Steve McConnell Farrier and Forge

06/10/2026

06/10/2026

One of the most persistent pieces of misinformation circulating on social media is the claim that the Suspensory Apparatus of the Distal Phalanx (SADP) does not exist.

The argument usually goes something like this:

“If the coffin bone is suspended by the lamellae, then once laminitis occurs the bone should continue to drop through the hoof capsule. Because that doesn’t happen, the SADP must not exist.”

The problem with this argument is that it treats laminitis as an all-or-nothing event.

In reality, endocrinopathic laminitis is typically a progressive failure of the lamellar attachment. Insulin-induced damage does not usually cause every lamella to fail simultaneously. Some lamellae become weakened, some fail, and many remain attached.

Think of a suspension bridge.

If a few cables fail, the bridge doesn’t immediately collapse into the river. The remaining cables continue to carry the load. The structure may deform and become less stable, but it still functions because many of the supporting cables are still intact.

The same principle applies within the hoof.

Even when laminitis has caused displacement of P3, many lamellar attachments may still be functioning and carrying load. Those remaining attachments can be sufficient to prevent catastrophic descent of the bone through the sole.

This is why we commonly see varying degrees of rotation and distal displacement in endocrinopathic laminitis rather than complete collapse of the suspensory apparatus.

Catastrophic failure, where the bone penetrates the sole, is a different situation altogether. That level of structural failure is most commonly associated with severe, advanced disease where the remaining attachments are no longer capable of supporting the load.

The fact that a bone does not continue to plunge through the sole is not evidence that the SADP doesn’t exist.

It is evidence that enough of the suspensory apparatus is still functioning to support the bone.

The real question is not whether the SADP exists.

The real question is how much of it is still working.

06/10/2026

05/27/2026

NAME THOSE SHOES! 🌟
Just for fun! Share your hoofs-up photos... Extra points if they are from The Shoeing Lab Home of More Aid Hoof Care 😂

05/25/2026

05/20/2026

05/12/2026

Between Cycles by Hoof Engineering Inc is proving to be a multi use product.
As well as a daily conditioner, I have found it to be very beneficial to protect the exposed abnormal, undifferentiated, insensitive horn (lamillar wedge) when treating chronic laminitics from environmental bacterial and fungal complications, particularly with the wet, muddy conditions we have been dealing with.
After the application of MoreAid Squish pads on this recovering mare Between Cycles is applied over the remaining exposed lamellar wedge at the distal dorsal region of the hoof capsule.