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The short version: laminitis is damage to the laminae, the tissue that holds the coffin bone inside the hoof wall. It is an emergency: call your vet the same day. Most owners still think of it as a grain-overload problem, but the research says otherwise. In a Finnish hospital study, 89% of horses presented for laminitis had an underlying endocrine disorder, either equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or PPID (Cushing's), and a later review puts the figure at more than 90%. High insulin alone is enough: all five healthy ponies given a prolonged insulin infusion developed laminitis in all four feet within 72 hours. That is why insulin testing and a low-sugar diet matter as much as the hoof care. Below: the early signs, first aid while you wait for the vet, the Obel grades, how vets test for the cause, diet, prognosis, and why we tell owners of insulin-resistant horses to check with their vet before using hemp.
Laminitis by the Numbers
| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 89% | Horses presented for laminitis at a Helsinki teaching hospital with an underlying endocrine disorder (36 horses over 16 months). | Karikoski et al. 2011 |
| 1/3 PPID, 2/3 high insulin | How those endocrine cases split. 95% of the high-insulin group showed signs of obesity. | Karikoski et al. 2011 |
| More than 90% | Horses presenting with laminitis as the main sign whose laminitis is endocrine, most often EMS. | Morgan, Keen & McGowan 2015 |
| 5 of 5 vs 0 of 4 | Healthy ponies that developed laminitis on a prolonged insulin infusion vs saline, all within 72 hours. | Asplin et al. 2007 |
| About 1 in 200 | Horses registered with British vet practices that had an active, vet-diagnosed episode (0.49% prevalence). | Wylie et al. 2013 |
| 53.5% | Cases affecting both front feet, the most common pattern across 577 cases. | Wylie et al. 2013 |
| 10% vs 33% | Horses with colitis that developed laminitis with vs without ice on their feet. | Kullmann et al. 2014 |
| 25% | Owner-reported euthanasias in a 1,070-horse British cohort where laminitis consequences were a reason. | Pollard et al. 2020 |
Sources: Karikoski et al. 2011 · Morgan et al. 2015 · Asplin et al. 2007 · Wylie et al. 2013 · Kullmann et al. 2014 · Pollard et al. 2020
"There were 36 horses presented for laminitis, and evidence of endocrinopathy was present in 89%."
Karikoski et al., Domestic Animal Endocrinology, 2011 — the study that moved laminitis from the feed room to the endocrine lab.
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What Laminitis Actually Is
A failure of the glue between the hoof wall and the bone inside it.
Inside each hoof, the coffin bone hangs from the hoof wall by hundreds of interlocking leaves of tissue called laminae. In laminitis those laminae are injured and weakened. If enough of the attachment fails, the pull of the deep digital flexor tendon can rotate the tip of the coffin bone downward, or the whole bone can sink. The Merck Veterinary Manual calls laminitis one of the most important and catastrophic diseases in horses, with outcomes ranging from a short lay-up to a career-ending or life-threatening problem (Merck Veterinary Manual).
Vets now treat laminitis as a sign of something else going on in the body rather than a disease on its own. A 2018 review describes three main routes: endocrine disease, severe systemic inflammation (sepsis), and excessive weight bearing on one limb. It also states that endocrinopathic laminitis is now believed to be the predominant form in horses presenting mainly for lameness (Patterson-Kane, Karikoski & McGowan 2018).
The Research Shift: It's Usually Insulin, Not Grain
The classic picture of a horse breaking into the feed room is real. It just isn't the usual case.
Most of what owners learned about laminitis came from research models that used massive doses of starch or oligofructose to trigger a gut crisis and sepsis. The 1948 Obel grading system itself was built on sepsis-related cases (Meier et al. 2019). Field cases look different.
When a team at the University of Helsinki examined every horse presented for laminitis over 16 months, 32 of the 36 (89%) had evidence of an endocrine disorder. One-third had PPID. Two-thirds had high resting insulin without the long coat of PPID, and 95% of those showed signs of obesity. The laminitic horses were older and more likely to be ponies than the rest of the hospital population. The authors concluded that every laminitis case without a clear inflammatory or gut cause should get endocrine testing (Karikoski et al. 2011).
