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Mechanical laminitis can occur when a horse habitually paws, is ridden or driven on hard surfaces ("road founder"), or in cases of excessive weight-bearing due to compensation for the opposing limb, a process called support limb laminitis. Support limb laminitis is most common in horses suffering from severe injury to one limb, such as fracture ...
Hoof or horseshoe wear can indicate breakover and if the horse is dragging its toes. Change in shape of the hoof wall is also common in horses with laminitis. "Founder rings," or thickened concentric rings in the hoof wall, indicate a past episode of laminitis. Concavity of the dorsal (front) surface of the hoof can indicate chronic laminitis.
Plants can cause reactions ranging from laminitis (found in horses bedded on shavings from black walnut trees), anemia, kidney disease and kidney failure (from eating the wilted leaves of red maples), to cyanide poisoning (from the ingestion of plant matter from members of the genus Prunus) and other symptoms.
Horses are at risk of re-injury of the fracture site, especially when trying to rise after lying down, or when recovering from anesthesia following fracture repair. Forced recumbency is not an option for horses, making healing more difficult. Weight bearing on a single front or hind limb increases the likelihood of support limb laminitis.
Infected horses founder usually within three days of the initial symptoms, thought to be secondary to endotoxemia. [1] Death may occur and is usually due to severe laminitis leading to founder. [1] Horses may not always display any other symptoms beyond a fever. [1]
However, any horse that can store excess amounts of glycogen, usually genetic, can develop this form of ER. [1] Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis (RER) is commonly found in breeds that are high strung such as Arabians and thoroughbreds. However, any horse can develop this type of ER if it displays abnormal muscle contractions. [1]
Even hay/grass may be high enough in sugar to cause laminitis. A healthy diet for horses currently with or prone to laminitis is based on free access to hay that has been tested for carbohydrate content and found to be less than 10% WSC + starch, appropriate mineral supplementation, and no grain.
Horses are best managed by only allowing short grazing periods—less than 1 hour since they can rapidly ingest grass, [18] or confining them to a limited turn-out area or by use of a grazing muzzle. Horses with severe IR, that have recurrent laminitis, are not recommended to return to pasture. Hay low in NSC is provided in place of pasture.