MERS consists of 16 highly trained professionals from the local
community that bring a wide range of expertise to the organization.
MERS are all volunteers that receive no compensation for their services.
In the normal horse or pony the distal phalanx (coffin or pedal bone)
is attached to the inside of the hoof by a tough, but flexible,
suspensory apparatus. The surface of the inner hoof wall is folded into
leaf-like lamellae (laminae) to increase the surface area of this
suspensory apparatus.
A horse has
laminitis when these lamellae suddenly fail. Without the distal phalanx
properly attached to the inside of the hoof, the weight of the horse
and the forces of locomotion drive the bone down into the hoof capsule.
Important arteries and veins are sheared and crushed and the corium of
the coronet and sole is damaged. There is unrelenting pain in the feet
and a characteristic lameness