The link is causal, not just a correlation. In a 2007 experiment, five healthy young ponies with no history of laminitis or insulin problems were kept on a high insulin infusion while their blood sugar was held normal. All five developed laminitis in all four feet within 72 hours, on average at about 55 hours, while none of the four ponies on saline did. There was no gut upset and no sign of systemic illness (Asplin et al. 2007). A 2020 study in Standardbred horses repeated the finding: every horse kept on high insulin for 48 hours developed laminitis within 30 hours, and the saline group stayed healthy (Rahnama et al. 2020).
That is why a 2025 review states plainly that about 90% of laminitis cases are associated with insulin dysregulation, the central feature of EMS that also occurs in a subset of horses with PPID (Menzies-Gow & Knowles 2025). For owners, the practical meaning is simple: the grass and the waistline matter more than the grain bin, and a laminitis episode should always lead to a blood test.
| Type of laminitis | Typical trigger | Who is at risk |
|---|---|---|
| Endocrinopathic (insulin-associated) | Spring or autumn grass, sugary feeds, treats, weight gain, sometimes steroid medication | Ponies, easy keepers, cresty-necked or overweight horses, horses with EMS, older horses with PPID |
| Sepsis-related (SIRS) | Colitis, severe colic, retained placenta or uterine infection, pleuritis, massive grain overload | Any horse that becomes seriously ill |
| Supporting-limb | Bearing weight on one leg for weeks because the opposite leg is injured | Horses with fractures, severe infections or major injuries |
| Toxic | Black walnut shavings in bedding | Any horse exposed to them |
Categories from the Merck Veterinary Manual and the ECEIM consensus statement on EMS. Merck notes that the link between corticosteroids and laminitis is anecdotal and not supported by controlled data, but should be considered in horses with PPID or EMS.
The Early Signs of Laminitis
By the time a horse is rocked back on its heels, the damage has started. Catch it earlier.
In a British study of 577 vet-diagnosed cases, the most common signs were increased digital pulses, difficulty turning, and a short, stilted gait at the walk. Both front feet were affected in 53.5% of cases, and the front feet were usually the worst, although any combination of feet is possible (Wylie et al. 2013).
| Sign | What to look or feel for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bounding digital pulse | Press lightly on either side of the back of the fetlock. A normal pulse is hard to find; a laminitic one is strong and obvious. | Increased blood flow and inflammation in the foot. The most common sign in the 577-case study. |
| Weight shifting | Rocking from one front foot to the other at rest, or lying down more than usual. | Obel grade 1 territory: pain is present even standing still. |
| Short, stilted walk | Short, careful steps, "walking on eggshells", worse on hard or stony ground. | Toe pain. Often mistaken for a bad trim or stone bruise. |
| Difficulty turning | Pivoting stiffly or refusing to turn in a tight circle. | Turning loads the inside of the foot; one of the top three signs. |
| Warm hooves | Hoof walls warmer than usual, especially compared with a cool day. | Common in the acute phase, but hard to judge in hot weather. |
| Laminitic stance | Front feet pushed out in front, hind feet tucked under the belly, weight on the heels. | Classic sign of both front feet being affected. It is a late sign, not an early one. |
| Reluctant to lift a foot | Won't pick up a front foot for cleaning, or flinches with hoof testers at the toe. | Not wanting to put more weight on the other, painful foot. |
| Chronic hoof changes | Rings that widen toward the heel, a stretched white line, a dip at the coronary band, a flat or dropped sole. | Signs of past episodes or a displaced coffin bone. Ask for X-rays. |
Stance, pulse, hoof temperature and chronic hoof changes from the Merck Veterinary Manual; frequency of signs from Wylie et al. 2013.
Owners in a 1,070-horse British cohort reported 123 episodes of laminitis. Three factors stood out for raising the rate of new episodes: a prior history of laminitis (especially episodes that were never seen by a vet), soreness after shoeing or trimming, and recent weight gain (Pollard et al. 2019). If your horse is "just footy after the farrier", take its pulse.
