Future research is more likely to find a pharmacological cure for systemic laminitis than for overload weight-bearing laminitis, maintains equine veterinarian Larry Bramlage. The surgeon with Rood and Riddle in Lexington, Ky., defines systemic laminitis as a disease process that liberates enough mediators within the body to trigger the separation of the hoof wall.

In evaluating the impact on forelimb kinetics during the swing phase of the trot, Hilary Clayton and other Michigan State University researchers found no significant differences between flat and egg bar shoes of the same weight.