Whilst the presence of PPID, EMS and/or Insulin Resistance will increase an individual horse or pony’s risk of developing laminitis, the actual trigger which turns them from an ‘at risk’ case into a horse suffering from laminitis is likely to be linked to the food they eat.

Grass contains simple sugars and storage carbohydrates called starch and fructan. When a normal horse or pony eats grass their body produces insulin, and this insulin causes their cells to absorb the sugars. In a horse or pony with Insulin Resistance, the cells do not respond to the insulin, so the insulin levels keep rising, and this causes laminitis.