Colic and laminitis, two of the most common equine ailments, can both result from overconsumption of high-carbohydrate concentrates or lush grass. Research has supported this cause-and-effect relationship, but the full story is more complicated.

Laminitis, a serious hoof condition that cripples many horses, can be caused by a number of different things. Ingestion of moldy feed, retained placentas in mares, and colitis or other gastrointestinal tract infections are only a few of the scenarios that can result in inflammation that affects the sensitive tissues within the hooves. The result is pain, swelling, and disrupted circulation, often leading to untreatable tissue damage that eventually causes the horse to be humanely destroyed.

Ask anyone who suffers from arthritis what it's like, and you'll hear just one word repeated and repeated - pain. And you won't have to look very far to find people to ask. In some cases, you don't even need to ask - you can tell just by watching them move; they don't like to because it hurts.

Equine veterinarian and farrier Raul Bras's talk on laminitis will help farriers treat horses suffering from various stages of the disease.

At one time or another, many horse owners have experienced the frustration of trying to clear up that red, scabby, oozing, irritated skin inflammation on the back of their horses' pasterns. Known by a variety of names such as dew poisoning, mud fever, and scratches, the condition is common when horses spend time walking through damp pasture grass, but it can also be found in arid climates where the horses are kept in drylots. Sometimes the condition is fairly mild and does't seem to bother the horse, but a bad case can cause bleeding, pain, and lameness. Repeated irritation leads to scaling, scarring, and thickened skin.

Laminil is using crowdfunding the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations to raise funds for its laminitis drug.