Laminitis is one of the most common diseases in horses. It is not only painful for the animal, but also has a significant financial impact on the equine industry. This multifactorial disease affects the connective tissue of the hoof. However, the pathogenesis of laminitis is still not fully understood. Endotoxins, also known as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and bacterial exotoxins seem to play an ...

BACKGROUND Hoof lesions are very common among sows and have been associated with lameness, early removal and compromised welfare and productivity. Although housing conditions and management can have an external effect on hoof health status, the role of trace mineral intake is vital in developing hoof structure and integrity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect o...

Research into the structure and function of the hoof wall has proven fundamental to the understanding of how important diseases such as laminitis develop. This article reviews current information on the equine hoof wall and its internal lamellar layer (with notes on the developmental mechanism of laminitis) in the hope that a more unified approach to the rational management of the hoof wall, by...

AIMS To determine the frontal plane position of the ground reaction force vector at its centre of pressure under the hoof of walking horses, and its projection through the distal limb joints, and to relate this to hoof geometric measurements. METHODS Reflective markers were glued to the forelimb hooves and skin of 26 horses, over palpable landmarks representing centres of the coffin, fetlock ...

The hoof plays an important role in the health and well-being of dairy animals. Consequently, mechanical properties of the hoof horn and changes in this tissue with nutrition or environmental factors are important concerns. A novel experimental approach for evaluating the mechanical behaviour of hoof horn has been developed. The process is comprised of obtaining incremental slices of hoof horn,...

Keratins are the characteristic structural proteins of the highly cornified epidermis of the skin, feathers, and hoof. Keratin proteins provide the structural basis for the unique properties of the biomaterial horn and its protective function against a wide range of environmental factors. Hoof horn is produced through a complex process of differentiation (keratinization) of epidermal cells. For...

Surface strains were recorded from four rosette gauges at different sites on the right forehooves of three ponies running on a treadmill at seven constant speeds and using three gaits. Principal strains determined from the rosette signals indicate that the hoof material is loaded predominantly in compression and that the wall is distorted in a regular, repeatable manner at all speeds and gaits....

Twelve healthy, adult donkeys of both sexes aged between 2 and 4 years were used to evaluate the feasibility of using coronary band autografts to aid in the healing of deep dermal hoof wall injuries. Wound healing and graft take were monitored visually and evaluated histologically at different time points. Epidermal cells of the coronary papillae survived the process of hoof wall stripping. Alm...

The connection between a feeding regime with a high proportion of concentrates and laminitis is well recognized in domestic animal medicine but has received little attention in captive wild hoofstock. We used the occasion of a transport of two ruminant groups, that necessitated immobilization, for an evaluation of the appearance of the hooves on the one, and of the pH of the rumen fluid gained ...