Laminitis (Founder)

Laminitis (commonly called “founder”) affects an estimated 7-14% of the world’s equine population. It’s the inflammation of the tiny, interwoven lamellae that attach a horse’s hoof to the underlying coffin bone (third phalanx, or P3) and support the horse’s entire body weight. Anything that impacts the integrity of the lamellae, such as inflammation, weakens their hold. This causes the coffin bone to displace within the hoof capsule and move toward the ground. The condition is very painful and is often life-threatening to horses.

Causes of Laminitis

The same disease has several different causes, which include:

  • Endocrine-associated laminitis, which is the most common cause, occurs in horses with insulin dysregulation, often due to equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or equine Cushing’s disease ), and exacerbated by ingestion of starch and sugars in feed or pasture (grass founder).
  • Sepsis-related laminitis is due to toxins in the bloodstream of sick horses (e.g., those with diarrhea, colic, retained placenta, or metritis—uterine infection);
  • Supporting-limb laminitis, which is caused by excessive weight bearing on a limb as a result of a painful injury in the opposite limb (e.g., fracture).

Clinical Signs (Symptoms) of Laminitis in Horses

  • Reluctance or inability to walk, or profound lameness;
  • Frequent weight shifting;
  • Abnormal stance and weight distribution to relieve pressure on the affected limb(s);
  • Increased heart and respiratory rate, and sweating;
  • Glazed, pained facial expression;
  • Bounding digital arterial pulses; and
  • Feet that are consistently warmer than usual to the touch.
Subcategories:
None

Laminitis Studies Financed by Barbaro Fund to Commence

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The projects, at more than $100,000

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Two new species of bacteria have been discovered in the gut of horses, according to a University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, press release.


Streptococcus henryi and Streptococcus caballi were found by accident by UQ

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Laminitis: New Study on Sugar and Starch as a Cause

A breakthrough in laminitis research by a team of scientists at University of Queensland, Australia, and colleagues, was published in August 2007 The Veterinary Journal. The study explains an important link in sugar and starches as

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Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Laminitis

Insulin resistance is a part of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). There are three criteria for identifying the horse with EMS: Insulin resistance, prior (founder lines) or current laminitis, and general obesity or regional adiposity (areas of abnormal

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Barbaro, Secretariat Art to Support Laminitis Research

A new set of prints and a poster featuring Triple Crown winner Secretariat and 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Barbaro will benefit the fight against laminitis, the painful hoof disease that ended both their

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A Look Inside: Veterinary Internists Meet in Seattle

Veterinary internists met June 6-9 in Seattle, Wash., for the 25th Forum of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) to discuss the latest research on the internal workings of horses and other animals.

Summarized below are

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UPenn Names Laminitis Senior Research Investigator

Hannah Galantino-Homer, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACT, has been appointed the senior research investigator of the new laminitis research initiative at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She will serve as a leading investigator

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Obesity and Laminitis

In obese horses insulin resistance might also contribute to widespread inflammation and, thus, vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels), which is the case in human metabolic syndrome.

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Foot X Rays: A Crystal Ball?

When you look at a radiograph (X ray) of a horse’s foot, do you visualize soft tissues, or do you only see bones? If there’s one thing Ric Redden, DVM, founder of the International Equine Podiatry Center in Versailles, Ky., consistently teaches,

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