Researchers said a relatively high proportion of owners their study did not recognize laminitis at all (i.e., they either did not know what the problem was or suspected their horse had another condition). | Photo: The Horse Staff

Knowing your horses and being an informed owner or caretaker are key to equine well-being. For instance, detecting and seeking veterinary intervention early in cases of laminitis, a complex condition with multiple causes, could head-off some of the condition’s debilitating effects.

A team of researchers compared differences in owner recognition versus veterinary diagnosis in 93 confirmed laminitis cases at 25 veterinary practices in Great Britain. In this cross-sectional study involving active cases in horses of various ages and breeds, both owners and veterinarians were asked to independently complete reporting forms.

Reporting forms included check boxes for 27 clinical signs, five underlying conditions, and seven risk factors associated with laminitis. Forms designed for owners featured explanatory diagrams and layman-friendly terminology. These reporting forms allowed researchers to ascertain whether owner-suspected cases were confirmed by the attending veterinarian, and to compare owner perception versus veterinary diagnosis