Horses that pound their feet can sometimes cause sufficient.
Infections that cause laminitis.
Environmental puncture wounds or gravels.
They have hypothesized that pasture induced laminitis might develop as a result of exposure to potential bacterial pathogens that are present in pasture grass and are ingested as horses graze.
An increasingly common cause of the disease is a hormonal imbalance called cushings disease and womb infections after foaling are a well known cause of laminitis.
It is essential to determine the cause of laminitis so that we can provide the correct long term treatment strategies.
The sensitive structures of the foot are susceptible to infection if any of these structures are damaged or weakened.
Causes of laminitis in horses.
In very lame horses for example with a fractured limb the opposite leg is forced to carry extra weight overloading the laminae and sometimes causing laminitis in this sound leg.
In addition any infection in the body can produce enough toxins to damage the sensitive blood vessels and cause laminitis.
When thinking of how laminitis occurs it is important to think of it more as a clinical sign rather than a disease in its own right.
Common causes of laminitis in horses.
There are some infections that produce endotoxins that can lead to laminitis in horses.
Hoof capsule defects cracks flares cracks contracted heels.
Typically causes of foot infections can be broken down into.