Chronic Lymphangitis Causing Subclinical Laminitis?

[Skips11]

Has anyone ever heard of this?

TB has been through it the last few months with chronic lymphangitis. Hoof now looks like this and vet came to take blood yesterday and says it looks like a touch of subclinical laminitis?

With the leg being as enourmous as it was at times (still quite big), it looked like she was 'stepping out' of her hoof so to speak, and the coronet band has looked a bit horrible since then. She has had 3 main bouts of elephant leg which matches the ridges now in the hoof.
She is sound and no other signs, so I am wondering if the ridges are actually just from the changes in the leg? Vet that came yesterday hasn't seen her too much during the lymphangitis as she has mostly been at the vet hospital.

 

[SEL]

Not quite the same but my draft had an awful flare up of his CPL (chronic progressive lymphedema) a few years ago and became very footy at the same time. It was obvious as the hoof grew down and chunks came off it over the next 6 months that something else had been going on and his trimmer said it looked laminitic and thought it was because the inflammation up the leg was inflamming the tissues in hoof - which obviously can't expand so the laminae suffer.

I've no idea if our theory was correct but it felt logical and we were in winter at the time so not spring grass related or similar. I think laminitis can be an reflection on problems elsewhere in the body so I wouldn't be surprised if you are seeing the knock on effect sadly. Hopefully as the main issue gets under control, the hooves will too and all will be fine - I'll keep fingers crossed.

 

[holeymoley]

I have no experience of it but it wouldn't surprise me. Laminitis after all is the inflammation of the laminae- if the leg has been swollen and blood flow has been compromised, there's bound to be some changes to the hoof.

 

[vetsbestfriend]

My TB too came down with very severe lymphangitis 3 weeks ago, had boils as well as serum leaking and skin splitting from where the swelling was that intense. Vets came 8 times in total. They didn't mention anything about the hoof rings, but then I had my farrier come a couple of days ago and it was him that mentioned about the ring they can get. He also said as it grows down the hoof, it can sometimes split open as well or when it grows to the base, cause a section to break off because it is weak. It is different to a laminitis ring as it doesn't quite go all the way to the back of the hoof. We will be carefully monitoring the foot each farrier visit.