This combination of events can lead to laminitis. Compensatory weight bearing can cause laminitis. An example of this occurs if a horse with a fracture in the left front leg has to bear all its weight on the right front leg. The effort of bearing that extra weight might damage the junction between the dermal and epidermal laminae in the right foot, which in turn might lead to laminitis. Once the junction between the dermal and epidermal laminae is disrupted, the tissues begin to pull apart, like pulling the lining out of a glove.
Laminitis occurs in three stages.
The second phase is acute laminitis. The acute phase is the first three to five days after the horse exhibits clinical signs of lameness. The third phase is called chronic laminitis. Chronic laminitis occurs when the horse already has been through the acute phase and the initial destruction has ended. In this phase, the repair process of reattaching the laminae to the hoof takes place.