Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates. It is best known in horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s and cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

. Symptoms include lameness, and increased temperature in the hooves. Laminitis is characterized by inflammation of the digit

Digit (anatomy)

A digit is one of several most distal parts of a limb, such as fingers or toes, present in many vertebrates.- Names:Some languages have different names for hand and foot digits ....

al laminae of the hoof

Hoof

A hoof , plural hooves or hoofs , is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick horny covering. The hoof consists of a hard or rubbery sole, and a hard wall formed by a thick nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The weight of the animal is normally borne by both the sole...

, and in severe cases founder.

The digital laminae are responsible for suspension of the axial skeleton of the animal within the hooves of ungulates, and act as shock absorbers during locomotion.