Hello Ann,

Laminitis can have many causes and frankly, I would need to talk with you more to figure out your particular horse's situation.

However, most cases of laminitis are caused by insulin resistance caused by the horse being overweight. Cushings Disease is another cause. And, in both these cases, the risk sigificantly increases when a horse is fed a diet that is high in starch and sugar.

So, the first thing you want to do is to remove any cereal grain from the diet. This means no sweet feed, or feeds made from oats, corn, barley, wheat, etc. A low starch commercial feed is fine.

Grass hay -- all your horse wants -- is the basis for the diet. Alfalfa can also be added to a small extent. I like to add some because it boosts the quality of the protein in the diet, thereby promoting the formation of new, healthy tissue.

There are supplements that are important to fill in the gaps and provide additional nutrients to ease inflammation and lower circulating insulin levels. Laminex is worth considering.

So, I hope this helps. If you would like to delve into this further, please let me know and we can set up an appointment to visit over the phone.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO