What Is Laminitis

Laminitis can be managed but not cured which is why prevention is so important.

What is laminitis.

1 hormonal endocrine laminitis. Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates and is found mostly in horses and cattle clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk increased digital pulses and increased temperature in the hooves. The causes of laminitis fall into three broad categories. Laminitis is a crippling condition which can be fatal in severe cases.

Once a horse has had an episode of laminitis they are particularly susceptible to future episodes. This means the cause needs to be investigated and then managed to help prevent future episodes. Diseases with inflammation hormonal diseases and mechanical overload are just some of the causes of laminitis. However founder usually refers to a chronic long term condition associated with rotation of the coffin bone whereas acute laminitis refers to symptoms associated with a sudden initial attack including pain and inflammation of the.

Laminitis can affect one or all feet but it is most often seen in the front feet concurrently. As laminitis develops the attachment of the pedal bone to the hoof wall starts to fail leaving the pedal bone to rotate and point towards the sole and in the worst cases to sink right through it. The terms laminitis and founder are used interchangeably. Laminitis should be thought of as a sign of a disease rather than a disease itself.