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...

Study of EMS cases has revealed several measurable plasma analytes that serve as markers for dysregulation of glucose and lipid metabolism that culminates in increased laminitis susceptibility. Although the exact pathophysiologic pathways leading to laminitis have not been elucidated, it is likely that some of these analytes may have direct pathologic relevance whilst others simply act as indir...

Although the treatment and management of laminitis in the horse requires a holistic and often multidisciplinary approach from the veterinarian, farrier, and nutritionist, this review focuses on pharmacologic interventions that might have prophylactic benefit, specifically in the horse with laminitis as a result of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction and equine metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate genetic and metabolic predispositions and nutritional risk factors for development of pasture-associated laminitis in ponies. DESIGN Observational cohort study. ANIMALS 160 ponies. PROCEDURES A previous diagnosis of laminitis was used to differentiate 54 ponies (PL group) from 106 nonlaminitic ponies (NL group). Pedigree analysis was used to determine a mode of inher...

Acute laminitis is a common equine disease characterized by intense foot pain, both acutely and chronically. The Obel grading system is the most widely accepted method for describing the severity of laminitis by equine practitioners, however this method requires movement (walk and trot) of the horse, causing further intense pain. The recently developed Horse Grimace Scale (HGS), a facial-expres...