Equine metabolic syndrome and pasture-associated laminitis cause chronic pain in horses and ponies that are frequently overfed.
Horses and ponies with laminitis experience intense laminar pain equivalent to walking on bruised fingertips continuously. Chronic laminitis causes rotation of the pedal bone causing permanent structural damage. The condition is largely preventable through dietary management and grazing restriction. Many owners do not recognize early obesity or laminitis risk, allowing preventable progression to severe disease.