IT’S not just obese ponies that can be at high risk of laminitis, a newly published study has confirmed. Obesity, despite its significant health hazards, may not be a reliable indicator of poor metabolic health and associated laminitis risk, because lean animals have been shown to be at high risk too.

This work supports earlier research including predictors of laminitis development in a cohort of non-laminitic ponies. This earlier study, which won the Peter Rossdale Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) Open Award at BEVA Congress this year, showed that severe insulin dysregulation can also be found in lean ponies. Collectively, the work confirms that lean ponies can also be at higher risk of metabolic disease and associated laminitis.