This research study evaluates the causes and preventive measures associated with pasture-associated laminitis, a painful condition in horses and ponies. The study highlights that most cases are observed in animals kept at pastures and are often associated with a specific metabolic syndrome and environmental factors linked to the animals’ diet.

Objective of the Research

The objective of this study is to understand what contributes to the development of pasture-associated laminitis – a painful condition affecting horses and ponies – and how it can be prevented. This is important due to the economic and welfare implications associated with the condition.

Understanding the Problem: Laminitis

• Laminitis is a debilitating condition which causes severe pain in horses and ponies.
• The vast majority of laminitis cases occur among animals kept at pasture, hence the term pasture-associated laminitis.

Identifying the Causes of Laminitis

The research suggests that there is a complex interplay between predisposing animal factors and environmental conditions:

• Predisposing factors: Horses and ponies with an insulin-resistant phenotype (often called equine metabolic syndrome) are more likely to develop laminitis.
• Environmental conditions: The content of nonstructural carbohydrate (like simple sugars, starches, and fructans) in pasture forage has been identified as a risk factor.

Preventing Pasture-Associated Laminitis

The study’s prevention recommendation focuses on addressing the predisposing animal factors and managing the environmental conditions:

• Mitigation of metabolic predisposition: Measures need to be taken to address insulin resistance and obesity in high-risk horses and ponies. This can be achieved through different therapeutic approaches like diet modification and specific medications.
• Dietary and pasture grazing management strategies: Implementing strategies that restrict exposure to high sugar, starch, and fructan conditions can reduce the risk of laminitis. Such strategies may include alterations in grazing time, the use of grazing muzzles, and providing low sugar diets.