Identification of the chronic laminitic foot

Identification of the chronic laminitic foot.

A horse that is suffering from acute laminitis for the first time, will initially not show evidence of the condition in its hoof form. It is generally diagnosed by some or all of the following:

	•		Lameness (generally more than one foot) – from “pottery” to won’t move.
	•		Change of stance – front feet placed further forward.
	•		Feeling a digital pulse.
	•		Pain when pressure is applied to the sole in front of the frog.
	•		Radiography – increased hoof to bone distance

If a horse has had laminitis previously, the foot may appear normal, if the feet have subsequently been trimmed correctly and the laminitic episode was relatively mild. Far more commonly we are able to see the evidence of previous laminitis in the hoof.

For more information upon the symptoms of the chronic laminitic foot, please click here...

Laminitis

We know that many changes occur in the foot when laminitis develops but we still are unable to explain which of these are primarily involved and which occur secondarily.

We do know that the site of separation in all cases of laminitis occurs at the level of the basement membrane. This is the thin fibrous layer to which the “horny laminae”, on the inside of the hoof, and the “sensitive laminae”, the tissue that lies between P3 and the hoof, are normally very firmly attached. P3 is normally “suspended” between the hoof wall and the bone by these laminal bonds all around the foot, but in laminitis, these bonds are broken and the bone loses its support.

The severity of a laminitis episode is categorised by the clinical signs of pain shown by the horse and there is evidence that there is correlation between the pain exhibited and the amount of separation of the laminae.

Elsewhere on the website I have debated the possible mechanisms and reasons why breakdown of the laminal bonds occur initially down the dorsal (front wall). It is how people evaluate the significance of the weight of the horse to that of the pull of the deep flexor tendon to produce these changes that is the crux of the continuing debate.