Equine founder and laminitis are very similar forms of the same disease. Founder is basically the end stage of laminitis. Laminitis which is also known as founder, is the inflamation of the hoof and it is very painful to the horse. It can affect all four hoofs, but mainly the front feet are mostly struck by this disease.
Laminitis causes the laminae ( the structure that holds the coffin bone to the hoof ) to deteriorate. This in turn can cause the bone to even poke through the bottom of the hoof and go to the ground. The laminae begins to deteriorate when there is high levels of the enzyme known as Matrix Metalloproteinases in the horses system. This will cause the attachment of the laminar cells to break free from what is known as basement membrane. This causes the decreased flow of normal blood to the laminae and the result can be severe pain and lameness to the horse.
Founder is very painful and is the result of laminitis. It is the end stage of this crippling disease. When the case of laminitis is severe enough the coffin bone become detached and rotates downward towards the ground and can even puncture the hoof and stick outside of it.
There are many causes of this condition - such as a high diet of green pasture, walking on hard surfaces for extended periods of time and even stressful things such as colic can be a cause of laminitis.
The best way in dealing with equine founder and laminitis is prevention. Feeding your horse the proper diet and keeping him from walking on hard surfaces as discussed before will keep him happy and healthy for many years to come.
Preventing equine founder and laminitis is the key to keeping your horse from becoming lame. For more information on how to do this, take a look at: Equine Founder And Laminitis
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