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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.

Partnership Formed To Accelerate Advancements In Equine Musculoskeletal Health

Together with MARS Equestrian, the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) has launched an innovative educational research program dedicated to advancing critical frontiers in equine health.

At its core, the MARS Equestrian Early Career Investigator program is providing aspiring veterinary researchers with an exceptional, multidimensional mentorship experience guided by a team of leading Penn Vet researchers and animal health experts from MARS Equestrian and the WALTHAM Equine Studies Group.

Sarah Ciamillo, DVM, of Boonton Township, NJ, has been selected as the first Early Career Investigator for the newly minted program. “As a long-time equestrian, equine advocate, and new equine veterinarian, there is nothing more important to me than the future health and welfare of the horse,” said Ciamillo.

In her role, Ciamillo is refining a set of comprehensive skills necessary for a burgeoning career in veterinary medicine research, from data collection and analysis to stewardship and public service. The most compelling element of the Early Career Investigator program, however, is the immersive opportunity to assist in developing novel and transformative clinical techniques.

Specifically, Ciamillo is assisting a team of Penn Vet New Bolton Center researchers in a dynamic, first-of-its-kind study assessing equine bone characteristics and limb biomechanics using New Bolton Center's advanced diagnostic imaging technologies–including its revolutionary standing robotic computed tomography (CT) system.

Ultimately, the researchers hope to use the findings to understand bone and joint injury in horses and develop preventative tools that would improve the health and well-being of equines across all discipline spectrums.

Penn Vet's Dr. Kyla Ortved, assistant professor of large animal surgery at New Bolton Center, is serving as the primary mentor and lead researcher for this Early Career Investigator project. A clinical expert in equine orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, Ortved's research program seeks to better understand attributes of the equine joint in order to improve clinical outcomes associated with osteoarthritis following injury in horses.

“Mentorship is a cardinal element of individual career success, particularly in the veterinary medicine field,” said Ortved. “The MARS Equestrian Early Career Investigator program's unique platform will provide junior researchers with an unparalleled learning experience while simultaneously fostering fundamental discoveries in vital areas of research that will unequivocally improve the lives of our equine partners.”

Ciamillo also has the opportunity to work alongside other leading Penn Vet faculty including Dr. Dean Richardson, chief of large animal surgery at New Bolton Center; Dr. Darko Stefanovski, associate professor of biostatistics; and Dr. Andrew van Eps, associate professor of equine musculoskeletal research.

“The MARS Equestrian Early Career Investigator program is more than just an immersive experience into a practical and applicable learning environment,” said Dr. Bridgett McIntosh, Director of MARS Equestrian. “By coupling New Bolton Center's prowess as an innovator in equine health with MARS Equestrian's commitment to enriching lives through equestrian sport, our hope is to make a lasting impact on equine health through future generations of veterinarians, ultimately creating a better world for our horses.”

Dr. Pat Harris, head of the equine studies group at the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute and Director of Science for MARS Horsecare shared “I am incredibly excited to be part of this important initiative championing the development of new researchers whose work will be vital in helping to advance frontiers in equine health and science.”

“Through this extraordinary opportunity to work alongside trailblazers in various facets of the animal health field, we hope to inspire more young people interested in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine and research at Penn Vet's New Bolton Center, these budding veterinarians will be at the nexus of creating the clinical solutions of tomorrow, for some of the most complex and challenging conditions facing our equine partners,” said Christa Schmidt, who presently serves on Penn Vet's Board of Overseers.

“The MARS Equestrian Early Career Investigator Program is providing crucial training in research areas that are fundamental to advancing the field of equine veterinary medicine,” added Ciamillo. “I am incredibly grateful to my mentors at New Bolton Center and to MARS for this unique opportunity to play an integral role in this field of research, develop critical thinking and benchtop skills, and as a result, contribute to my ultimate career goal–to make a lasting difference for horses and humans alike.”

For more information about MARS Equestrian's commitment to improving the lives of horses, pets and the people who love them, click here.

For more information about Penn Vet, click here.

Webinar: How 100 Horses Are Helping Horses Everywhere

Morris Animal Foundation, a nonprofit leader in advancing animal health, will host a webinar about the Pioneer 100 Horse Initiative on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at 1 p.m. EST. The initiative is a first-of-its kind project that will follow 100 horses over time to create a wellness program to prevent equine disease.

The webinar, “How 100 Horses Are Helping Horses Everywhere Have Healthier Lives,” features Dr. Carrie Finno, Associate Professor of Population Health and Reproduction at the University of California, Davis. She'll discuss how her team is collecting biological samples to correlate findings to disease development and drug metabolism as a gateway to applying precision medicine principles to horses. Webinar attendees will learn more about this unique and impactful project and its potential to proactively save horses' lives.

Interested viewers can register for the webinar here. The webinar also will be available for viewing via sign-up after the recording date. The webinar is part of the Foundation's educational series, “AnimalNEWS 101,” which provides monthly animal health lessons for pet owners and science enthusiasts from a wide range of experts.

Morris Animal Foundation, headquartered in Denver, is one of the largest nonprofit animal health research organizations in the world, funding more than $136 million in studies across a broad range of species.

Fecal Tests Fail At Tapeworm Detection

Though fecal egg counts are an essential tool in a horse owner's anti-worm arsenal, the test isn't always accurate in detecting the presence of tape worms, a German study has found. The presence of tapeworm eggs can be missed by the tests as tapeworms don't continuously produce eggs like most parasites do; they release packets of eggs only occasionally.

Adding to the issue is that even when the eggs are released, the packets aren't evenly distributed through the manure, meaning they could easily be missed under a microscope. However, there are other methods for detecting the presence of tapeworms in horses, including using manure, saliva or serum.

Drs. Laura Jürgenschellert, Jürgen Krücken, Corrine Austin, Kirsty Lightbody, Eric Bousquet and Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna used 48 horse farms in Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany, to test different tapeworm analysis methods. They took fecal samples from 484 horses, serum samples from 481 horses and saliva samples from 365 horses. The saliva and serum samples were tested to determine the antibody levels against tapeworms.

The fecal egg count tests detected tapeworm eggs in 0.6 percent of the samples (6.3 percent of the farm). However, antibodies against tapeworms were present in 16.2 percent of serum samples (52.1 percent of farms) and in 29.5 percent of the saliva samples (75.7 percent of farms).

The research team also sent out a questionnaire to horse owners and they determined that pasture access and pasture changes, as well as high strongyle egg counts, were risk factors for positive serum responses to tapeworms.

The scientists determined that treatment with a dewormer targeted to tapeworms is protective. The presence of foals and a large number of horses on the farm also seem to offer protective benefits. Interestingly, daily removal of manure didn't make a difference on whether a horse had tapeworms.

The research team concluded that conventional fecal tests for tapeworms are not accurate; for a true indication of the prevalence of tapeworms, horse owners should consider using antibody detection methods like the saliva test used in the study.

Read the full study here.