The Obel Grades: How Vets Score Severity
Most vets still grade laminitis on the scale Obel described in 1948. A 2019 paper lays out the grades and notes that endocrinopathic cases are often milder or fall between two grades, which is why researchers have developed a more detailed 12-point "modified Obel" score (Meier et al. 2019).
| Grade | What the horse does |
|---|---|
| 0 | Appears sound. |
| Obel 1 | Shifts weight between the front feet at rest. Sound at the walk, but stilted at the trot in a straight line and on turning. |
| Obel 2 | Stilted at the walk and turns with great difficulty, but one front foot can still be lifted. |
| Obel 3 | Reluctant to walk. One front foot can be lifted only with great difficulty. |
| Obel 4 | Will only move if forced. |
Grade descriptions as reproduced in Meier et al., PeerJ 2019.
What to Do Right Now: First Aid Before the Vet Arrives
Laminitis is an emergency. The first 72 hours decide a lot.
- Call your vet now, not tomorrow. Merck notes that the extent of the first damage influences the outcome more than the treatment plan does, so speed matters (Merck).
- Take the horse off grass and remove all hard feed. Offer plain hay (soaked if you can) and water. No grain, no treats, no "just a handful".
- Don't walk it out. Move the horse as little as possible, ideally to a stall or small pen with deep, soft bedding: shavings or sand that let the toes sink and the frog take weight.
- Ask your vet about ice. In the developmental and acute stages, cooling the feet is the best-supported measure available (see below). Have tubs, boots or bags of ice ready.
- Leave the shoes on unless your vet says otherwise. Pulling shoes from a painful foot can cause more damage to the laminae in the acute phase.
- Don't give medication without your vet's guidance. Pain relief such as bute or flunixin is standard, but your vet will pick the drug and dose, and pain relief can make a horse move more than its feet can handle.
- Write things down. When you first noticed it, what the horse ate in the last 48 hours, recent trims, recent medications (especially steroids), and any illness. This helps your vet find the trigger.
Does icing the feet really work?
Yes, and the evidence is better than for almost anything else in laminitis. In a two-university review of 130 horses hospitalised with colitis, 7 of 69 horses (10%) whose feet were iced developed laminitis, compared with 20 of 61 (33%) without ice. Iced horses had about one-tenth the odds of laminitis. Survival was 48% in horses that developed laminitis versus 98% in those that did not (Kullmann et al. 2014). That was a retrospective study, not a randomised trial, but the experimental work points the same way: continuous cold prevents lamellar failure in both the sepsis model and the high-insulin model (Stokes et al. 2020). In that research the foot and pastern were kept in ice water below 7°C continuously for a full day or more (Dern et al. 2020). A few minutes of hosing is not the same thing. A review of distal limb cryotherapy describes the rationale and suggested protocols for vets (van Eps 2010).
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How Vets Diagnose Laminitis and Find the Cause
Two questions: how bad is the foot, and what started it?
The foot. Diagnosis of acute laminitis comes from the history, the stance, the gait, digital pulses and hoof testers. X-rays of the front feet show whether the coffin bone has rotated or sunk, how much sole is left under its tip, and give a baseline to compare against later. Early in the acute phase the X-rays may show very little, which is exactly why a baseline is useful (Merck).
The cause. Because most cases are endocrine, the European College of Equine Internal Medicine consensus on EMS recommends testing for insulin dysregulation (Durham et al. 2019):
- Resting insulin. A non-fasted blood sample. On forage of unknown quality, a mildly raised value (20–50 μIU/mL) is considered suspicious and should be followed by a dynamic test.
- Oral sugar test (OST) or oral glucose test. The horse gets a measured dose of corn syrup or glucose, and insulin is checked afterward. An exaggerated rise confirms insulin dysregulation. Cut-off values depend on the lab and the protocol, so your vet interprets the number.
- PPID testing. Because EMS and PPID can coexist, the consensus suggests considering a PPID test (usually ACTH) in all horses over 10 years old.
Ask your vet when to test. Pain and stress can affect the results, so some vets test right away and repeat later, and others wait until the horse is more comfortable.
Treatment: What Vets Actually Do
Merck is blunt: no drug currently available stops laminitis once it starts, and there is no universally accepted standard treatment for the acute stage (Merck). Treatment is built around the individual horse:
- Cryotherapy in the developmental and acute stages, which Merck calls the most effective measure for reducing lamellar damage.
