Time to shape up
THE UK equine population is in the grip of an obesity epidemic. Close to half of adult horses and ponies are overweight, studies have found, rising to nearly 70% of leisure animals.
Obesity, a preventable condition, is a key predisposing factor in most cases of laminitis – a disease that accounts for 25% of animals euthanised for health reasons every year. It contributes to other diseases, including soft tissue injuries, osteoarthritis, and colic, and has been associated with equine asthma.
Since obese horses (largely in the showing world) are the role models, it is not surprising that 50% of owners in a
