Chronic laminitis: foot management

Laminitis is a disease of the suspensory apparatus of the distal phalanx, which can advance to the chronic stage with varying degrees of structural failure. Because the disease may ultimately lead to mechanical failure of the digit, a foot management plan is required to effectively and mechanically treat these cases. Many laminitis cases can be successfully rehabilitated back to athletic soundness, light use, breeding, or pasture soundness, whereas others suffer from permanent instability and never enjoy an acceptable level of comfort. To understand how to minimize damage in the acute laminitic foot or rehabilitate the chronic laminitic foot, the veterinarian should have an understanding of the normal supporting structures of the digit, the biomechanical forces acting on the foot, and the structural failure that results when these otherwise normal forces act on a diseased, damaged foot.