Laminar Stretching Is An Indication Of Subclinical Laminitis

When observing laminar stretching at the toe, Chapel Hill, N.C., equine veterinarian Dick Mansmann advised attendees at March’s North Carolina State Equine Health Symposium of the need for radiographs to determine the extent of the laminitis — regardless of how sound the horse is.

When encountering acute or chronic laminitic cases, the best possible outcome relies on a team consisting of the horse owner, husbandry staff, veterinarian and farrier. Every case is different, yet the principles remain the same.

Researchers in Canada used cadaver limbs to study the effects of hoof angles and loading patterns on joint surface contact areas in the fetlock. Eight limbs from Standardbred horses that died for reasons unrelated to this study were fitted into a mechanical pendulum device to simulate hoof strike at a trot. Strips of pressure-sensitive film were placed across the joint surfaces inside the fetlock to measure contact areas, and the limb was loaded while simulating flat, toe-first and heel-first landings.