There has been a marked increase in the incidence of equine obesity globally, especially in countries where there has been a shift away from the horse having an economically essential working role. This change in its core role, plus the increasing numbers of individual horse owners without access to traditional knowledge of animal and land management, have helped fuel this equine obesity ‘epidemic’. Other important potential contributory factors include increased availability of good grazing and/or forage, as well as supplementary feeds. Obesity now presents a major welfare issue for horses and ponies, not only because of the direct weight-associated effects, but also due to the increased risk it poses for certain clinical conditions, in particular laminitis. For many owners and veterinarians, obesity and the equine metabolic syndrome are synonymous, but this is not necessarily the case. Furthermore, as we understand more about this syndrome and the causes of endocrinopathic laminitis, the emphasis has shifted from tissue or peripheral insulin resistance to insulin dysregulation. The present paper outlines how our knowledge of equine metabolic syndrome arose and continues to develop, as well as the authors’ personal involvement in some of these advances.

中文翻译：

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马代谢综合征：二十年来理解的演变：个人观点

全球马肥胖症的发病率显着增加，特别是在那些马已经不再承担经济上必不可少的工作角色的国家。其核心角色的这种变化，加上越来越多的个体马主无法获得动物和土地管理的传统知识，助长了这种马肥胖症的“流行病”。其他重要的潜在促成因素包括优质放牧和/或草料以及补充饲料的供应增加。肥胖现在对马和小马来说是一个主要的福利问题，这不仅是因为与体重相关的直接影响，而且还因为它对某些临床状况（尤其是蹄叶炎）造成的风险增加。对于许多业主和兽医来说，肥胖和马代谢综合征是同义词，但事实并非如此。此外，随着我​​们对这种综合征和内分泌性椎板炎病因的了解越来越多，重点已从组织或外周胰岛素抵抗转移到胰岛素失调。本文概述了我们对马代谢综合征的了解是如何产生并继续发展的，以及作者个人参与其中的一些进展。