Laminitis is a painful and potentially crippling disease affecting the sensitive tissue (laminae) that connects the horse's hoof capsule to the pedal bone. Chronic laminitis represents one of the most significant causes of persistent pain and euthanasia in horses worldwide.
Chronic laminitis is a condition of sustained, often severe pain. Horses cannot speak their discomfort, but lameness scoring, thermography, and force-plate gait analysis demonstrate that chronically laminitic horses experience significant pain during standing and movement. The characteristic "laminitic stance" — rocking weight onto the heels to relieve pressure on the toes — is a clear indicator of active pain. Long-term welfare management requires owner commitment to dietary restriction, which conflicts with the natural foraging behaviour horses are motivated to perform. Restricting access to pasture, soaking hay, and limiting grazing require vigilance. Welfare assessments in chronically laminitic horses must weigh residual quality of life, pain level, and responsiveness to management — some horses achieve good welfare long-term, while others require euthanasia on welfare grounds when pain cannot be adequately controlled.