Hoof Measurements for Laminitis

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center conducted a retrospective case-control study to compare measurements of the thickness of the laminae (perpendicular distance from the inside of the hoof wall to the dorsal surface of the coffin bone) between healthy control horses and those diagnosed with acute and subacute laminitis.

X-rays of 18 laminitic and 32 healthy horses were obtained from hospital records and measured using digital images. Horses with chronic changes such as obvious rotation of the coffin bone (≥3 degrees), remodeling or sinking (distal displacement of P3) were excluded from the study.

The average lamellar thickness measurements in the proximal, middle and distal regions of the dorsal hoof wall were greater in the laminitic horses compared with the controls. The sensitivity and specificity of the technique was high, particularly when the measurements were considered as a ratio with the length of P3. The ratios being less affected by magnification and obliquity compared with the raw measurements.

Although they could not examine the positive and negative predictive values of the technique for the diagnosis of laminitis in this type of study, the authors concluded that these measurements of lamellar thickness are potentially useful for the diagnosis of acute and subacute laminitis with the advantage that no special radiographic techniques or markers are necessary.

–  Skelton G et al. EVJ 2024:14436

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