Unfortunately, once a horse has been affected by laminitis of any cause, the risk of future episodes is increased and vigilance on the part of the owner-caregiver-veterinary-farrier team is essential to minimize it as much as possible. | Photo: Courtesy Dr. Nora Grenager

—Erica, Lexington, Kentucky

A.This is a great question. We know that once a horse has had laminitis, that horse is more predisposed to future episodes (from any cause) than a horse who’s never had laminitis.

In a large study performed in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2011, researchers found that horses with one episode of laminitis of any cause were four times more likely to have a future episode than a horse that had not had a previous episode. Having sepsis-related, supporting-limb, or idiopathic laminitis does not specifically predispose to endocrinopathy (such as equine Cushing’s disease or insulin dysregulation). However, if the horse with a history of nonendocrinopathic laminitis were to develop an endocrinopathy later in life, the risk of laminitis would likely be augmented because laminitis risk is already high in these