Hello again , How's everything going?        good !

I've mentioned laminitis in the past and realize it's not a very widely understood subject. So i wanted to talk about it in particular here and post a photo showing the actual laminae. The photo above is from a baby that was put down / extreme contracted heels was the problem. Looking closely you can see what look like little gills or fins running up and down the inside of that hoof wall . See it ? Those fins actually go all the way down the inside of the hoof wall.  the integrity of those little fine fins are what hold the hoof wall to the foot and also support the weight of the horse.

Now - you'll have to imagine here .  The photo is obviously the "Hoof" - actually the "Hoof Wall". Well the horse's foot has a fleshy tissue that fits INTO this hoof wall ( along with the coffin bone and a pastern bone attaching to the coffin bone).  Now that soft tissue i'm talking about has the exact same fins surrounding it that mesh up very precisely to the fins you're looking at on the inside of the hoof wall. The fins actually interlock very tightly ( when everything's right that is ).  The tight mesh of those fins is very very important as the strength of the mesh is what supports the fleshy part of the foot and the whole horses weight to the hoof wall. The bond between these fins create what we know as "The White Line".

Laminitis , also called Founder is when that white line and those fins start to loose integrity and lose their grip on each other - the result is the horses weight forces the soft fleshy tissue to slip within the grip of those fins/laminae. The fleshy part of the foot now Drops and presses down through the hoof, the sheer weight of the animal driving down against the loosening grip of the fins. When the fleshy part drops it pulls and stretches the deep flexor tendon which is attached to the coffin bone and coffin bone rotation commences. Rotation refferred to in "Degrees of rotation" can be very severe.  In some cases the point of the coffin bone will protrude right through the bottom of the foot ( bone exposed ). I've never seen such a thing and i hope i never do - i've only heard of it. You can imagine how terrible.

One of the ways i explain laminitis to people is to interlock your fingers together tightly so you can't pull your hands apart - now start to relax your hands and slowly pull them apart . That's basically the concept when the laminae separates on a horses feet.  Usually laminitis is more severe on the front feet of horses because they carry nearly 75% of their body weight on the front legs. The rear carrying less weight will still be affected by laminitis but ususally to a lesser degree.

Horses are very sensitive animals. Founder / laminitis can result from a myriad of things/situations. Such things as Road founder ( riding hard on a hard surface such as pavement ) - Grass Founder where the new grass comes in and horses gorging themselves . When horses break into a grain bin and gorge themselves the shock to the system can set off the founder. Extreme pain or inflamation in the feet will set off founder. There are other reasons horses founder, anyway you look at it founder is serious.

Typically when you are able to view the white line of the laminae it appears to be about 1/8th inch thick when viewed from the bottom of the foot ( such as when the foot is being trimmed for shoeing ).  During laminitis that white line as it looses it's grip within itself can become sometimes a half inch or so wide ( severe ).   It can be laced with blood and large gaps within itself as well as the sole of the horse becoming bloody as well.

Ok - enough of the bad news . The good news is if laminitis is not too severe there's good chances for the horses recovery and return to service.  With time the white line can tighten itself up and much of the integrity of the foot will return .  Of course your Vet will be involved. There are quite a few different views and opinions surrounding how to treat laminitis, this is an area that seem to still need research for methods of recovery. I haven't yet heard of a sure fire way to treat laminitis after it's set in. As far as i've heard it's still a touch and go treatment.       

This is the bottom of this poor little horses foot showing how fully contracted the heels were. 

 

Well i hope this has helped clear up any confusions about laminitis.  Be careful - monitor your horses feed and behavior patterns - the closer/sooner you can catch the start of founder the better.  

Take care everybody.  As usual happy and safe riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com   

John Silveira

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