Weight struggles
QMy horse struggles with his weight. Could it be equine metabolic syndrome? Anna Moore, Daventry
AEquine metabolic syndrome (EMS) refers to horses being overweight causing metabolic problems. Managing your horse’s weight comes down to the calories he has in his diet, and the amount of calories he burns (from work, keeping warm, etc.). Horses were made to live on poor quality vegetation on the steppes and savannahs. The horses we keep today have the best quality grass pastures, perfect roughage and many don’t have enough exercise. Along with this, many native, pony and draft horse breeds seem to ‘live on air’, despite diet management.
Limit his calories
Obesity in general is associated with insulin dysregulation and higher insulin levels have shown to cause laminitis in horses. To prevent EMS, measures should include increased calorie burning (for example, more exercise if possible and fewer rugs when appropriate) and/or restricted calorie intake (shorter pasture turn out, a grazing muzzle and soaking roughage to soak out sugars). Having a haynet with smaller holes or doubling up haynets will increase eating time. Maximising chewing time is important. If you’re soaking hay, you may need to add a vitamin or mineral supplement to his diet, to help replace those that have been lost in the soaking process. It might be wise to consider advice from an equine nutritionist. For certain cases of EMS, especially those that are at risk for repeat laminitis, drugs from your vet may help.