The greatest threat to human health in the developed world presents similar risks for horses, a specialist in equine internal medicine says.
Professor Andy Durham, of Britain’s Liphook Equine Hospital and a visiting professor at the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine, says metabolic syndrome, a problem that includes insulin resistance, has progressed into the greatest threat to human health in the developed world. It is a consequence of readily available high-calorie food and drink, containing refined sugars, alongside 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 says. “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.”
