This paper describes the treatment of 10 horses suffering from acute laminitis using the heart bar shoe and a dorsal hoof wall resection technique. All cases had progressed to prolapse of the tip of the pedal bone covered by solar corium through the horny sole; in one case the exposed tip of the distal phalanx became visible. Nine cases of distal phalangeal rotation and one case of distal displ...

Magnetic resonance is a great diagnostic tool in equine lameness examination. Its value is most significantly visible in evaluating distal extremities. Problems with podotrochlear apparatus, laminitis or distal interphalangeal joint osteoarthritis are the most common disorders diagnosed in equine patients. Without using magnetic resonance it was impossible to clearly assess which structures are...

Identification of ponies (Equus caballus) at increased risk of pasture-associated laminitis would aid in the prevention of the disease. Insulin resistance has been associated with laminitis and could be used to identify susceptible individuals. Insulin resistance may be diagnosed by feeding supplementary water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and measuring blood glucose and insulin concentrations. Th...

Ethanol-soluble carbohydrates (ESCs) of cool-season grasses include mono- and disaccharides sometimes short-chain fructans, which may exacerbate the risk pasture-associated laminitis. A calibration for prediction ESC concentrations by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was developed from 323 samples four grass species (orchardgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass...

Insulin resistance (IR) is important to the equine practitioner because of its association with laminitis. Older horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) are pre-disposed to both IR and laminitis, and it is likely that these conditions are related. Horses or ponies that exhibit delayed shedding of the haircoat or hirsutism, loss of skeletal muscle mass, or polyuria/polydipsia sh...