Supporting limb laminitis.
Abstract: Supporting limb laminitis poses a threat to all horses suffering from severe unilateral lameness. Despite its devastating effects, relatively little is known about the precise pathologic processes that lead to its development. This article reviews the potential mechanisms of supporting limb laminitis, and the authors present some preliminary data based on advanced imaging and computer-based modeling techniques aimed at further elucidating the etiology of this unique form of laminitis. Gaining a better understanding of the pathologic processes that lead to supporting limb laminitis is essential to enable the development of appropriate countermeasures to safeguard horses at risk of the disease.
Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2010-08-12 PubMed ID: 20699176DOI: 10.1016/j.cveq.2010.06.007Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This research article focuses on the frequent problem of Supporting Limb Laminitis (SLL) in horses, how lack of load cycling activity leads to decreased perfusion triggering dysfunction, and ways to prevent it through monitoring and enhancing limb load cycling activity.
About Supporting Limb Laminitis (SLL)
- Supporting Limb Laminitis (SLL) is a common issue that affects horses, especially those whose weight-bearing patterns are not normal due to painful limb conditions. It primarily refers to a disease where the attachments inside the horse’s hoof (lamellae) begin to fail.
- This failure occurs because of the excessive weight-bearing on one limb over the other, which drives the progression to acute laminitis in the over-burdened limb.
Effect of Lack of Load Cycling Activity on SLL
- Load cycling activity refers to the natural movement or ambulation of the horse. This activity is crucial as it improves the overall circulation/perfusion of the lamellae.
- When a horse experiences pain in a limb, it naturally tries to relieve pain by limiting the movement of that limb. This changes the normal weight-bearing pattern, leading to a lack of load cycling activity on that limb, resulting in a decrease in lamellar perfusion.
- The reduced perfusion leads to ischemia – a condition where not enough blood reaches a part of the body. This condition gradually leads to the dysfunction and death of cells which are critical for proper functioning of the lamellae.
Preventing the Onset of SLL through Monitoring and Enhancement of Limb Load Cycling Activity
- To prevent the onset of SLL, it becomes crucial to ensure adequate lamellar perfusion. This can be achieved by monitoring and enhancing the load cycling activity of the horse.
- By understanding the horse’s weight distribution pattern and movement, one can design interventions that encourage load cycling activity, thereby maintaining adequate lamellar perfusion.
- This strategy of monitoring and enhancing load cycling activity presents a proactive approach to the prevention of Supporting Limb Laminitis (SLL).
Cite This Article
APA
van Eps A, Collins SN, Pollitt CC.
(2010).
Supporting limb laminitis.
Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract, 26(2), 287-302.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cveq.2010.06.007 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia. a.vaneps@uq.edu.au
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Foot Diseases / physiopathology
- Foot Diseases / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / physiopathology
- Horses
- Inflammation / physiopathology
- Inflammation / veterinary
- Weight-Bearing
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Orozco Lopez D, Garcia-Lopez JM, Carpenter R, Bras JJ, Richardson DW, Ortved KF. Treatment of traumatic disruption of the suspensory apparatus in Thoroughbred racehorses at risk of proximal interphalangeal joint subluxation using a locking compression-distal femur plate for double arthrodesis. Vet Surg 2025 Apr;54(3):439-452.
- Nowak M, Martin-Cirera A, Jenner F, Auer U. Time budgets and weight shifting as indicators of pain in hospitalized horses. Front Pain Res (Lausanne) 2024;5:1410302.
- Aoun R, Charles I, DeRouen A, Takawira C, Lopez MJ. Shoe configuration effects on third phalanx and capsule motion of unaffected and laminitic equine hooves in-situ. PLoS One 2023;18(5):e0285475.
- Burns TA, Watts MR, Belknap JK, van Eps AW. Digital lamellar inflammatory signaling in an experimental model of equine preferential weight bearing. J Vet Intern Med 2023 Mar;37(2):681-688.
- Pratt-Phillips S, Munjizun A. Impacts of Adiposity on Exercise Performance in Horses. Animals (Basel) 2023 Feb 14;13(4).
- Douglas H, Midon M, Shroff K, Floriano D, Driessen B, Hopster K. Caudal epidural catheterization for pain management in 48 hospitalized horses: A descriptive study of demographics, complications, and outcomes. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:995299.
- Watkins AR, Hopster K, Levine D, Hurcombe SD. Cervical Epidural Spinal Analgesia for Acute Management of Severe Unilateral Forelimb Lameness: Case Report. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:749713.
- Montgomery JB, Klein M, Boire JR, Beck C, Häusermann D, Maksimenko A, Hall CJ. Synchrotron CT of an equine digit at the Australian Synchrotron Imaging and Medical Beamline. J Synchrotron Radiat 2021 Nov 1;28(Pt 6):1769-1777.
- Trindade PHE, Hartmann E, Keeling LJ, Andersen PH, Ferraz GC, Paranhos da Costa MJR. Effect of work on body language of ranch horses in Brazil. PLoS One 2020;15(1):e0228130.
- Cassimeris L, Engiles JB, Galantino-Homer H. Detection of endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response in naturally-occurring endocrinopathic equine laminitis. BMC Vet Res 2019 Jan 10;15(1):24.
- 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.
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