Veterinarians and equine nutritionists have been warning owners against the potentially deadly consequences of obesity in horses and ponies for years—laminitis, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome are just some of the sequela that could negatively impact horses’ health and welfare if they’re overweight. However, it’s still estimated that 20-51% of horses and ponies in the United States and abroad are obese.

But now owners have a different way to look at it: Recent study results suggest that caretakers spend, on average, nearly $435 more each year managing obese equids compared to their nonobese counterparts.

Researcher Aubrey Jaqueth, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, shared this and other findings from her study on the prevalence and management of equine obesity at the 2017 Equine Science Society Symposium, held May 30-June 2, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Survey Says …

Jaqueth and her academic advisor Amy Burk, MS, PhD, conducted an internet survey of horse farm managers in Maryland to examine obesity’s prevalence, how caretakers manage it, and what challenges they face. The team considered horses and ponies obese if they were a body condition score (BCS) of 4 (“fat”) or 5 (“very fat”) on a 5-point BCS scale—collectively, the “overconditioned” population