Equine Laminitis Risk Calculator

Laminitis is the #2 killer of horses, but can often be prevented by recognizing the lifestyle factors that place horses at risk. This calculator uses the five (5) risk factors identified by Dr. Don Walsh, founder of the Animal Health Foundation, in his publication entitled “Field Treatment and Management of Endocrinopathic Laminitis in Horses and Ponies” to assess the likelihood of a horse experiencing a laminitic episode. It is designed to assist the horse owner, hoof care professional, and veterinarian in identifying and correcting these risk factors, as well as provide a general-purpose tool for planning and managing a horse’s dietary requirements. The calculator contains complete instructions for each piece of required information, including links to 3rd-party websites.

The procedure for determining the degree of risk of a horse experiencing a laminitic episode is a two-step process. First, the Diet Worksheet is used to calculate the horse’s estimated weight and estimated calories consumed per day from the following information about the horse’s size and diet:

•Heart girth
•Body length
•Amount of feed per day
•Calories per pound of feed
•Amount of grass hay per day
•Amount of legume hay per day
•Grass pasture hours per day
•Use of a grazing muzzle

The calculator includes a weight estimator based on heart girth and body length measurements; however, simple weight tape values can be used instead by adjusting the default girth and length values until the displayed weight matches the weight tape measurement. Over 100 commercial feeds with caloric content values are already built into the calculator, and are listed both alphabetically by manufacturer and by calories to allow the user to easily find alternative feeds. Caloric content values for feeds not listed can be obtained directly from the feed manufacturer and entered into the calculator. Likewise, differences between the default values for hays versus actual analysis values can be compensated for by adjusting the hay amounts.

The Risk Calculator then determines the horse’s daily caloric needs and assesses the horse’s risk of a laminitic episode based on the following additional information about the horse’s lifestyle:

•Age
•Whether or not the horse has experienced a previous laminitic episode
•Body Condition Score
•Amount of time ridden or driven per day

Even if a particular horse turns out to be at low risk for a laminitic episode, this calculator will prove to be a useful tool for balancing a horse’s caloric intake against the amount of work the horse is doing.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this calculator will go to the Animal Health Foundation to help support continuing research into this common yet very serious health risk to horses.