The mouth and teeth have two main functions: to chew food and to lubricate food with saliva. While no enzymatic digestion or absorption occurs at this time, mastication still represents the initial...
Although vitamin E is essential in equine diets, deficiency alone does not reliably cause disease. Many horses do not exhibit any clinical signs of disease associated with a vitamin E deficiency...
The relationship between obesity and insulin dysregulation (in which obesity promotes insulin dysregulation), as has been well documented in the human medical context (Wondmkun, 2020). This is less...
Hyperinsulinaemia-associated laminitis is seen when sustained hyperinsulinaemia causes stretching, proliferation and elongation of the digital lamellae without damaging the underlying basement...
Horses have evolved to consume large amounts of forage and are therefore highly motivated to eat (Baumgartner et al, 2020). Naturally, horses would spend a large portion of their day engaged in the...
Horses have a very large total mass of contracting muscles which are capable of producing significant amounts of heat very quickly, but – relative to humans – have a small skin surface area for...
In horses, lipids are absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in the form of fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids bind to albumin and travel through the portal circulation, but most fatty acids...
Starch and sugar are classed as non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) and are a main source of energy in a horse's diet. Low amounts of NSCs can be found in natural food sources such as grass and hay,...
Equine gastric ulcers are reported in all ages and breeds of horse. The incidence of equine squamous gastric disease in researched cohorts is reported to be between 11–92% (Murray et al, 1989;...
The mammary glands of the mare have a small cistern (storage area) from which the foal nurses throughout the day, with the ejection of milk requiring the release of oxytocin. Healthy foals should...
The prevalence of both obese and overweight horses is high (Giles et al, 2014; Potter et al, 2016). However, how this is categorised and reported could be clearer, as defining whether a horse is...
