Causes Of Laminitis In Winter

Cold weather can cause laminitis in horses.

Causes of laminitis in winter.

Something like winter related hoof pain syndrome would be a better name. Many horses seem to struggle with laminitis in winter. However this is in fact not a true laminitis. Should you protect a laminitic horse when the weather is cold discover how you can help your horse and avoid laminitis due to the cold.

Here s how to spot the warning signs and act fast to manage them. It can also be caused by overenthusiastic hoof trimming. With the early growth of pasture in the spring overweight horses especially ponies on pasture are susceptible. Many questions need to be answered but significant headway has been made in understanding and controlling this issue.

Laminitis has become one of the most heavily researched aspects of lameness because it affects so many horses. Suddenly plummeting temperatures cause the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. Here in the uk our winters are long and wet. The pain is often severe but the feet are not hot as they are in classical acute laminitis cases.

Winter laminitis can strike with no change in diet or management. The incidence of laminitis in horses is highest in ponies lower in geldings and lest in stallions and mares. Although laminitis occurs in the feet the underlying cause is often a disturbance elsewhere in the horse s body. Severe lameness in one limb will cause a horse or pony to carry excessive weight on his other limbs which may cause laminitis.

While the exact mechanisms by which the feet are damaged remain a mystery certain precipitating events can produce laminitis. Many have a history of laminitis at other times of the year but some do not. The causes vary and may include the following. Winter laminitis pain is a significant problem for some of these horses.

Endurance riding driving or jumping on hard ground. Another explanation for the sore feet of your horse during the winter cold is what we call winter laminitis. Some horses have a history of winter laminitis that strikes the same time every year and is resistant to all efforts at treatment until one day in early spring it suddenly goes away. Seasonal variation of the disease is seen.

Every winter some owners and caretakers are faced with the onset of obvious foot pain in their horses for no apparent reason.