- Pain relief. NSAIDs such as phenylbutazone (bute), flunixin (Banamine) or firocoxib (Equioxx), chosen by your vet.
- Foot support. Frog and sole support with foam, impression material or padded boots, and heel elevation to reduce the pull of the deep digital flexor tendon.
- Strict stall rest on deep bedding during the acute phase.
- Treating the trigger. Diet change and, where needed, medication for insulin dysregulation, or pergolide for PPID (see our Prascend guide). The ECEIM consensus notes that treating PPID with pergolide typically improves insulin regulation in affected horses.
- Newer insulin-lowering drugs. SGLT2 inhibitors are being used off-label to lower insulin in hard cases. A 2025 review notes there are still no licensed veterinary drugs for insulin dysregulation, and doses are largely extrapolated from human use (Menzies-Gow & Knowles 2025).
- Chronic cases. Therapeutic trimming and shoeing guided by X-rays is the mainstay. Some horses need a deep digital flexor tenotomy.
Diet: The Long-Term Treatment for Endocrine Laminitis
For most laminitic horses, the feed plan is the treatment plan.
The ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome sets out the evidence-based diet (Durham et al. 2019):
| Recommendation | The detail |
|---|---|
| Low-sugar hay | Hay with nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) under 10% is recommended to limit insulin spikes. Test your hay; you can't judge NSC by looking. |
| Soak when needed | Soaking removes 24–43% of water-soluble carbohydrate. Limit soaking to 1–2 hours in warm weather because of bacterial growth. |
| No grain, fruit or treats | Grain or cereal feeds, apples, carrots and treats should be excluded because of their high NSC content. |
| Weigh, then restrict | For overweight horses, forage at 1.4–1.7% of body weight as fed, targeting a loss of 0.5–1% of body weight a week. |
| Balance the ration | Use a ration balancer for protein, vitamins and minerals, especially on soaked hay. |
| Keep off grass at first | Prevent pasture access for the first 6–12 weeks. Limited turnout alone doesn't work well: ponies have eaten over 0.9% of body weight in 3 hours of grazing. |
| Muzzle when grazing returns | Grazing muzzles cut intake to 77–83% of unmuzzled grazing. Some grazing is possible long term once insulin is under control. |
| Exercise when the feet allow | Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, but never exercise a horse with active laminitis. Your vet decides when. |
All figures from the ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome (Durham et al., J Vet Intern Med 2019).
If you are considering a supplement for an insulin-resistant horse, run it past your vet. Ingredients get marketed for EMS faster than they get tested. Our guide to magnesium for horses looks at one of the most common.
Prognosis: Will My Horse Recover?
Many horses do. In a German study of 37 natural cases of insulin-associated laminitis managed with best practice (exercise restriction and a hay-only diet), most improved markedly within two weeks: 27 horses had a median score of 0 by day 14. About one in four improved much more slowly or relapsed, and surprisingly those slower horses were younger, not older (Sillence et al. 2022). In a larger study of 80 horses, median severity fell from 8 of 12 at diagnosis to 0 of 12 by day 25 (Meier et al. 2021).
The outlook gets harder once the coffin bone has moved. Merck lists the extent of rotation or sinking, hoof capsule deformity and the blood supply inside the hoof as the factors that shape recovery in chronic cases, and complications can include hoof wall sloughing, the bone coming through the sole, recurrent abscesses and pedal osteitis (Merck). Laminitis remains a welfare problem: in one British cohort, laminitis consequences were a reason in 25% of owner-reported euthanasias (Pollard et al. 2020).
A past episode is one of the clearest warning signs for the next one (Pollard et al. 2019). A horse that has had laminitis needs a long-term plan: regular insulin checks, a weighed low-sugar diet, a body condition you monitor monthly, careful spring and autumn grazing, and a farrier who knows the history. For older horses, read our guide to senior horse care.
Where Hemp Fits — and Where It Doesn't
We sell hemp oil for horses. This is the section where that matters most.
