How Do I Prevent Laminitis in My Horse?
Laminitis is one of the conditions every horse owner should understand before it happens.
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By Michel Scavuzzo, Founder, PetCompanionAI
Accountable authorship and editorial standards are explained in the Trust Center.
Quick answer
The sooner you recognize that something has changed, the sooner you can act.
This is educational context, not a diagnosis. Read the full explanation and sources below.
It is a painful and potentially serious condition involving the sensitive structures that connect the hoof wall to the coffin bone inside the hoof. In severe cases, those structures can become badly damaged and the position of the bone within the hoof can change.
There is no way to guarantee that a horse will never develop laminitis. But understanding the major risk factors and managing them carefully can significantly reduce risk.
Prevention starts with knowing your horse.
Maintain a Healthy Body Condition
Excess body fat can increase the risk of laminitis, particularly in horses with underlying metabolic problems.
One difficulty is that gradual weight gain can be hard to notice when you see your horse every day.
Learn to assess body condition rather than relying only on appearance. Pay particular attention to abnormal fat deposits, including a pronounced or firm crest along the neck.
Regular photographs and measurements can also help you recognize changes over time.
Be Careful With Pasture
Green grass isn’t automatically harmless simply because it is natural.
Pasture can contain significant amounts of sugars and other nonstructural carbohydrates, and susceptible horses may require carefully controlled access.
Pasture risk can change with the season, weather, plant growth, and environmental conditions.
For horses at increased risk, management might involve restricted grazing, appropriately fitted grazing muzzles, dry lots, or other strategies developed with a veterinarian or equine nutrition professional.
Don’t assume the same pasture routine is appropriate for every horse.
Introduce Dietary Changes Gradually
A horse’s digestive system depends on a complex population of microorganisms.
Sudden dietary changes can disrupt that environment.
Changes involving hay, pasture, concentrates, or other major components of the diet should generally be introduced gradually whenever circumstances allow.
This is especially important when transitioning a horse onto rich pasture or substantially changing concentrate intake.
Prevent Access to Feed Rooms and Grain
A loose horse getting into a grain bin isn’t merely an inconvenience.
Consuming a large quantity of grain or other highly fermentable carbohydrate can create a medical emergency and may lead to laminitis.
Secure feed rooms, containers, gates, and latches so horses cannot gain unintended access.
If a horse consumes a large amount of grain, contact a veterinarian immediately rather than waiting to see whether symptoms develop.
Early treatment can matter.
Understand Metabolic Risk
Some horses are considerably more susceptible to laminitis than others.
Conditions involving insulin dysregulation, including equine metabolic syndrome, can substantially increase risk. Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), commonly called Cushing’s disease, can also be associated with laminitis.
Ponies and certain easy-keeping horses can be particularly susceptible to metabolic problems.
If your horse has experienced laminitis previously, gains weight very easily, develops unusual fat deposits, or has other signs suggesting a metabolic problem, discuss appropriate testing and management with your veterinarian.
Regular Hoof Care Matters
Good hoof care cannot prevent every cause of laminitis, but maintaining appropriately balanced feet is an important part of overall hoof health.
Keep your horse on an appropriate farrier schedule rather than waiting until the feet become excessively long, cracked, or distorted.
Your farrier also sees your horse’s feet repeatedly over time and may notice changes worth discussing with your veterinarian.
For horses that develop laminitis, cooperation between the veterinarian and farrier can become particularly important.
Avoid Extreme Concussion and Overload
Laminitis doesn’t occur only because of grass or grain.
Mechanical overload and excessive concussion can contribute to certain forms of laminitis. A horse severely favoring one limb because of an injury may also overload the opposite limb.
Exercise and conditioning should therefore match the horse’s fitness, footing, health, and workload.
Suddenly asking an unconditioned horse to perform intense work on hard ground is very different from gradually developing fitness.
Serious Illness Can Increase Risk
Laminitis can sometimes occur secondary to another significant medical problem.
Certain severe infections, systemic inflammatory conditions, retained placenta following foaling, and other illnesses can increase risk.
This is another reason serious illness in a horse should receive appropriate veterinary attention rather than being treated as an isolated problem.
Learn the Early Signs of Laminitis
Prevention also means recognizing trouble early.
Possible signs include:
- Reluctance to walk
- Short, careful, or unusually stiff steps
- Increased time lying down
- Shifting weight between the feet
- Hooves that feel unusually warm
- A stronger-than-normal digital pulse
- Reluctance to turn
- Pain when moving on hard surfaces
- A characteristic rocked-back stance in some horses
Not every horse will show every sign.
If you suspect laminitis, contact your veterinarian promptly.
Don’t force a painful horse to walk around simply to “see if it improves.”
A Horse That Has Had Laminitis Needs Extra Attention
Previous laminitis is an important part of a horse’s medical history.
Once a horse has experienced an episode, identifying and managing the underlying cause becomes especially important.
That may mean changes to pasture access, diet, body condition, hoof care, exercise, or management of an underlying medical condition.
Simply treating the feet without understanding why the laminitis occurred can leave the underlying risk unresolved.
Prevention Happens Every Day
Preventing laminitis isn’t one product, supplement, or treatment.
It is management.
Keep your horse at an appropriate body condition. Understand their metabolic risk. Control access to rich pasture and concentrates when necessary. Make dietary changes gradually. Secure the feed room. Maintain regular hoof care. Condition horses appropriately and pay attention during serious illnesses.
Most importantly, learn what healthy movement looks like for your individual horse.
You see those feet every day.
Notice when the stride changes.
Notice when turning becomes uncomfortable.
Notice when your horse suddenly doesn’t want to move.
The sooner you recognize that something has changed, the sooner you can act.
When it comes to laminitis, protecting the hoof begins long before the horse becomes lame.