White Blood Cell Changes May Lead To Laminitis

A study by University of Georgia researchers is evaluating the possibility that critical steps leading to acute laminitis may be initiated by white blood cells that move from the circulation system into soft tissues found in the hoof laminae. They believe this situation may trigger inflammatory processes that include serious damage to the blood vessels.

Researcher T.P. Robertson and other team members are trying to confirm this theory and to also eliminate any reactions other than laminitis that could be caused by the process. They believe this would be a major step in solving the puzzle dealing with the origins of laminitis.

How Shoe Characteristics Impact Racing Results

In a University of Florida study comparing 377 Thoroughbreds with 35,629 racing starts, an analysis was made to determine how shoe characteristics affect the risk for catastrophic musculoskeletal injury. Analyzed by J.A. Hernandez, the study compared 43 horses with race-caused musculoskeletal injuries that later failed to race or train for 6 months with 334 sound horses that ran in the same races where the injuries occurred.

Hernandez says 98 percent of these race starts were made with aluminum shoes, 85 percent with toe grabs, 32 percent with pads and 12 percent with rims on forelimb shoes. Among the injured horses, the odds of injury with horses wearing toe grabs were 1.5 times greater than horses running without toe grabs. The study also demonstrated that A study by University of Georgia researchers is evaluating the…