Incidence and clinical signs of owner-reported equine laminitis in a cohort of horses and ponies in Great Britain.
Authors: Pollard D, Wylie C E, Newton J R, Verheyen K L P
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Owner-Reported Equine Laminitis Incidence in Great Britain Pollard and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study between 2014 and 2016 to capture the true incidence of laminitis in British horses and ponies, including cases that owners managed without veterinary involvement—a methodological advance over previous epidemiological work relying solely on veterinary diagnoses. Data from 1070 animals contributed over 1068 horse-years at risk, during which 123 active laminitis episodes were documented; critically, half of these (50.4%) were not veterinary-diagnosed, suggesting conventional estimates substantially underestimate disease frequency. The overall incidence of laminitis was 11.5 episodes per 100 horse-years when including repeat cases, with three-quarters of affected animals having previous laminitis history, and whilst the condition occurred year-round without seasonal variation, breed susceptibility differed markedly—Connemara and New Forest ponies showed highest incidence whilst Draught and Cob types were least affected. Owner-reported clinical signs aligned with veterinary observations, with difficulty turning and shortened/stilted gait present in over 70% of episodes, although bilateral forelimb involvement was most common (62.9%). These findings underscore that laminitis represents a persistent, substantial welfare challenge throughout the year, and that capturing owner observations provides a more complete epidemiological picture essential for designing effective prevention and management strategies across equine practice.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Laminitis is significantly more common than veterinary records alone suggest—nearly half of cases are managed by owners without veterinary diagnosis, so practitioners should assume higher disease prevalence in their local populations
- •Since Connemara and New Forest breeds show highest incidence and laminitis occurs year-round, owners of these breeds need consistent preventive management strategies rather than seasonal focus
- •The consistency between owner-reported clinical signs and veterinary descriptions validates owner observations as reliable indicators—encourage owners to report difficulty turning and gait changes as early warning signs
Key Findings
- •Owner-reported laminitis incidence was 11.5 episodes per 100 horse-years at risk (including repeat episodes), substantially higher than the 9.6 per 100 HYAR for first episodes alone
- •50.4% of laminitis episodes were veterinary-diagnosed while 49.6% were not, suggesting previous epidemiological studies underestimate true disease frequency
- •Connemara and New Forest ponies had highest incidence rates while Draught and Cob breeds had lowest incidence
- •Laminitis occurred year-round with no significant seasonal variation, and difficulty turning and short/stilted gait were the most prevalent clinical signs (≥70% of cases)