Associations Between Local Weather Patterns and the Frequency of Sand Enteritis in an East Anglian Equine Hospital

Aim: To identify climatic trends associated with the frequency of sand enteritis. 

Methods: Horses were included if they: (1) had radio-dense intestinal contents or sand impaction confirmed at exploratory laparotomy; (2) originated from East Anglia; (3) presented between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2012. Historical weather data for East Anglia were obtained from the Met Office website. Associations between prevalence and climatic variables were examined separately for March–April and October–November. 

Results: Ninety-two horses were included. Peaks in admissions of sand enteritis cases were seen in March–April (n = 21, 23%) and October–November (n = 25, 27%). The frequency of March–April cases was positively correlated with mean temperature in those months (r2 = 0.37); negatively correlated with frost (r2 = 0.58) and rainfall (r2 = 0.54) in the 2 previous months; and negatively correlated with sunshine in the preceding 3 months (r2 = 0.44). [...]