Gary Cooper Farrier

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

Sub solar abscesses and chronic laminitis go hand in hand.

The destructive effects of laminitis at the tissue level very often leads to multiple abscesses.

This foot had sub solar abscesses and chronic laminitis.

This is a Sagittal section.

The sole depth was about 1 mm and was bulging outwards.

The coffin bone and the associated tissue it had attached to it plunged down because the laminar attachment failed.

The weight of the horse and the failed suspensory apparatus of the distal phalanx lead to what is called distal descent.

This was the foot I studied on Friday in my zoom class. The video will be available in around 10 days.

It was a really interesting foot. Sad, so sad, and my gut feeling is that the whole issue was down to inappropriate diet…..
Green green cow grass. Full of sugar.
Every step a new mouthful of sugar laden grass.

I saw the paddock she lived in.
It was like a lolly factory.

02/03/2025

Sole lipping in laminitis.
When the laminar wedge is formed, it is a chaotic mess of cells from the epidermal lamellae, the sole and the white line. They divide without “purpose’ and are not under the normal control of normal cell division biological Instructions.

One of the issues with the laminar wedge is what I have seen on many occasions during my dissections is sole lipping.
The sole starts to grow inwardly and again, like the laminar wedge, it is chaotic. It is not under the normal control and this is a big issue inside the foot.

I did not realise what I was looking at until I did a zoom session with Prof Pollitt and he explained this to me.

The sole lipping, as it grows inwards towards the coffin bone, it destroys it. It’s due to osteoclastic activity that is in overdrive in laminitis plus the pressure of the sole lip on the coffin bone.

So the key in laminitis is to halt it asap to avoid any more destruction of the laminar bond, and then the formation of the laminar wedge.

01/03/2025

Rasping the hoof wall in laminitis.

I was chatting to Prof Pollitt last week about the laminar wedge.

He commented that rasping the hoof wall to reduce its thickness is like unlocking the prison that is containing the laminar wedge. By releasing that pressure the wedge will not have such devastating internal effects as when encapsulated by the wall prison it has nowhere to go but inwards.

My lightbulbs went off in my head!

I understand that the inward pressure and growth of the laminar wedge is catastrophic to the coffin bone.

The laminar wedge is a chaotic tissue formed from epidermal lamellae and white line and is an uncontrolled growth of cells without the correct instructions for cell division and growth.

The wall will diverge due to the lever forces on it as the horse walks- per Prof Pollitt. If the horse was in outer space the laminitis would still occur but there would not be any wall divergence or bone divergence as that’s all due to biomechanically forces.

Wow!

Interesting thoughts.

21/02/2025

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