Metabolism & Endocrine

Insulin dysregulation with a tendency to obesity and a high risk of endocrinopathic laminitis. Common in easy-keeper breeds/ponies.

Dysfunction of the pituitary gland (pars intermedia) with hormone dysregulation, mainly in older horses. Raises the laminitis risk, among others.

Insulin dysregulation is a disturbed sugar/insulin metabolism with an excessive or sustained insulin response, often the core of EMS. It is considered a central risk factor for endocrinopathic laminitis and is objectified via blood diagnostics.

In hyperlipemia, mobilised fatty acids flood the blood and are deposited as fat in the liver — triggered by a negative energy balance (feed refusal, stress, pregnancy/lactation). Ponies, donkeys and miniature horses are especially affected; the course can be life-threatening.

Overweight is widespread in leisure horses and not a cosmetic issue: excess body fat is metabolically active and raises the risk of insulin dysregulation and laminitis. The Body Condition Score (BCS) helps to assess condition objectively.

Not only deficiency but also an imbalance of major and trace elements (e.g. the ratio of copper to zinc or calcium to phosphorus) can affect skin, horn, muscle and metabolism. Since hay varies strongly by region, imbalances are best assessed via ration and blood analysis.

KPU is a term widely discussed in practice for a presumed metabolic/detoxification disorder, but it is NOT recognised in established veterinary medicine as a distinct, scientifically proven disease. Robust studies are lacking; the attributed symptoms are non-specific and can have many other causes.

The coat change is a metabolically intensive phase; a sluggish, delayed or incomplete change can indicate increased nutrient demand, metabolic strain or an underlying disease. In older horses, a delayed coat change is a classic warning sign of PPID (Cushing).