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Equine Metabolic Syndrome: A Horse Health Enigma

Similar to other companion animals, obesity in horses is common—it's estimated that between 20 and 70 percent of horses are overweight. Ponies have the highest risk of becoming overweight, followed by cob-type horses.

Obesity is also one of the most prevalent health conditions in humans.; it's associated with premature mortality, metabolic dysfunction and a myriad of health conditions. In horses, obesity-induced conditions include laminitis. Because of this, obesity is important to both human and equine medicine.

Drs. Natalie Wallis and Eleanor Raffan note that obesity regulation can be disrupted by both genetic and environmental factors. The heritability of obesity is high in humans and lab animals, with evidence showing the same in companion animals.

Laminitis is of significant concern as it is such a devastating disease. The risk factors that link obesity and laminitis are collectively called equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). EMS is defined as insulin dysregulation. Insulin resistance is common in EMS, but it's rare for horses and ponies to actually become diabetic.

Add to that discovery that not all overweight equines develop EMS, and EMS doesn't always cause laminitis. Last but not least, not all horses that have EMS are overweight. These paradoxes exist across breeds and between individuals, similar to humans, where there is variability between individuals and between ethnic groups.

The scientists concluded that obesity is a health concern of both humans and horses, and more research is needed on the molecular basis of obesity and associated metabolic conditions. They also note that veterinarians have much to learn about obesity from human genetics and laboratory animal models. They hope that by using both of these, animal studies will be fast tracked

Read the review here.

Tom’s Ready Arrives At Old Friends Retirement Center

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY, is proud to welcome multiple graded stakes winner Tom's Ready. The 7-year-old son of More Than Ready — Goodbye Stranger, by Broad Brush stood initially at Spendthrift Farm and then at Red River Farms in Louisiana.

Bred in Pennsylvania and campaigned by the late Tom Benson's GMB Racing and trainer Dallas Stewart, Tom's Ready broke his maiden in his third start as a 2-year-old at Churchill Downs, and followed that win with a close 2nd in the Street Sense Stakes. A second-place finish to Gun Runner in the Louisiana Derby (G2), qualified Tom's Ready for the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 12th behind winner Nyquist. His career apex came the following year when he captured the 2016 $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. He went on to defeat older horses, including champion sprinter Runhappy, in the Ack Ack Stakes (G3), again at Churchill. He ended the season with a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. At 4, he captured the Leemat Stakes at Presque Isle Downs and the Bold Ruler Handicap (G3) at Belmont Park. Tom's Ready retires with earnings of $1,036,267.

“I truly respect and appreciate the great work of the staff at Old Friends as we have come to know Michael Blowen and his great work,” said GMB Racing's Gayle Benson. “We have had St. Aloysius there for a number of years, and it gives us great pleasure to have our wonderful Tom's Ready retire to Old Friends. He was our first purchase, he is a Grade II winner, and he raced in the Kentucky Derby and the Breeder's Cup, so we are very proud of him and he is deserving of the great care that Old Friends will provide.”

“We're honored to add Tom's Ready to our other old friends,” said Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen. “I'm certain that his many fans will be very excited to see him when we, hopefully, open for tours post-virus. Meanwhile, he already has his head in the carrot bucket.”

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One Minute With Cathy: Top Eventer Makes Bite-Sized Videos With Tips And Tricks Around The Barn

Many people have embarked upon quarantine projects as the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched on. For top eventer Cathy Wieschhoff, that project has been sharing her knowledge from decades of horsemanship. Wieschhoff has begun a web series titled 'One Minute With Cathy' which provide viewers with her tips, tricks, and perspective on common mistakes.

Wieschhoff has competed at the four-star level of eventing at both Kentucky and Badminton, is an ICP certified Level IV instructor and holds an r course design license. She owns a boarding and training facility in Lexington, Ky.

In this series of videos, Wieschhoff explains why she teaches her horses to lower their heads on command, why she mounts up slowly, and the safest way to shorten irons.

The post One Minute With Cathy: Top Eventer Makes Bite-Sized Videos With Tips And Tricks Around The Barn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Specific Plants Show Promise In Reducing Equine Tumors

Equine sarcoids are the most prevalent skin tumors in horses, followed by malignant melanomas. Currently, there are minimal therapies available that locally target either tumor.

Drs. Lisa Annabel Weber, Anne Funtan, Reinhard Paschke, Julien Delarocque, Jutta Kalbitz, Jessica Meißner, Karsten Feige, Manfred Kietzmann and Jessika-Maximiliane Cavalleri created a study to determine if acid derived from some plants would kill the cancer cells.

They determined that flowering quince, white birch, rosemary and members of the persimmon family can be used to make an acid that kills cancer cells by directly effecting their mitochondria.

Betulinic acid occurs when betulin is oxidized; the researchers created a study to see if botulin and betulinic acid worked as a topical treatment possibility against sarcoids and melanomas. After being treated for 48 hours, the number of necrotic cells was less than 2 percent in both melanoma and sarcoid cells.

They determined that both botulin and betulinic acid inhibited the growth of sarcoid and melanoma cells in a lab setting. They recommend that additional studies be done in live horses to fully assess the anti-tumor effects of topically applied acid. Treatment regimens including short application intervals for long lengths of time could make the acid more concentrated and effective.

Read the full study here.