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Obese Horses More Likely To Move Unevenly

In an effort to determine how added weight affects equine fitness and performance, Dr. Anna Jansson and a research team from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Hólar University published a study in Physiological Reports in which horses were fed controlled diets to add or restrict weight gain. The scientists used nine Icelandic horses that they split into two groups. Changes in body weight and fat were induced in the group being fed a high-energy diet for 36 days.

During the last seven days of the study period, researchers recorded body condition score and weight, and percentage of body fat was estimated with an ultrasound. Each horse was then given an exercise test on a treadmill and a field test that mimicked a competition, which was scored by judges. Blood samples were taken, as well as heart rate, temperature and respiratory rate.

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On the treadmill test, the horses that had gained weight had a higher heart rate and temperature, and heavier respiration. Blood tests showed that heavier horses had lower physiological fitness.

The team also found that overweight horses showed a marked gait asymmetry compared with leaner horses, as was shown both by sensors placed on the horses while they moved. The heavier horses moved most asymmetrically on the day after their field test.

Judges overseeing the field test also scored heavier horses lower than their leaner counterparts, suggesting that weight affects performance.

The authors conclude that higher body fat and body weight lowers equine performance, made horses move more unevenly, and delayed their recovery from exercise.

Read the full study here.

Study Shows Possible Link Between Equine Obesity And Asthma

It's been proven that carrying extra pounds can cause humans to develop asthma, and researchers are now attempting to find a link between obesity and breathing issues in horses.

Texas A&M and the Morris Animal Foundation are funding research on the debilitating condition. Currently, the main treatment option for asthmatic horses is the use of corticosteroids, which can cause laminitis in overweight equines.

Texas A&M researcher Dr. Michelle Coleman intends to use 60 horses brought to the University's veterinary teaching hospital for the study. The research team will assess each horse's body condition, identify if they have insulin issues, and determine their asthmatic state by listening to their lungs and taking fluid samples from their lower airways. The horses will be divided into four groups of 15: Obese and asthmatic, non-obese and asthmatic, obese and healthy, and non-obese and healthy.

Each group will be examined for inflammation markers, including cytokine levels. The cytokine levels in humans differ between obese asthmatic people and non-obese asthmatic people. The study will also look at each horse's lung microbiota to see if there is a difference in obese asthmatic horses and non-obese asthmatic horses.

Researchers hope the results from the study will allow horse owners and veterinarians to identify horses at higher asthmatic risk and assist in preventing asthma or intervening in such situations earlier.

Additional Proof That Corticosteroids Don’t Increase Laminitis Risk For Horses

Drs. Katya Potter, Kim Stevens and Nicola Menzies-Gow have completed a study that challenges the belief that corticosteroids increased a horse's risk of developing laminitis. The scientists note that the concern of laminitis is based on only a handful of reports, though multiple studies have been done dispelling the notion that all horses given corticosteroids are at risk of the painful hoof condition.

The veterinarians reviewed case histories of 410 horses that had been treated at two equine clinics. Half of the horses had received standard doses of corticosteroids as part of their treatment protocol; the other 205 were “control” horses that were treated at the clinic, but did not receive corticosteroids. The scientists recorded the age, breed, sex and medical history of each horse and then noted if the horse developed laminitis in the two weeks after treatment. They found that only four of the 410 horses developed laminitis: two that had received corticosteroids and two that had not.

They also completed a second part of the study where they collected the same information on 1,565 horses treated at both clinics with corticosteroids. They found that 10 horses developed laminitis, meaning that less than 1 percent of horses given corticosteroids developed laminitis.

The researchers determined that this is no higher an incidence than the general equine population; the risk of developing laminitis was similar whether they had been treated with corticosteroids or not. However, the study revealed some similarities among the horses that developed laminitis: Some had previously developed laminitis or were obese; others had equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Many of those who developed laminitis were ponies.

The scientists note that it is impossible to determine if the administration of corticosteroids contributed to the occurrence of laminitis—it is just as likely that they developed laminitis because of other risk factors, and it's just is coincidence that it occurred while the horse was being treated with corticosteroids.

The team reminds owners who have a horse that is overweight or has an endocrine disorder that they should be cautious about laminitis year-round, not just when the horse is receiving corticosteroids.

Unintentionally Overweight: Many Owners Promote Horse-Human Bond With Calories

Equine obesity is considered one of the most pressing welfare concerns for horses in Britain, as many horse owners are unable to recognize that their horses are overweight, a new study shows.

University of Liverpool veterinarians Drs. Tamzin Furtado, Elizabeth Perkins, Gina Pinchbeck, Catherine McGowan, Francine Watkins and Robert Christley found that between 31 and 54 percent of Britain's horses are overweight. More horses than ever are being used as hobbies, meaning that the horse-human relationship and the ability to care of the horse well are central to horse ownership.

Ownership in this manner, which focuses on relationships and time spent together, brings complex dynamics regarding weight into play. Canine obesity is intricately tied to the human-animal bond, in which the dog is “humanized,” blending the line between human and animal. The scientists set out to determine if the same forces were at play in the horse-human bond that might cause owners to feed their horses too much.

British horse owners consistently underestimate how much their animal weighs and they believe a horse's weight is affected by his job and breed. For example, owners may believe that a show horse can be fatter than an event horse and that a draft breed can consistently weigh more than a lighter breed.

To study the issue, the researchers used 16 threads on online discussion boards, and completed 28 interviews with leisure horse owners, and 19 interviews with equine professionals; they also used two focus groups made up of 21 additional horse owners. They discovered that owners found it difficult to determine what “fat” is compare to how they think a horse should look.

When the owners became aware that the horse's weight could be a threat to their health, but could also be changed, they likened the challenge of removing the weight to a war. They believed weight management was difficult and that it would negatively affect the horse-human relationship.

Once an owner recognized that their horse was overweight, they had to shift how they saw the horse—the extra weight not longer indicated that the horse was in good health; it represented a health problem. How the owners thought the horse looked with regards to weight were reflected in the language owners used.

Though owners knew what steps should be taken to remove excess weight from their horses, such as ramping up exercise or limiting caloric intake, they were sometimes reluctant to take the necessary steps for fear of damaging the horse-human bond, the researchers report. The conclude that adjusting the social norm of overweight horses being OK could be done by celebrating and promoting healthy horse weight. They note that management strategies that maximize horse welfare, like living in herds or turnout on dry lots, would make weight management more positive.

Read the full article here.