As the seasons change, laminitis tends to spring to mind. Understanding the signs and causative mechanisms help the farrier and veterinarian manage the external and internal symptoms and set the horse on a path to soundness.

The initial signs that acute laminitis is on the horizon may be vague or go unnoticed by the client. There might be a general suspicion that something isn’t right, shifting weight or indefinite soreness. An owner might write it off as the horse being worked too hard that week. Hall of Fame farrier Steve Kraus, head of farrier services and senior lecturer at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, notes that they may not register other slow-developing signs that are red flags for the farrier, such as gaining weight, coat changes or a slight cresty neck. 

The horse may not be lame, but the farrier knows something is off, an insight that comes with time and experience. University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital farrier Tobias Ellis says some of these signs are easier to spot than others.  

“Even on skinny horses with equine metabolic…