HORSE owners are being asked to help with an online study aimed at discovering the causes of the debilitating disease laminitis.
CARE, the largest web-based equine cohort study in Britain, wants to identify lifestyle choices that are associated with the onset of the condition, and around 1,700 owners of horses and ponies have signed up. As many horses as possible will help give researches the best chance of taking the potentially life-threatening condition.
CARE members are asked to submit regular information about their equines’ health and management online. The online questionnaire covers all aspects of the horses’ environment, activity, nutrition and daily care. These details are then regularly updates so that the researchers can monitor any changes.
Cohort studies have been used extensively in human medical research and are responsible for many important findings. The CARE study has set out to do exactly the same for horses.
Participation is open to all tips, ages, sizes and breeds of horses or ponies, whether or not they have ever had laminitis. To become a CARE study member, recruitment is closing at the end of July this year, the data collection will continue until the end of the year.
To get involved and register before July 31, visit www.careaboutlaminitis.org.uk