No study has tested CBD or hemp in horses with laminitis. Not ours, not anyone's. If a brand tells you its oil helps laminitis, it is ahead of the evidence. Hemp does not lower insulin, does not protect the laminae, and is no substitute for ice, the vet, the farrier or the diet.
There is also a specific reason for caution. In a 2026 randomised study, 13 Connemara ponies (7 with EMS) received either CBD at 2 mg/kg twice daily or flaxseed oil for 21 days. CBD did not improve weight, body condition, blood sugar or triglycerides. But insulin during an oral sugar test rose significantly in the CBD group (mean change +10.74 μIU/mL, p = 0.046), while the control group showed no significant change. The authors wrote that this may raise concerns about CBD use in EMS-prone horses and advised a cautious approach until there is more evidence (Wermer et al., Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2026). We wrote up the study in full: CBD, metabolism and insulin in ponies.
It was a small study, the dose was higher than the 0.3–0.6 mg/kg range used in the Tarleton research on our formula, and the clinical meaning is unclear. But high insulin is the main driver of laminitis, so we would rather say it plainly: if your horse has had laminitis, has EMS or PPID, is cresty-necked or overweight, or has tested insulin dysregulated, talk to your vet before giving any hemp or CBD product, including ours.
Where hemp does have research is elsewhere. Our own formula was studied at Tarleton State University, where a single serving lowered stereotypic stall behaviours compared with a control oil (P = 0.03), and a dose study found no adverse effects at 0.3 or 0.6 mg/kg (Turner et al. 2021; what was measured). In a small trial in horses with mild joint osteoarthritis, CBD added to phenylbutazone gave a median pain score of 3 versus 7 on bute alone (Interlandi et al. 2024). That is joints, not feet.
If your vet agrees hemp is suitable for a horse without insulin problems:
- Tell your vet about everything the horse takes. In one equine study, liver enzymes rose in 8 of 12 horses on CBD and returned to normal within 10 days (Yocom et al. 2022). More in our horse safety guide.
- Competition horses: cannabinoids are prohibited under FEI, USEF and HISA rules, and no withdrawal time is published. Use hemp for pleasure, rehab, retired and rescue horses only.
- Dose by weight and start low. One pump of our 5,000 mg oil is about 20 mg. The Tarleton range of 0.3–0.6 mg/kg works out to 4–7 pumps for a 500 lb pony, 7–13 for a 1,000 lb horse and 10–20 for a 1,500 lb draft. Full chart in our horse dosing guide.
- Check the label and the lab report. Ask for a third-party certificate of analysis for every batch. Ours are on our lab results page.
When to Call the Vet
- Immediately: any combination of a bounding digital pulse, weight shifting, a stilted walk or reluctance to turn; the laminitic stance; a horse lying down and reluctant to get up.
- Immediately: any horse that is seriously ill with colitis, severe colic, a retained placenta after foaling, or a severe injury to one leg. Ask about icing the feet before laminitis starts.
- Soon: a horse that is repeatedly footsore after trims, has rings widening toward the heel, is gaining a cresty neck or fat pads, or is over 10 and growing a long or slow-shedding coat. Ask for insulin and PPID testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a horse recover from laminitis?
Many do, especially when the episode is caught early and the trigger is found and controlled. In a German study of 37 horses with insulin-associated laminitis managed with hay-only diets and box rest, about three in four were close to sound within two weeks. About one in four improved much more slowly or relapsed. Horses whose coffin bone has rotated or sunk can still return to comfortable use, but recovery takes months of therapeutic farriery, and some never return to work.
What are the first signs of laminitis in a horse?
The earliest signs are often subtle: shifting weight between the front feet, a short, stilted walk, reluctance to turn tightly, being footsore on hard ground or after a trim, and a stronger digital pulse at the back of the fetlock. In a study of 577 vet-diagnosed cases, the most common signs were increased digital pulses, difficulty turning and a short, stilted gait at the walk. The classic rocked-back stance usually means the episode is already well under way.
What triggers laminitis in horses?
Most cases today are triggered by high blood insulin. In a Finnish hospital study, 89% of horses presented for laminitis had an underlying endocrine disorder, either equine metabolic syndrome or PPID (Cushing's). Grass high in sugar and starch is the usual spark in those horses. Less common triggers are severe illness such as colitis or a retained placenta, overloading one leg after an injury to the opposite leg, grain overload, and black walnut shavings.
