Abstract
A case of a racehorse that suddenly developed acute laminitis after participation in a race and succeeding transport was studied. The horse had shown higher γ-GT levels since the preliminary examination two months prior to the crisis until the onset of the disease. However, the horse had been trained on a regular alimentary schedule until the race, because it was free from an abnormal level of biochemical items other than γ-GT and also showed no clinical signs. These pathological characteristics included the palmarly displacement of the distal phalanx (P.III) maintaining parallelism between the hoof wall and the P.III, conspicuous proliferation of a wide range of laminar layers, marked swelling of axillary and cubital lymph nodes, and mild mononuclear cell infiltration to the portal area. Accordingly, this case was considered to be sinker laminitis induced by stress attributable to race participation and transportation, possibly with mild hepatic anomaly laid at the root of the disease.
