Another goal of the therapy for laminitis is to decrease the inflammation within the foot and the accompanying pain being experienced by the horse. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are most often used for this purpose. These include phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine and ketoprofen. Intravenous DMSO also has anti-inflammatory properties.

A major objective in the therapeutic plan is to improve blood flow to the laminae of the affected feet. Various drugs have been used in an attempt to accomplish this purpose. These include acetylpromazine, phenoxybenzamine, isoxsuprine, pentoxifylline, aspirin and heparin. Varying degrees of success have been experienced for each of these drugs.

More recently topical nitroglycerin and intravenous L-arginine have been used to promote vasodilation and thus blood flow to the feet of affected horses. At this point, not enough horses have been treated with these newer agents to draw any firm conclusions regarding their efficacy in laminitis cases resulting from the different causes. However, some encouraging results have been achieved in horses with grass-induced acute laminitis. Although there are no controlled studies available to date that have evaluated these treatments in horses with naturally acquired laminitis, numerous testimonials suggest a beneficial effect.