Veterinarians commonly measure insulin levels to access laminitis risk in horses with metabolic disease, but researchers have started looking to adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, as another piece of the puzzle. In previous studies, researchers linked low adiponectin concentrations to insulin dysregulation and increased laminitis risk. A research team recently validated the accuracy of a rapid clinical test kit for measuring this hormone, which was originally developed for use in humans, offering another potential tool to monitor equine metabolic health.

“Adiponectin is a useful marker of metabolic health and laminitis risk,” said Andrew van Eps, BVSc, PhD, MACVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, professor and Dean W. Richardson Endowed Chair of Equine Disease Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, in Kennett Square. “It could be used as a clinical marker of metabolic disease/laminitis risk for screening and also monitoring response to diet/exercise and drug therapy.”

While some laboratories currently offer the test, van Eps noted that no study has confirmed its validity. To address this, he and his team sought to validate a turbidimetric immunoassay, a test measuring liquid cloudiness to detect certain proteins, aiming for an assay that can deliver rapid results in a field setting.

“The assay that was tested was precise and reliable for measurement of adiponectin in horses, ponies, and donkeys,” van Eps explained. He added that laboratories can provide results the same day they receive samples.

“The assay was sufficiently reliable for clinical use,” he said. Although directly assessing laminitis risk was not the primary goal of this specific study, van Eps noted that “previous studies have shown that low adiponectin is a strong predictor of laminitis risk in ponies. Similarly, in light-breed horses, studies have shown that low adiponectin is strongly associated with insulin dysregulation and the presence of preexisting laminitis.

 “Adiponectin is a useful adjunct marker of metabolic health and laminitis risk that can be incorporated into annual health screening programs or as a diagnostic or monitoring tool when managing known cases of metabolic disease and laminitis,” he added.

Van Eps suggested veterinarians measure adiponectin alongside insulin in the blood. While feeding, transport stress, or pain can affect insulin concentrations, these factors have less influence on adiponectin. Measuring adiponectin in a single blood sample might therefore give veterinarians a more reliable indication of metabolic health than a resting insulin measurement.

Take-Home Message

Researchers validated a rapid assay for measuring adiponectin in equids. In previous studies researchers have linked low adiponectin concentrations to insulin dysregulation and increased laminitis risk. Because feeding, transport stress, and pain affect adiponectin less than insulin, veterinarians might find the test useful alongside insulin measurements when evaluating metabolic health and laminitis risk.

The study, “Evaluation of an Immunoturbidometric Assay for Measurement of Total Adiponectin Concentration in Equine Serum Samples,” was published in Veterinary Clinical Pathology, in May 2026.