Equine laminitis model: cryotherapy reduces the severity of lesions evaluated seven days after induction with oligofructose.

The research article investigates the effectiveness of using cryotherapy on a horse’s limbs to prevent laminitis, a hoof disease. This procedure was tested during the disease’s development phase and results after seven days showed reduced severity and symptoms in horses that were treated with cryotherapy compared to those that weren’t.

Objective

• The study aimed to evaluate the effect of distal limb cryotherapy (DLC) during the developmental phase of induced laminitis on its severity and lamellar histopathology 7 days after dosing. The researchers wanted to see if the cryotherapy had to be applied for an extended period of time and if its effects were still valid after discontinuation.

Methods

• Eighteen normal Standardbred horses were divided into three groups of six.
• Cryotherapy was continuously applied for 72 hours to the distal limbs of the first group (only cryotherapy).
• The second and third groups received laminitis-inducing doses of oligofructose. Among them, the second group also went through 72 hours of cryotherapy, applied immediately after dosing (laminitis + cryotherapy).
• The third group was the control and received only the laminitis-inducing dose but no cryotherapy (laminitis + no cryotherapy).
• All the horses were clinically assessed, euthanized 7 days after dosing, and their hoof lamellar tissues were harvested and analyzed.

Results

• In the laminitis-induced horses, clinical lameness and laminitis histopathology were significantly reduced in horses that underwent 72 hours of cryotherapy compared to the untreated controls.
• Cryotherapy alone did not cause significant lameness or other ill effects.

Conclusions

• Continuous, medium- to long-term cryotherapy applied to the distal limbs of horses safely and effectively reduced the clinical signs and pathology of acute laminitis.
• The researchers concluded that preemptive distal limb cryotherapy is a practical method for mitigating laminitis in horses at risk of developing the disease.