Prevalence of and risk factors for equine obesity in Great Britain based on owner‐reported body condition scores

Abstract

Identification of at-risk breeds and other horse- and management-level risk factors for obesity will enable optimal targeting of owner education regarding management strategies to reduce the frequency of equine obesity.

Equine Nutrition: A Survey of Perceptions and Practices of Horse Owners Undertaking a Massive Open Online Course in Equine Nutrition

“…Typically, the management of domestic horses 258 places an emphasis on keeping horses at a 'good' condition (BCS = 5/9) year round [17]. Due 259 to the high prevalence of overweight horses and ponies reported in the UK, Canada and USA 260 [19] owner perception of BCS may have been skewed to tend towards the higher end of the 261 scale [17]. Owners need to be aware that horses ending the summer with an overweight or 262 obese BCS can withstand a much lower plane of nutrition and weight loss through the winter 263 months [17].…”

“…Owners need to be aware that horses ending the summer with an overweight or 262 obese BCS can withstand a much lower plane of nutrition and weight loss through the winter 263 months [17]. Obesity in horses and ponies is rising [17][18][19] and regular monitoring of weight, The finding that all horse owners fed horses a ration consisting of over 80 percent% fibre was for work done, which was the main reason given by owners for feeding concentrates. However,…”

EQUIFAT: A novel scoring system for the semi-quantitative evaluation of regional adipose tissues in Equidae

“…To date and to the authors’ knowledge, only one study has described associations between BCS and internal adiposity, whereby a strong, positive association was described between kidney, pelvic and heart fat with BCS in a group of horses and ponies presented for slaughter [25]. It was noteworthy that while obesity is prevalent among horses and ponies in the UK leisure sector [8], the population of animals presented for slaughter at a commercial abattoir in the current study was at variance with this. A greater proportion of animals assessed in the current study would be considered to be ‘normal’ or slightly underweight in terms of BCS than would be predicted had these animals been sourced from the numerically dominant leisure horse population.…”

“…Information gathered ante-mortem included: age in years (passport), estimated withers height, breed-type, gender and BCS (out of 9) [8]. Post-mortem , carcass weight and EQUIFAT scores were recorded for omental, mesenteric, epicardial, rump, crest and retroperitoneal fats.…”

“…Despite continued reports of a high prevalence of obesity in the UK population of leisure horses and ponies [7, 8], relatively little is known about functional differences between discrete adipose tissue depots in this species. Whilst the exact mechanisms remain unclear, obesity has been associated with an increased risk for the development of insulin dysregulation and the common systemic condition, laminitis, which initially presents as severe foot pain [9, 10].…”