Obesity in horses and ponies has reached epidemic proportions in many countries, driving laminitis, metabolic disease, and poor welfare. Prevention and management require sustained dietary and lifestyle changes.
Horse and pony obesity is a welfare crisis driven by the mismatch between modern management practices and equine evolutionary design. Ponies and native breeds evolved on sparse upland vegetation; providing them access to lush lowland pasture is the equivalent of a human eating cake for every meal. The result - obesity leading to laminitis - is genuinely preventable suffering that nonetheless affects hundreds of thousands of animals annually. Owner recognition is the primary barrier: many owners do not recognize obesity in their horses, and social norms in some equestrian communities have normalized overweight horses as healthy-looking. The welfare improvement available through body condition monitoring and appropriate dietary management is enormous - preventing a single episode of severe laminitis prevents weeks of significant pain and potential permanent lameness.