Every fourth Icelandic horse in Denmark is too fat, according to a new study, and obesity is a large problem among the Icelandic horse in Denmark, where breed has enjoyed great popularity among professional as well as amateur riders, RÚV reports.
Researchers looked at 252 Icelandic horses from 46 places—all of them more than four years old.
The Danish study revealed that in 25 percent of cases, obesity was a problem, and being too heavy was rather the rule than the exception. The study, which was published last week, can be read here in its entirety.
A possible explanation given by the Danish horse news website heste-nettet.dk/ is the owners’ lack of information regarding the ideal weight of the horses. The owners need to be better informed to prevent obesity among the horses which can “seriously impact their health and welfare,” the website concludes.
