Anyone with a horse or pony suffering from laminitis knows how painful and debilitating it can be. It’s one of the most common reasons a horse requires veterinary treatment. But there are new discoveries unraveling the mysteries around what triggers the disease.

Andy Durham, BSc, BVSc, Cert EP, Dipl. EIM, ECEIM, MRCVS, of Liphook Equine Hospital in Hampshire, England, and a visiting professor at the new University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine, will present the latest research on this concerning and complex disease at the Equine Veterinarians Australia Bain Fallon conference, taking place on Australia's Gold Coast, July 13-17.

Durham said that metabolic syndrome, a problem that includes insulin resistance, has progressed into the greatest threat to human health in the developed world and is a consequence of readily available high calorie food and drink, containing refined sugars, and a more sedentary lifestyle.

“It should come as no surprise that this same concept applies to horses and is referred to as equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), he said. “The major consequence of EMS in horses is laminitis, a metabolic condition that affects the whole body but is expressed in the feet of a horse