Chronic Laminitis: Understanding Lameness and Low-Dose Bute

David Hood, DVM, PhD, discussed effective methods for pinpointing laminitis pain and NSAIDs to control it.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

To treat any lameness issue a veterinarians must first identify the origins of pain and etiologies responsible–something that can be particularly challenging in a horse with laminitis. David Hood, DVM, PhD, of the Hoof Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Clinic (HDRC) in Bryan, Texas, shared some effective methods to pinpoint laminitic pain and explored using the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) phenylbutazone (Bute) to control it at the 6th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, held Oct. 28-31 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Veterinarians often use differential nerve blocks to pinpoint pain’s region of origin (e.g., solar, heel, fetlock, metacarpal, etc.). In a series of experiments using nerve blocks on chronically laminitic horses coupled with force plate evaluation of lameness severity, Hood noted the following results:

  • Not all lameness is a result of pain avoidance (Some "appear to be related to chronic elevation of the heels and/or contracture of the flexor tendons and suspensory apparatus," Hood explained.);
  • Most lameness originates in the solar and heel regions, rather than the laminar interface.
  • Nondigital lameness (such as due to degenerative joint disease higher up in the limb) frequently is superimposed on digital lameness; and
  • There is a high incidence of hind limb lameness in horses with chronic laminitis, attributed to "repeated overloading of the rear limbs in attempts to rise without fully loading the forefeet," said Hood. 

Hood also described an experimental study on Bute’s pain-relieving effects in which he administered low-dose oral Bute to 20 laminitic horses 30 minutes before morning feeding, followed by performing a force plate-based stance analysis in the afternoon.

Hood noted rapid response (lameness improvement) in 30-50% of the horses within the first 24 hours. Their pain levels plateaued (stopped improving), however, after four to 10 days on this regimen. When treatment was discontinued after 10 days the horses all returned to their original levels of lameness within three to eight days

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
303 votes · 303 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!