b'How horses go from metabolic to laminitic and ways to manage themEndocrinopathic Laminitis ExplainedISTOCK.COMNANCY S. LOVING, DVMT he pasture is particularly verdant this year. Several plump horses contentedly graze their way across the fetlock-deep field in the fog after a particularly cool spring night. This might look like something out of a bucolic period film, but the scene is not as innocuous as it might appear. Several of its features portend potential problems for horses turned out to eat to their hearts content. A fat horse on rich grass is at risk of developing endocrine disorders that can snowball into laminitis.The Facts About Endocrine-Related LaminitisLaminitis occurs when the laminae (or lamellae)the tissues that suspend the coffin bone within the hoof capsulebecome damaged and inflamed. In severe cases they separate, releas-ing the coffin bone to rotate downward or sink.Laminitis is not just localized to the feet, howeverits also a systemic disease. Only 12% of owner-reported laminitis cases occur due to causes such as colic, diarrhea, retained placenta, or grain overload. The rest are related to diet or obesity and/or systemic endocrine disorders, namely equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, previously referred to as equine Cushings disease).TheHorse.com|The HorseMarch 202017PLACEMENT OF PHOTO AND TEXT MAY CHANGE (please remember to keep whitespace for caption)EndocrineLaminitis.indd 17 2/4/20 9:18 AM'