Podcast #032 – The AAEP Discusses Laminitis In Horses
On October 13th, 2021 The American Association Of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) had a virtual meeting of 4 professionals involved in the care of horses suffering from laminitis. This is a crippling and often life-ending painful affliction of the hooves of horses. I attended in hopes of updating myself with new information I could pass on to you listeners.
Discussions revolved around the determinants of severity from diagnostic images. It involved high resolution X-rays with specific measurements, venograms (images of the blood flow in the hoof) and even advanced imaging machines practitioners don’t have access to. The application of support in shoes and the use of cushioned boots was discussed. The benefits of cold therapy, shoeing angles and even deep digital tenotomy (cutting of the tendon) were discussed in respect to relevance and effectiveness.
There were two mentions of nutrition. The first was a brief comment that the insulin needs to be reduced. The second was a mention that increased survival rates were associated with higher rates of hoof growth. However there was no mention of how to do these in horses.
I review how insulin is involved in a response to nutrition as well as the roll of protein in the development of hooves. I believe that preventing laminitis is far better than curing it and the hoof can never be restored back to the original configuration after the laminae are destroyed. While these men would be the ones to seek out when laminitis strikes, I believe that ALL practitioners (vets and farriers) would love the day they never see another case of laminitis. This podcast is about doing just that.
Great podcast, as usual!
🤠 Thank you
Another comment that was lost technically was from KarenM:
“Whew, laminitis. Knock wood, I’ve only had two encounters. One was my elderly pony in the early 90s. The vet taped wooden blocks to his feet. Fortunately he recovered fine. The other was a TB broodmare belonging to our trainer, who had just foaled and foundered a week or so later. Horrible. Rotated out through her sole and had to be euthanized. Although I always appreciated our trainer exposing me to everything that can go wrong, this was one I would have gladly skipped.”