How do you fix laminitis in horses?
There is no single fix, and no drug is proven to stop an episode once it starts. Vets combine pain relief, ice on the feet in the early stage, deep soft bedding, frog and sole support, strict rest, and removal of the trigger. For endocrine cases that means a low-sugar hay diet, no grazing, and treating the insulin problem or PPID. Horses with a rotated or sunken coffin bone need X-ray-guided therapeutic trimming or shoeing over many months.
What are the stages of laminitis?
Vets describe four phases. The developmental phase runs from the trigger to the first foot pain. The acute phase is the first 72 hours of pain, before the coffin bone moves. The subacute phase is pain beyond 72 hours with the bone still in place. The chronic phase begins once the coffin bone has rotated or sunk inside the hoof, and it can last for the rest of the horse's life.
What is the difference between laminitis and founder?
Laminitis is the damage to the laminae, the tissue that holds the coffin bone inside the hoof wall. Founder is the barn word most people use for the chronic stage, when that attachment has failed enough for the coffin bone to rotate or sink. Every foundered horse has had laminitis, but not every horse with laminitis founders. Fast action in the first days is what keeps a laminitis episode from becoming founder.
Can laminitis be cured?
An individual episode can settle completely, and many horses go on to live and work normally. The underlying tendency usually cannot be cured. A horse with equine metabolic syndrome or PPID stays at risk for life, and a prior episode was linked to a higher rate of new episodes in a 1,070-horse British cohort. So most vets talk about managing laminitis risk for life rather than curing it.
Can you reverse laminitis naturally?
Diet and exercise are the most effective long-term tools, and they are natural. For an insulin-dysregulated horse, the European consensus recommends hay tested below 10% sugar and starch, soaking hay when needed, no grain, fruit or treats, steady weight loss of 0.5 to 1% of body weight a week if overweight, and exercise once the feet allow it. These manage the insulin problem behind the laminitis. They do not undo damage already done inside the hoof, which needs your vet and farrier.
Should I ice my horse's feet for laminitis?
Ask your vet first, but in the early stage ice is the best-supported measure available. In horses hospitalised with colitis, 10% of those whose feet were iced developed laminitis, compared with 33% of those that were not. Experiments show continuous cold protects the laminae in both the sepsis and the high-insulin forms. To work, the whole hoof and pastern must stay in ice water continuously, not for a few minutes at a time.
How is laminitis diagnosed?
Your vet diagnoses laminitis from the history, the stance and gait, digital pulses, and hoof tester response, then takes X-rays of the feet to see whether the coffin bone has rotated or sunk and to give a baseline. Because most cases are endocrine, blood testing is the next step: an insulin test, often an oral sugar test, for equine metabolic syndrome, and an ACTH test for PPID. The European consensus suggests PPID testing in every horse over 10.
Can CBD or hemp oil help a horse with laminitis?
No study has tested CBD or hemp in horses with laminitis, so no one can honestly say it helps. More important, a 2026 study in Connemara ponies found that 21 days of CBD increased the insulin response to an oral sugar test, and its authors advised caution in horses prone to metabolic syndrome. High insulin is the main driver of laminitis, so if your horse has had laminitis, has EMS or PPID, or is insulin dysregulated, talk to your vet before giving any hemp product.
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CBD and Insulin in Ponies
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The Short Version
Laminitis is an emergency, and most cases today start with high insulin, not a raid on the feed room: 89% of hospital cases in one study had an endocrine cause. Learn to take a digital pulse, call your vet at the first sign, get the horse off grass, and ask about ice. Once the foot is stable, test for EMS and PPID, move to weighed, low-sugar hay, and plan for life-long management. Hemp has no proven role in laminitis, and because one pony study found CBD raised the insulin response, owners of laminitis-prone or insulin-resistant horses should check with their vet before using it.
Prascend for Horses · Banamine for Horses · Bute for Horses · Magnesium for Horses · Navicular Disease · Colic in Horses · CBD & Insulin in Ponies · Is CBD Safe for Horses?
