Hoof health is fundamental to equine welfare, as lame horses cannot move, forage, or exercise normally, with significant consequences for their physical and psychological wellbeing.
Horses with unresolved foot pain experience constant suffering during every step. Laminitis, which involves inflammatory damage to the sensitive laminae within the hoof, is agonisingly painful and can be triggered by grazing on lush spring grass or metabolic disease. Regular farriery, appropriate diet management, and prompt veterinary attention for emerging lameness prevent much avoidable suffering.