REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY To determine the incidence of support limb laminitis among horses treated with half limb, full limb or transfixation pin casts and determine potential risk factors. METHODS Medical records of 113 horses treated with half limb, full limb or transfixation pin casts at an equine referral hospital from 2000 to 2009 were reviewed. Associations between potential risk fa...

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to compare the prevalence of selected clinical signs in laminitis cases and non-laminitic but lame controls to evaluate their capability to discriminate laminitis from other causes of lameness. Participating veterinary practitioners completed a checklist of laminitis-associated clinical signs identified by literature review. Cases were defined as ...

BACKGROUND Laminitis is considered as the most important cause of hoof lameness in dairy cows, which causes abundant economic losses in husbandry. Through intense efforts in past decades, the etiology of laminitis is preliminarily considered to be subacute ruminal acidosis; however, the pathogenesis of laminitis needs further research. The differentially expressed proteins (DEP) were detected i...

BACKGROUND The nutrition and health of horses is closely tied to their gastrointestinal microflora. Gut bacteria break down plant structural carbohydrates and produce volatile fatty acids, which are a major source of energy for horses. Bacterial communities are also essential for maintaining gut homeostasis and have been hypothesized to contribute to various diseases including laminitis. We per...

BACKGROUND Equine laminitis is a devastating disease that causes severe pain in afflicted horses and places a major economic burden on the horse industry. In acute laminitis, the disintegration of the dermal-epidermal junction can cause the third phalanx to detach from the hoof wall, leaving the horse unable to bear weight on the affected limbs. Horses that survive the acute phase transition in...

Introduction Laminitis is an inflammation of the laminar corium of the hoof wall. In general, the term laminitis is used to describe a systemic disease affecting not only the hooves, but also the general condition of the animal. Researchers believe the inflammation is primarily associated with a dysfunction of the digital vasculatory system that results in hypoxia and malnutrition of the sensit...

Currently, the only therapy for horses with acute laminitis for which there is consensus among practitioners is aggressive treatment for the disease process that has initiated laminitis. Although other treatments may have merit and seem logical based on studies of the pathogenesis of laminitis, the efficacy of these treatments has not been proven. Some of the confusion regarding treatment of ho...

Laminitis is a common and debilitating condition which initially presents as an acutely painful condition of the feet and often warrants euthanasia. The condition has multiple aetiologies but acute pasture-associated laminitis is most frequently encountered and is often recurrent. The incidence and impact of laminitis led to the identification of derangements of carbohydrate and lipid metabolis...

In a recent online survey, we asked equine practitioners to list the three most common causes of laminitis in horses seen within their practice. We expected veterinarians to list colitis, colic, and retained placenta as the primary causes of laminitis, but many respondents listed obesity, insulin resistance (IR), equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), and...

Bovine lactic acidosis syndrome is associated with large increases of lactic acid in the rumen, which result from diets that are high in ruminally available carbohydrates, or forage that is low in effective fiber, or both. The syndrome involves two separate anatomical areas, the gastrointestinal tract and body fluids, and is related to the rate and extent of lactic acid production, utilization,...