Thanks to £66,000 funding from The Home of Rest for Horses, the Royal Veterinary College is going to investigate whether laminitis (lameness) can be caused by a metabolic dysfunction.
Chronic or recurrent laminitis affects many ponies and horses, often when the grass is very lush in late spring and early summer.
Previous work at the college has identified that when the grass ferments in the animal's gut it can prompt the release of amines, which can reduce blood flow to the feet and starve sensitive structures (the laminae) of oxygen and nutrients. When the blood flow to the foot is restored, it can lead to extreme pain and tissue damage.
At its most extreme this causes crippling structural changes in the hoof requiring euthanasia. Recurrent attacks are common in susceptible animals.
The Royal Veterinary College will seek to identify why certain individuals are predisposed to recurrent, severe bouts of laminitis, by undertaking laboratory and clinical studies. Hopefully, it will result veterinarians being able to identify ponies and horses prone to recurrent laminitis and enable appropriate preventative measures to be taken.
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