THE UT FAT CAMP
An examination of glucose and lipid metabolism in obese and normal weight horses

Dr. Nicholas Frank, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
Dr. André d’Avignon, Chemistry Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

VOLUNTEERS (obese horses) ARE NEEDED IMMEDIATELY FOR THE 2004 FAT CAMP!

We are currently trying to identify clients that are willing to bring their very overweight (obese) horse to UTCVM for seven (7) days of testing. This testing will be free and procedures used in this study will not painful. Please click on the following links for more information.

The aim of this project is to compare obese horses with normal weight horses and therefore investigate how obesity affects health. In humans, there are hormonal disorders that contribute to obesity. Obese horses enrolled in the study will be tested for these diseases. If they do not have an underlying hormonal disorder to explain their obesity, then we will assume that “being obese” is their main disease. We will then try to find out how their metabolism (for instance, the way they use sugars and fats) differs from a normal weight horse. 

When do we call a horse obese?

The type of horse that we are interested in is usually less than 15 years of age and is overweight even after he or she has been taken off grain and pasture and is just being fed poor quality hay. Fatty deposits accumulate within the neck, giving the horse a raised crest along the area where the mane attaches to the neck. The same sort of fat deposits can be seen at the tail head or in the sheath of male horses. Laminitis (“founder”) is more common in these animals. Obese horses simply look fat. They are very fleshy over their ribs and sometimes they seem to have bulges of fat beneath their skin. The photographs below provide some examples of the type of horse that we are interested in studying. These are what we would refer to as obese horses.

Are donkeys and ponies affected? 

Yes, they are actually even more commonly affected than horses. We would eventually like to study them too, but our current funding only extends to horses. Please do not contact us for the 2004 UT Fat Camp, but keep checking our web site because we will try to study them in the future. 

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