P3 Alignment In Laminitic Horses

"Chronic laminitis is a frustrating and, at times, disheartening condition to manage," said Stephen O'Grady, BVSc, MRCVS. "Treating chronic laminitis is always a challenge; here we move a bit away from veterinary medicine into the mechanics of farriery."

With chronic laminitis, O'Grady said that toe-downward rotation of P3 (the coffin bone) often occurs, which results in more pressure placed on the solar corium (the highly vascular tissue from which the sole grows) under the apex of P3. This pressure can disrupt blood flow, altering the rate and even the direction of sole growth