The curse of continuously high sugar in the diet!

Laminitis has long been considered the inflammation of the laminae of the hoof – the soft tissue structures that attach the coffin bone of the foot to the hoof wall. Without the coffin bone properly attached to the inside of the hoof wall, the weight of the horse forces the bone away from the hoof capsule, damaging arteries and veins thereby restricting blood flow to the sole and coronet, causing extreme pain and lameness. But what is the cause of this debilitating and obviously painful disease?

For so long laminitis was considered an inflammation of the lamellae, most probably a result of an incidence of grain overload in the hindgut region resulting in acidosis and “leaky gut” syndrome or from systemic illness or infection such as a retained placenta in a mare. These certainly cause laminitis in horses but you may be surprised to know that only about 10% of cases reported are result of microbial dysbiosis or infection. The other 80 to 90% are a result of endocrinopathic (metabolic) causes, primarily insulin resistance (IR).

What is endocrinopathic laminitis?

Endocrinopathic laminitis is a general term that