Potential cause of chronic IBD discovered
Researchers at the Free University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University in the Netherlands have identified gluten sensitivity as a possible cause of equine chronic inflammatory small bowel disease in sport horses.
The disorder, which is associated with intermittent colic, poor performance, weight loss and anaemia, is much more common in sport horses – primarily dressage horses. The exact cause of the condition is unknown; however, the new evidence put forward will play a vital role in finding the source of the problem.
Horses which are fed a gluten-rich diet show the same antibody responses to those who suffer coeliac disease (gluten intolerance) in humans. This was tested on one sport horse suffering with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The horse followed a gluten-free diet for 6 months, both villous morphology and blood antibody titers results improved.
A screening test aimed at identifying gluten sensitivity in individual horses based on blood samples is currently being developed.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
