Common Laminitis Causes

There are many different things that can trigger acute Laminitis in horses. Chronic Laminitis is most often caused by a previous acute Laminitis attack that never healed or an underlying health condition. Here are some of the common causes of Laminitis:

•  Carb overload. A horse that is put out in a lush pasture and allowed to gorge or a horse that gets loose and gets into the grain bin and eats too much grain can develop acute Laminitis from the influx of carbohydrates.
• Cushing’s disease – Cushing’s disease is a hormonal imbalance that occurs in people as well as in horses. In horses, the most common effect of Cushing’s disease is chronic Laminitis that may flare to acute Laminitis on occasion.
• Hypothyroidism.
• Lack of exercise.
• Being ridden or worked on a very hard surface like pavement.
• Obesity. Obese horses that rarely get any exercise have a high risk for developing both acute and chronic Laminitis.
• Retained placenta in mares.
• Salmonella.
• Infection.
• Excessive weight on one hoof, such as in cases where the horse uses one hoof more than the others because of pain in the other hooves.  The “good” hoof could develop Laminitis as a result of bearing all the horse’s weight as the horse tries to favor the other hooves.
• Very rich food that is too high in protein.
• Drinking large amounts of very cold water.
• Pawing or banging at the stall door or a pasture fence.
• Being transported in horse trailers over long distances without rest.