The drug canagliflozin has shown positive results in an ongoing study of insulin dysregulation (ID) in horses. The results were presented at the 2025 Global Equine Endocrinology Symposium (GEES).

At the end of the second year of this study, researchers reported on daily treatment with canagliflozin. The study used privately owned horses. These horses had previously diagnosed ID.

Elin Svonni, DVM, PhD student, presented this preliminary report. She is with the Department of Clinical Sciences at Swedish University of Agricultural. Her research colleagues are Sanna Lindåse, and Johan Bröjer of the same institution.

The presentation was titled, “Long term treatment with canagliflozin in insulin dysregulated horses—preliminary results from an ongoing study evaluating efficacy and side effects in horses treated for 2 years.”

Canagliflozin Research Aims

Velagliflozin and canagliflozin are sodium-glucose co-transport 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. The drugs have been researched in horses. These SGLT2 drugs reduce renal glucose reabsorption, promote glucosuria (the presence of glucose in the urine), and consequently decrease blood glucose and insulin concentrations.

Research has shown that short-term treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors decreases the postprandial (after a meal) insulin response in insulin dysregulated (ID) horses. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects on postprandial insulin responses, serum triglyceride (TG), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) concentrations in ID horses treated with canagliflozin for up to two years.

Canagliflozin Research Results

Svonnireported that the postprandial insulin responses decreased with canagliflozin treatment. Those insulin responses remained low for two years.

She said for the oral sugar test, “the average insulin responses were 29.3% and 37.6% of the baseline response at one and two years, respectively. The corresponding data for the meal tolerance test was 28.2% and 33.7%.

“There was no difference in glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) concentrations at any time point compared to baseline,” she added. “Some individuals developed elevated serum triglyceride concentrations during canagliflozin treatment but showed no clinical signs of hyperlipemia.”

Research Conclusion

The preliminary results from this ongoing study indicate that horses treated with canagliflozin “have sustained decrease in postprandial insulin responses over two years without severe side effects related to hypertriglyceridemia (abnormally high levels of triglycerides in the blood). Thus, canagliflozin is a promising drug for long-term treatment of ID horses.”

(Author’s note: The study was funded by the Swedish-Norwegian Foundation for Equine Research.)

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  • Kimberly S. Brown
    Kimberly S. Brown is an award-winning writer and publisher. She is the Editorial Director for My Senior Horse. Brown spent 10 years at Equine Network, parent company of My Senior Horse. Prior to that she worked for three years in equine nutrition after she retired from nearly 30 years working at The Blood-Horse. Brown spent the last 15 years of her time at that organization creating and developing The Horse and TheHorse.com.
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