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Grain Founder QUESTION: Dear Dr. Teskey, I am interested in the tissue's of the hoof and have come across some research conducted on dairy cows. It seems they have a higher incidence of laminitis and abscessing than horses--up to 80% of dairy cows in Europe experience founder. Cows don't get shod, but maybe other common conditions exist between these dairy cows and horses where they are kept standing in stalls.?
Hi there, Dairy cows, beef and dairy cattle in feedlots, and especially bulls in a feedlot setting all develop laminitis, or are at least highly predisposed to developing laminitis, because of a VERY rich diet. It appears to me to essentially be a "grain founder" situation. Added to this is that dairy cows are often on hard surfaces/concrete, in WET conditions/mud, don't move enough to wear their hooves adequately, and are only infrequently trimmed This starts to sound a lot like a scenario that many horses are in. Cattle with laminitis in feedlots look a LOT like horses with laminitis in the way they move and stand and the gross tissue changes look the same, too. Shoeing is not a prerequisite for laminitis, but shoeing does stress the hoof capsule and lamina, causing physical harm to lamina, predisposing a horse to laminitis and exacerbating further laminitic changes. |