Laminitis is one of the most frustrating conditions for veterinarians to manage. With this hoof disease, the tiny lamellae that attach the horse’s hoof to the coffin bone within fail, potentially causing the bone to sink or rotate within the hoof capsule. It’s an extremely painful process that requires aggressive treatment, and getting ahead of that pain can be very challenging.

At the 2018 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 1-5 in San Francisco, California, Lori Bidwell, DVM, Dipl. ACVAA, described how practitioners—particularly ambulatory vets—can manage laminitic horses’ pain levels during the acute and chronic phases of disease.

The immediate acute phase causes a physiologic pain that, if not dealt with, can become chronic, she explained. The chronic phase is neuropathic, meaning the nerves have become the pain source. Human patients have described this type of pain as burning, shooting, tingling, and electric.

Acute Treatment

Bidwell said immediate treatment of acute laminitis