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Equine laminitis: its development coincides with increased sublamellar blood flow.
Abstract: The effect of alimentary carbohydrate overload on hoof temperature was investigated to determine the state of the sublamellar vasculature preceding the onset of equine laminitis. Hoof, core and ambient temperatures and heart rate were logged continuously in 21 mature Standardbred horses kept in an environmental chamber set at 10 degrees C. Recording hoof temperature was a successful, noninvasive, method to measure indirectly, shifts in digital blood flow against a background of cold induced, physiological, vasoconstriction. High hoof temperatures were assumed to indicate digital vasodilation and low hoof temperatures digital vasoconstriction. Seven horses were either untreated or sham treated controls. A slurry of ground wheat flour (17.5 g/kg) was administered via nasogastric tube to 13 horses all of which were humanely killed 48 h later. Histological sections of the lamellar tissues were examined for evidence of laminitis. Analysis of mean hoof temperature graphs showed that horses judged laminitis positive had experienced a period of prolonged digital vasodilation 16-40 h after carbohydrate overload. Laminitis negative horses experienced no such period of vasodilation and never had hoof temperatures significantly (except once, at 28 h) above that of controls. The only parameter which significantly differentiated the laminitis positive from laminitis negative horses, between 12 and 32 h after carbohydrate overload, was foot temperature, which was significantly higher in laminitis positive horses (P < 0.05). Therefore, a period of sublamellar vasodilation, 12 to 40 h after alimentary carbohydrate overload precedes the onset of laminitis. If the digital circulation sustains vasoconstriction during this period then laminitis does not occur. We propose that the period of increased digital blood flow in laminitis positive horses, concomitant with the severe metabolic crisis brought on by the alimentary carbohydrate overload, may expose the lamellar tissues to a concentration of blood borne factors sufficient to trigger lamellar separation.
Publication Date: 1999-02-05 PubMed ID: 9932103DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1998.tb05131.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research investigates the effect of high-carbohydrate feeding on the blood flow in horses’ hooves, particularly how it can lead to a hoof disease called laminitis. They found that horses that developed laminitis experienced a prolonged period of increased blood flow in their hooves, indicating a potential trigger to hoof tissue damage.
Study Overview
- This research investigates the condition of equine laminitis, a painful and potentially crippling hoof disease in horses. It looks at how an overload of carbohydrates in the horse’s diet can affect the blood flow in the horse’s hoof, particularly in the part known as the sublamellar vasculature.
Methodology
- The study was conducted on 21 mature Standardbred horses kept in an environmental chamber at 10 degrees Celsius. Hoof, core, and surrounding temperatures, along with heart rate, were continuously monitored.
- Seven horses were untreated or sham treated as controls, and 13 horses were subjected to a high-carbohydrate diet via a nasogastric tube. Tissue samples of their lamellae (the part of the hoof affected by laminitis) were examined 48 hours later for signs of laminitis.
Findings
- The researchers found that high hoof temperatures were indicative of increased blood flow in the foot (vasodilation) and low hoof temperatures indicated restricted blood flow (vasoconstriction). This suggested a relationship between digital blood flow and the development of laminitis.
- Horses that developed laminitis showed prolonged periods of increased blood flow (vasodilation) between 16 to 40 hours after high-carbohydrate feeding. In contrast, horses that did not develop laminitis did not experience this prolonged vasodilation phase.
- Foot temperature was significantly higher in horses that developed laminitis, suggesting it is a key factor in the onset of the condition.
Conclusions
- It was concluded that a period of increased sublamellar blood flow 12 to 40 hours after high-carbohydrate feeding can trigger the onset of laminitis. If a horse’s digital circulation manages to restrict blood flow during this period (vasoconstriction), laminitis does not occur.
- The researchers propose that the increased digital blood flow during this critical period exposes the hoof tissues to a higher concentration of potentially damaging factors, triggering laminitis.
Cite This Article
APA
Pollitt CC, Davies CT.
(1999).
Equine laminitis: its development coincides with increased sublamellar blood flow.
Equine Vet J Suppl(26), 125-132.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1998.tb05131.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Veterinary Science and Animal Production, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
MeSH Terms
- Acclimatization
- Animals
- Body Temperature
- Feces / chemistry
- Female
- Foot Diseases / etiology
- Foot Diseases / physiopathology
- Foot Diseases / veterinary
- Heart Rate
- Hoof and Claw / blood supply
- Horse Diseases / etiology
- Horse Diseases / physiopathology
- Horses
- Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
- Inflammation / veterinary
- Lameness, Animal / etiology
- Lameness, Animal / physiopathology
- Male
- Regional Blood Flow
- Vasodilation
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Patan-Zugaj B, Egerbacher M, Licka TF. Endotoxin-induced changes in expression of cyclooxygenase isoforms in the lamellar tissue of extracorporeally haemoperfused equine limbs. Anat Histol Embryol 2020 Sep;49(5):597-605.
- Lancaster LS, Bowker RM. Acupuncture Points of the Horse's Distal Thoracic Limb: A Neuroanatomic Approach to the Transposition of Traditional Points. Animals (Basel) 2012 Sep 17;2(3):455-71.
- Menzies-Gow NJ, Wray H, Bailey SR, Harris PA, Elliott J. The effect of tumour necrosis factor-α and insulin on equine digital blood vessel function in vitro. Inflamm Res 2014 Aug;63(8):637-47.
- Schwochow D, Alameddine A, Spörndly-Nees E, Montigny M, Naboulsi R, Jansson A, Niazi A, Lindgren G. RNA-seq analysis identifies key genes enhancing hoof strength to withstand barefoot racing in Standardbred trotters. BMC Genomics 2025 Aug 18;26(1):751.
- Castro-Mesa AF, Resende Faleiros R, Martínez-Aranzales JR. Transmural Ultrasonography in the Evaluation of Horse Hoof Internal Structures: Comparative Qualitative Findings-Part 1. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jun 10;13(12).
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