during cold weather, fitting warm leg wraps during cold snaps prevents the problem in most cases.
  • Stress. Worming, vaccination, traveling or separation from a "friend" can trigger an attack of laminitis.
  • Drug induced laminitis. Although some wormers can precipitate laminitis, the most common group of drugs which cause laminitis are the corticosteroids. Even injecting short acting corticosteroids into joints can cause severe laminitis.

Common Myths

  • Drinking cold water after exercise may cause colic but not laminitis.
  • Allergies; there is little evidence that hypersensitivities are causally related to the development of laminitis.
  • Pregnancy; pregnant animals can develop laminitis just as easily as barren animals.
  • Oestrus; there may be a relationship between oestrus and laminitis in some animals, however these cases are rare and changes in diet and management may prevent such cases.
  • Heat in the feet; a very unreliable diagnostic indicator. Foot temperature normally varies throughout the day.
  • Standing in streams or cold hosing; although the numbing effect of cold water may appear to make the animal more comfortable initially, prolonged cold will exacerbate vasoconstriction and further reduce dermal perfusion. It is doubtful whether hot or cold applications makes a significant difference to the outcome of a case. If the owner must do something, it is preferable to use warm fomentations.
  • Hereditary predisposition to laminitis; in this country is unproven. However families of animals often have the same owner whose predisposition to recurring poor management is certainly proven.
  • Laminitis does not just affect the front feet. Just the hind feet may be involved, or one foot or all the feet.
 
 
  Symptoms
 
May range widely depending upon the severity of the condition.  In mild cases there may only be slight X-ray changes and no lameness. However there may still be a history of poor performance. This is because the laminitic changes are not severe enough to cause pain at the trot. However, at the gallop when the leg is loaded with over 4500kg, pain and discomfort occur and the horse reduces speed.
 
In its mildest form, the horse may only appear to have a stilted gait or seem to be "walking on eggshells". A more severely affected horse may assume the classic laminitis stance, placing his hind feet underneath his body, while trying to keep the fore limbs extended out in front of him in an effort to keep weight off hid painful toes.
 
In severe laminitis the pedal bone separates from the hoof capsule and penetrates through the bottom of the foot, the sole. The coronary band may haemorrhage.  Such horses experience extreme pain and irreversible damage.

 
  Treatment
Treatment is generally undertaken by using a combination of hoof trimming, corrective shoeing, palliative care (making the horse as comfortable as possible), rest and nutrition.  It does not solve the problem to starve your horse once laminitis has set in, and indeed, this may make the situation worse if the horse is not getting enough nutrients to replace the hoof wall.

Treatment will require by both vet and farrier working together, especially in the acute and chronic cases.  The articles below will give you a number of different treatments and prognosis dependent upon the type and severity of laminitis involved.

The links below provide a lot of information on laminitis, diagnosis, treatments and care.  Please read more than one article!  Remember that information changes, ideas can emerge and then be disproved by someone else.  e.g many of the older articles will advocate diagnosis through checking for heat in the hooves, while others say that this is not a good indicator since hoof temperature fluctuates anyway.
Prognosis
"...case records of 216 horses and ponies. Five animals were destroyed without treatment and were not included in the results of the study. 162 (77%) animals returned to athletic soundness; 7 animals (3%) did not regain full athletic function, 42 animals (20%) died or were destroyed. "

Early treatment of laminitis will directly affect the prognosis of your horse.  Unlike some other conditions, there is no such thing as a 'touch of laminitis' which you can deal with yourself.
 
Given correct treatment you may expect the following success rates:

Laminitis  - 100%

Acute Laminitis - Founder - 81%

Sinkers - 20%

Laminae are folds of tissue on both the pedal bone and the inside of the hoof wall that nestle into each other like 2 sheets of corrugated iron. The inside layer is sensitive containing blood vessels and nerves, while the layer next to the hoof wall is insensitive.

Founder: Chronic laminitis in which the pedal bone has moved - either rotated and\or sunk.

 
The Laminitis Trust (UK) - started by R Eustace
 
LAMINITIS AND FOUNDER Dr J H Stewart BVSc BSc PhD MRCVS Equine Veterinarian & Nutritionist
LAMINITIS IN HORSES Therapeutic Laser Corporation
 
Blue Grass Symposium 2003 Articles from 'The Horse' magazine

Farriery and Laminitis Links

 
Horseshoes.com    or go direct to their page on   Farriery & Laminitis  advice
Natural Therapy for the Laminitic Horse  Treating laminitis with hoof trimming - extensive photos and articles
Hoofcare - Journals, books, videos
 
Natural Therapy for the Laminitic Horse - The Strasser Approach - trimming and life unshod *please also read the warning about Strasser trim on the Laminitis Trust site.
 
Natural Balance Hoofcare - Products, videos from Equine Digit Support System Inc
United Vet Equine - Hoof supplements
WF Valentine & Company - Makers of hoof and leg ointments, liniments and products
Equipak - Equithane Hoof Care Products
www.laminitis-advice.co.uk - Causes, symptoms, stages, treatment, prevention, research and herbal therapy with free vet advice from Stephen Ashdown and a hotline to his team at Chichester, West Sussex, UK
 
www.globalherbs.co.uk Global Herbs - a veterinary based herbal service specialising in Laminitis.

 

 
 
Books
 

Explaining Laminitis and Its Prevention by Robert A Eustace, UK Laminitis Trust

 This book is currently out of print.  Dr Eustace will be writing an updated book.

 
cover   All About Laminitis No 4 by Karen Coumbe (Allen Photographic...
 

find out more information
 
cover   Understanding Laminitis : Your Guide to Horse Health Care and Management by Ric Redden

find out more information
 

[ Laminitis 2 ]

 

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Page Updated July, 2007