Marc co-founded HempMy Pet in 2016 with his business partner Natalie Mondine, the company's COO. HempMy Pet breeds its own hemp genetics, grows them on its own Colorado farm, and formulates every batch in-house under human-grade standards — seed to sale, nothing sourced overseas. Every batch is third-party tested and the certificates of analysis are published. More about us.
Our own 5,000mg equine formula was the oil studied in a research program at Tarleton State University by Dr. Kimberly Guay, Ph.D., with Trinette Jones, Ph.D. and William B. Smith, Ph.D. In a single-dose study published in the Journal of Animal Science (2021), stereotypic stall behaviors were lower on CBD than on the control oil (P = 0.03), and a dose study recorded no adverse effects at 0.3 or 0.6 mg/kg. The transport-stress arm found no significant change in cortisol, and we report that too. Read what was measured.
Our canine research: HempMy Pet also ran a 90-day study of 37 dogs with chronic joint discomfort, overseen by Dr. Robin Downing, DVM, MS, with Lori Kogan, Ph.D. and Peter W. Hellyer, DVM of Colorado State University. Of the 32 dogs that completed it, 30 (93%) showed a benefit and 94% of owners reported improved quality of life. In 2005 Dr. Downing became only the third veterinarian in the world credentialed as a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management; she founded the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management and was the AVMA's 2020 Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year. See our clinical trials.
This article is general information for horse owners, not veterinary advice. It is reviewed and updated as new peer-reviewed evidence is published, and where the evidence is thin or negative we say so.
How We Sourced This Article
Every figure above comes from one of these. Where we could read the full paper we did; where only the abstract is public we used the abstract.
- Karikoski NP, Horn I, McGowan TW, McGowan CM. The prevalence of endocrinopathic laminitis among horses presented for laminitis at a first-opinion/referral equine hospital. Domestic Animal Endocrinology, 2011. doi 10.1016/j.domaniend.2011.05.004. Supports: 36 horses, 89% endocrinopathy, the one-third PPID / two-thirds hyperinsulinemia split, 95% obesity markers, older horses and ponies.
- Morgan R, Keen J, McGowan C. Equine metabolic syndrome. Veterinary Record, 2015. PMC4552932. Supports: more than 90% of horses presenting with laminitis have an endocrine cause, most commonly EMS.
- Asplin KE, Sillence MN, Pollitt CC, McGowan CM. Induction of laminitis by prolonged hyperinsulinaemia in clinically normal ponies. Veterinary Journal, 2007. doi 10.1016/j.tvjl.2007.07.003. Supports: 5 of 5 vs 0 of 4, all four feet, within 72 hours (mean about 55 h), no gut involvement.
- Rahnama S et al. Effects of an anti-IGF-1 receptor monoclonal antibody on laminitis induced by prolonged hyperinsulinaemia in Standardbred horses. PLoS One, 2020. PMC7524003. Supports: all insulin-infused horses developed laminitis within 30 hours.
- Menzies-Gow NJ, Knowles EJ. SGLT2 inhibitor use in the management of insulin dysregulation in ponies and horses. J Vet Pharmacol Ther, 2025. PMC11736997. Supports: about 90% of cases associated with insulin dysregulation; no licensed drugs for ID; SGLT2 inhibitors.
- Patterson-Kane JC, Karikoski NP, McGowan CM. Paradigm shifts in understanding equine laminitis. Veterinary Journal, 2018. doi 10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.11.011. Supports: laminitis as a syndrome of systemic disease; endocrinopathic laminitis as the predominant form.
- Wylie CE, Collins SN, Verheyen KL, Newton JR. A cohort study of equine laminitis in Great Britain 2009–2011. Equine Veterinary Journal, 2013. doi 10.1111/evj.12047. Supports: 577 cases, 0.49% prevalence, 53.5% both front feet, most common signs.
- Pollard D, Wylie CE, Verheyen KLP, Newton JR. Identification of modifiable factors associated with owner-reported equine laminitis in Britain. BMC Veterinary Research, 2019. PMC6373032. Supports: 1,070 horses, 123 episodes, prior laminitis, soreness after trimming, weight gain.
