English
Laminitis is the most serious disease of the equine foot and the second biggest killer of horses behind colic. It is estimated that 1 in 10 horses in the United States will be diagnosed with laminitis at some point in their lifetime, and a majority of those horses will develop severe or chronic lameness.
Join Dr. Fran Rowe, one of Mad Barn’s Veterinary Nutritionists, for Part 2 of a two-part series on laminitis in horses. If you missed Part 1, you can find it here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEdLvKSLGhc
In today’s video, Dr. Rowe will go into more detail about endocrinopathic laminitis, reviewing metabolic disease, the clinical signs of laminitis, and prevention strategies.
Of the three mechanisms of laminitis in horses, endocrinopathic laminitis is the most common. It’s estimated that 90% or more of horses with laminitis suffer from an underlying metabolic disease, like Equine Metabolic Disease or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Equine Cushing’s Disease). These diseases result in insulin dysregulation and elevated blood insulin levels (hypersinulinemia).
Often, horses with metabolic disease exhibit chronic changes to the hoof that provide us clues that endocrinopathic laminitis is occurring. These horses aren’t acutely laminitic all the time
Horses with underlying metabolic disease may not be acutely laminitic all the time. However, there are often clues that make us suspicious that insulin dysregulation is occurring. If we know what to look for, then we can intervene before clinical laminitis develops and reduce the horse’s risk of life-threatening disease. Chronic or insidious changes to the hoof include:
– Divergent rings on the hoof wall
– Widening of the white line
– Sole flattening and recurrent sole bruising
Prevention strategies for endocrinopathic laminitis are largely centered around dietary management, including feeding hay that’s low in hydrolysable carbohydrates, restricting access to green pasture, and ensuring requirements for dietary protein, vitamins, and minerals are appropriately met.
To learn more about metabolic disease and laminitis in horses, check out our blog articles:
– Equine Metabolic Syndrome 👉 https://madbarn.com/equine-metabolic-syndrome/
– 14 Early Warning Signs of Laminitis 👉 https://madbarn.com/signs-of-laminitis-in-horses/
– Feeding the Laminitis-Prone Horse 👉 https://madbarn.com/feeding-laminitic-horse/
– How to Feed a Horse with EMS 👉 https://madbarn.com/how-to-feed-metabolic-horse/
Have ideas for topics to cover or questions about your horse’s health? We would love to hear from you! Please send any questions or comments to [email protected].
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