Founder vs. Laminitis

Q: I hear a lot of people use the words laminitis and founder interchangeably. Are these two conditions the same thing?–Alyson, via email

A: That’s a more difficult question to answer than you might expect, because the two terms are used interchangeably by a lot of people. However, “founder” implies more of the chronic condition, or the horse that has already had its coffin bone rotate or sink. That is classically a “foundered” horse, versus a laminitic horse that has the onset inflammation of the laminae, which support the coffin bone within the hoof capsule.