IT IS getting to that time of the year when the grass starts to grow and with it the risk of laminitis.

At a recent lecture given in Inverness by Josh Slater, Professor of Equine Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College on the title of ‘Global Warming and Infectious Disease Threats’ it was obvious that the threat to horses and ponies from emerging exotic disease is sobering, real and a matter we all need to plan for by concentrating on prevention.

A far worse epidemic is affecting all our horses and ponies now and the industry just seems unable to digest the fact that obesity kills, it is killing now and this epidemic is man made.

One of the affects of global worming is that the grass grows all year round. In some parts of Scotland, like the South-west it maybe always has done but on the whole there is more grass these days and for longer and this is affecting our equines’ waist lines.

People just seem to blindly keep feeding at the same time as being blind to the amount of fat that their equines are carrying. And so many horses and ponies that don’t need rugs are heavily rugged up which means they are burning fewer calories. The affects of over-feeding and over rugging are the real welfare concerns of today, leading to obesity, joint problems, metabolic disorders and laminitis.

Fortunately for us, everyone in Scotland has an opportunity to attend Laminitis Awareness 2010, on Saturday, April 10, at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at Easter Bush outside Edinburgh. This day includes the very important practical session on how to monitor fat loss and the use of a modified fat scoring system. Presumably this session will begin by showing us all the latest way of measuring fat on our horses and ponies by using our eyes and hands to evaluate fat reserves. The Dodson and Horrell sponsored day, which features Derek Knottenbelt, sponsored by the BHS, also includes a session of using ultrasound to see the difference between fat and muscle. This promises to be an interesting and important event. Details on www.bhsscotland.org.uk under welfare.

To rewind slightly, none of us are powerless in the face of exotic disease threatening our horses and ponies, as we all have a duty to ensure superb biosecurity. And part of that is for each horse owner in Scotland to fulfil their responsibilities regarding traceability. This means having one correct passport for each horse, for making sure all equines registered since last summer are microchipped and by taking care to transfer ownership for horses and ponies when they change hands. It is equally important to ensure we notify our PIOs when equines die so that they can be removed from the live horse register. It is vital that we all keep our paperwork up to date so that the industry can, at a glance, be pretty certain of the location of Scotland’s horses.

Finally, I have got involved in the official capacity as adviser to a group of youngsters from Perth High School who have elected to undertake their silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition by horse back. The girls have worked out a beautiful route around Glen Lyon, negotiated overnight accommodation for themselves and their horses and are grappling with the thorny issues of transporting tents and gas stoves in their vital equipment list. It is a wonderful opportunity which serves to remind us that spring is coming and its time to lengthen our hacks and exercise our rights of responsible access.

The BHS prides itself in partnership working and currently we are producing new access resources with Cycling Scotland and the SRPBA, from the points of view of riding with cyclists and working harmoniously with land managers so all the omens are that the tracks and glens of Scotland await us horse riders!