- Pollard D, Wylie CE, Newton JR, Verheyen KLP. Factors associated with euthanasia in horses and ponies enrolled in a laminitis cohort study. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2020. doi 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104833. Supports: laminitis consequences in 25% of owner-reported euthanasias.
- Meier A, de Laat M, Pollitt C et al. A "modified Obel" method for the severity scoring of (endocrinopathic) equine laminitis. PeerJ, 2019. PMC6557244. Supports: the Obel grade descriptions, the 1948 sepsis origin, endocrinopathic laminitis as the most common form.
- Meier A, McGree J, Klee R et al. The application of a new laminitis scoring method to model the rate and pattern of improvement from equine endocrinopathic laminitis. BMC Veterinary Research, 2021. PMC7791853. Supports: 80 horses, median 8/12 to 0/12 by day 25.
- Sillence M, Meier A, de Laat M, Klee R, Reiche D. Factors associated with the rate of improvement from equine hyperinsulinaemia-associated laminitis. BMC Veterinary Research, 2022. PMC8764787. Supports: 27 of 37 fast improvers, about 1 in 4 slow or relapsing, slow group younger.
- Kullmann A, Holcombe SJ, Hurcombe SD et al. Prophylactic digital cryotherapy is associated with decreased incidence of laminitis in horses diagnosed with colitis. Equine Veterinary Journal, 2014. doi 10.1111/evj.12156. Supports: 10% vs 33%, odds ratio 0.11, survival 48% vs 98%.
- Stokes SM, Burns TA, Watts MR et al. Effect of digital hypothermia on lamellar inflammatory signaling in the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp laminitis model. J Vet Intern Med, 2020. PMC7379000. Supports: continuous cold prevents lamellar failure in the high-insulin model.
- Dern K, Burns TA, Watts MR, van Eps AW, Belknap JK. Influence of digital hypothermia on lamellar events in equine sepsis-related laminitis. Equine Veterinary Journal, 2020. doi 10.1111/evj.13184. Supports: ice water below 7°C, applied continuously.
- van Eps AW. Therapeutic hypothermia (cryotherapy) to prevent and treat acute laminitis. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract, 2010. doi 10.1016/j.cveq.2010.01.002. Supports: rationale and protocols for distal limb cryotherapy.
- Durham AE, Frank N, McGowan CM et al. ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome. J Vet Intern Med, 2019. PMC6430910. Supports: insulin testing, PPID testing over age 10, the full diet table, grazing and exercise guidance, pergolide and insulin regulation.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Laminitis in Horses. merckvetmanual.com. Supports: the four phases, stance and pulse, chronic hoof changes, first-aid measures, treatment goals, prognosis factors and complications.
- Wermer K et al. Metabolic effects and pharmacokinetics of oral cannabidiol in Connemara ponies following 21 days of treatment. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2026. PMC13215832. Supports: 13 ponies, 2 mg/kg twice daily, increased OST insulin response (p = 0.046), the authors' caution for EMS-prone horses.
- Turner PL, Guay KA, Jones T et al. The Effects of Feeding Cannabidiol Oil on Behavior of Stalled Horses. Journal of Animal Science, 2021. doi 10.1093/jas/skab235.008. Supports: the Tarleton single-dose finding on our formula.
- Interlandi C, Tabbì M, Di Pietro S et al. Improved quality of life and pain relief in mature horses with osteoarthritis after oral transmucosal cannabidiol oil administration. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2024. PMC10876772. Supports: pain-scale medians of 3 vs 7.
- Yocom AF, O'Fallon ES, Gustafson DL, Contino EK. Pharmacokinetics, safety and synovial fluid concentrations of oral CBD in horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 2022. PubMed 35307550. Supports: liver enzymes in 8 of 12, normal within 10 days.
Disclosure: HempMy Pet funded the Tarleton State research on our equine formula and sells the product linked on this page. We had no involvement in any other study cited above. Spotted an error? Email support@hempmypet.com and we will correct it.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is general information, not veterinary advice. Laminitis is a veterinary emergency: if you suspect it, call your veterinarian. Consult your veterinarian before using any hemp product, especially if your horse has had laminitis, has equine metabolic syndrome or PPID, is pregnant, nursing, competing, or taking medication.
