Treatment and prevention

The vet, the hoof care provider, my friends at the stable and the whole of facebook say something else. Who should I believe?

·1 June 2021

It is good that there is so much information available and that we can exchange ideas with so many people. The downside, however, is that this can lead to contradictory and sometimes downright wrong advice. This is partly because the…

There is some revolutionary alternative therapy or a new drug. Is it worth trying?

·15 January 2021

It is tempting to pin all your hopes on a new treatment for laminitis, but is it always a good idea?

Treatment and prevention

Treatment X

·24 April 2020

A particular drug, supplement or therapy - let's call it 'treatment X' - works well. Isn't that proof that treatment X works? This question is a good example of anecdotal evidence. You've probably seen this term come across before, but…

Treatment and prevention

Supportive care for the laminitic horse

·24 September 2018

Supportive care is intended to alleviate or treat disease-related symptoms and treatment-related side effects. In the context of laminitis, this means we are predominantly talking about horses that are so severely injured that they cannot stand for long periods of…

Treatment and prevention

Is blood letting a viable treatment for laminitis?

·10 July 2018

Up to 1940 bloodletting was still used but since then no longer considered acceptable. Today however, renewed interest in this treatment is on the rise. By draining blood an attempt is made to lower the blood pressure. The idea behind this…

Treatment and prevention

Euthanasia of the laminitic horse

·30 April 2018

No horse has ever died of laminitis. It is the severity and the duration of the disease and the complications, in combination with the lack of hope of recovery that make it necessary, at a certain moment, to ask ourselves…

Treatment and prevention

Tips for hoof care providers when it comes to laminitis

·25 March 2018

As a professional hoof care provider you might think this list simply describes all the best practices that you employ on a daily basis. Still, it will be useful to read it through once and check if every point applies fully to the way…

Treatment and prevention

The perils of over- and undertreatment

·17 February 2018

Not every horse recovers equally well from laminitis. Therapies, medication, dietary changes, modifications in housing, exercise and hoof care are not always successful. Effective treatment of the underlying problems is not always possible either. In many cases though, it would…

Living conditions Theories and causes Treatment and prevention

Winter laminitis

·11 December 2017

Winter ... and the whole country is frozen solid. The ground freezes over at night and in some places the mercury hardly rises above zero during the day. Whilst most horses don’t encounter any problems in these conditions, other horses…

Anatomy & histology Diagnosis Donkeys Treatment and prevention

Signs of laminitis in donkeys

·25 July 2017

Even though laminitis is not a hoof disease, its worst and most obvious characteristics are found in the hooves. To be able to correctly interpret signs of laminitis in donkeys it is necessary to know the following. The horizontal ridges (laminitic…