There is some revolutionary alternative therapy or a new drug. Is it worth trying?
It is tempting to pin all your hopes on a new treatment for laminitis, but is it always a good idea?
Treatment X
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…
Supportive care for the laminitic horse
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…
Is blood letting a viable treatment for laminitis?
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…
Euthanasia of the laminitic horse
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…
Tips for hoof care providers when it comes to laminitis
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…
The perils of over- and undertreatment
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…
Winter laminitis
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…
Signs of laminitis in donkeys
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…
Enzyme inhibiting drugs
In ‘Laminitis – understanding, cure, prevention’ you can read how an imbalance between the protein degrading enzymes MMP-2, MMP-9, ADAMTS-4 and their endogenous enzyme inhibitors (TIMPs) can contribute to the progress of laminitis during the acute phase of the disease.…
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