Insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance in horses have become increasingly important areas of research in equine medicine over the past several years, as evidenced by the timely and popular presentations at this year’s American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum, held June 4-7 in San Antonio, Texas.

Rebecca Carter, a PhD candidate from Virginia Tech, and co-author of the research abstract, "Increased adiposity in horses is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity but unchanged inflammatory cytokine expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue," described their study of obesity, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation in horses.

Researchers fed 12 Arabian geldings 200% of their energy requirements for four months to induce weight gain. Various parameter evaluating adiposity, glucose, and insulin dynamics, and inflammation were assessed before and after weight gain.

At the end of the study, body weight, subcutaneous fat, resting insulin levels, and insulin responses were all significantly increased while insulin sensitivity was significantly decreased. No changes in the expression of the measured markers of inflammation were noted