Some horses and ponies experience laminitis triggered by autumn and winter conditions, requiring year-round management vigilance.
Winter laminitis represents a preventable welfare emergency that catches many owners unprepared because they associate laminitis with summer rather than recognizing year-round risk. The autumn PPID ACTH surge causes laminitis in susceptible horses precisely when owners have reduced their vigilance, assuming summer grass risk is past. At-risk horses - those with PPID, IR, a history of laminitis, or obesity - require year-round dietary management, not just seasonal restriction. Laminitis causes severe, debilitating foot pain that is immobilizing and distressing. With appropriate management of underlying risk factors and dietary control through high-risk periods, most laminitis cases are preventable rather than inevitable.