Is
your horse or pony prone to suffering from laminitis?
Laminitis – beating the pain
The old saying goes ‘no hoof, no horse’,
and with ninety percent of equine lameness's
originating in the foot it’s important
to make sure that we’re aware of some
of the most significant foot health problems
that our horses may face, one of which is undoubtedly
laminitis.
The word laminitis strikes fear into the hearts
of horse owners everywhere, and quite rightly
so as it is an extremely painful and debilitating
disease that requires much ongoing treatment
and some essential changes in the management
of horses that are unfortunate enough to be
afflicted with it.
At this time of year, with the rush of spring
grass after a long hard winter, laminitis should
be a key concern to owners of horses and ponies
predisposed to this condition and in this feature
Robert Fowler, chief nutritionist at The Pure
Feed Company, gives us an insight into the primary
nutritional causes of the disease and what we
can do to help prevent its onset.
What is laminitis?
Laminitis is a degenerative disease of the
hoof of the horse and at the first signs the
horse should be treated as the longer the condition
is left to progress, the more permanent the
damage will be to the hoof.
Within the hoof of the horse are about 600 pairs
of interleaved laminae: the epidermal laminae
attached to the hoof wall and the dermal laminae
attached to the pedal bone within the horse’s
hoof. Laminitis results from an inflammation
of these sensitive laminae, which compromises
this interaction between the epidermal and the
dermal portions and can result in the pedal
bone sinking into the bottom of the capsule
of the hoof.
When the sensitive laminae become inflamed and
the contact with the pedal bone is damaged,
the weight of the horse causes the tissues to
start ripping, thereby pushing the pedal bone
down towards to sole of the hoof. This acute
laminar degeneration eventually results in the
detachment of the laminae, which then causes
the cavity of the hoof to be weakened and the
action of the pedal bone being forced downwards
destroys the veins and arteries associated with
it. With the high concentration of nerves within
the horse’s hoof, this inflammation and
subsequent progressive damage to the structures
within the horse’s hoof is extremely painful
and the onset of laminitis is generally accompanied
by a dramatic lameness, with the horse adoption
a traditional ‘laminitic stance’,
leaning back on the heels to try to reduce the
pressure placed upon the damaged hooves.
What should be done to help prevent
laminitis?
Steps taken to help prevent laminitis occurring
are much easier to adopt than ones for the management
of a horse or pony that has already developed
it, not to mention the welfare benefits to the
horse in avoiding this painful disease.
Although the development of laminitis can be
as a result of a wide range of factors, including
severe concussion or an adverse reaction to
certain drugs, nutritional factors are by far
the most significant causal factor in the onset
of the disease and careful nutritional management
is crucial in order to help prevent the problem
occurring.
From a nutritional point of view, the most
common cause of laminitis is the over ingestion
of feed rich in soluble carbohydrates, such
as one that contains molasses and cereals. Eating
considerable amounts of spring and autumn grass
(which contains high levels of fructan sugars)
will also be a likely trigger for laminitis,
so it’s particularly important to be vigilant
in the nutritional management of horses and
ponies at these times of year. During the digestion
of starches and sugars, a highly acidic environment
can develop in the hind gut of the horse, which
causes the release of toxins into the bloodstream.
It is these toxins that lead to the inflammation
of the laminae surrounding the hoof, as a result
of restricted blood supply as the toxins constrict
blood vessels travelling into the hoof of the
horse. This process can damage the sensitive
laminae (as discussed earlier) and result in
the development of laminitis.
For this reason, it is important to remember
that high levels of starch and sugars in the
horse’s diet should be avoided. While
this is a particularly important principle for
horses and ponies that are predisposed to laminitis,
this rule in fact forms the basis of all good
feeding, with the central feeding principle
for healthy horses being the provision of a
feeding regime based upon high quality fibre
and protein with a good quality vitamin and
mineral specification. Course mixes and pellets
containing molasses and grains are not natural
feeds for our horses and should not be fed,
as the equine digestive system is simply not
designed to digest large quantities of starch
and sugar and as a result they are the prime
candidates for triggering a laminitic episode.
Certain types of horses and ponies are more
prone to the development of laminitis, with
good doers and overweight ponies being particularly
sensitive. This is because such animals are
by their very nature able to absorb more nutrients
from the food they ingest than horses that don’t
put condition on quite so easily and as a result,
they absorb more of the potentially dangerous
starch and sugar from their feed which can put
them at risk for laminitis.
By avoiding high sugar, high starch feeds and
sticking to one that is very low sugar, high
fibre and low starch you will help to reduce
the risk of your horse developing this extremely
painful disorder.
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