What Causes 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.

What causes winter laminitis.

Many have a history of laminitis at other times of the year but some do not. The pain is often severe but the feet are not hot as they are in classical acute laminitis cases. Winter laminitis strikes with n0 change in diet or management. In all species cold causes a reflex shunting of blood away from the extremities and toward the core to.

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. Winter laminitis can strike with no change in diet or management. The causes vary and may include the following. It s a laminitis like syndrome triggered by cold weather.

Here in the uk our winters are long and wet. The horse does not necessarily have a prior history of laminitis. Cold weather can cause laminitis in horses. Laminitis has become one of the most heavily researched aspects of lameness because it affects so many horses.

Here s how to spot the warning signs and act fast to manage them. Many questions need to be answered but significant headway has been made in understanding and controlling this issue. While the exact mechanisms by which the feet are damaged remain a mystery certain precipitating events can produce laminitis. Are some horses more susceptible than others.

Every winter some owners and caretakers are faced with the onset of obvious foot pain in their horses for no apparent reason. Winter laminitis pain is a significant problem for some of these horses. Although laminitis occurs in the feet the underlying cause is often a disturbance elsewhere in the horse s body. Many horses seem to struggle with laminitis in winter.

The pain is often severe but the feet aren t hot as they are in classical acute laminitis cases.