Tag Archives: laminitis

Horses, The Pet Professionals

Avoid Equine Metabolic Syndrome during winter


Winter is a difficult time for all of us, horses included! Keeping up with exercise when the weather is dreadful can be a chore, but it’s vital for our equine friends’ health.

With reduced exercise and increased confinement to smaller spaces, your horses have a risk of weight increase and even obesity. Due to genetic predisposition, some animals might be at higher risk of obesity, and they will require specific dietary and exercise management.

One of the biggest concerns with obesity in horses is the development of Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), as it causes insulin resistance, creating a host of problems later on, including recurrent laminitis and infertility.

 

Signs that your horse might be suffering from EMS

While there are no signs that are specific to EMS, there are several things that are suggestive that there may be a problem with your animals:

  • Obesity and difficulty losing weight;
  • Recurrent laminitis, especially later in the spring;
  • Uneven distribution of fat (rump, neck and base of tail), even though overall weight might be normal;
  • Infertility in mares.

Other diseases might have similar signs to these, so it’s vital that you speak to your vet if you notice anything that concerns you. Diagnosing and managing EMS as soon as possible increases the chances of avoiding permanent damage to the hooves and fertility levels!

 

Managing your horses’ weight during winter

Laminitis during EMS happens in response to access to feeds or pastures high in soluble carbohydrates, which means that this problem can go undetected until spring when horses go back outside. As they graze on the recently grown pasture, the insulin dysregulation caused by the ingestion of these carbohydrates triggers painful laminitis.

To help avoid this problem, managing exercise and calorie intake will reduce the chances of insulin resistance and weight increase, both important risk factors for EMS.

Keep up exercise routines even during bad weather

Horses are hardy animals, who mind the cold and rain much less than their human friends! Decreased exercise without any balancing of their diet or without finding other ways to keep them active is a recipe for disaster.

As horses who are predisposed to EMS are also predisposed to obesity, making sure they don’t gain excessive weight during winter is much easier than reducing their body condition score later.

Evaluate the composition and quantity of their feed

It’s a great time to take a look at your horses’ calorie intake as well as the composition of their diet. An overabundance of soluble carbohydrates in an unbalanced diet will cause serious problems, so don’t hesitate to ask your vet for help in determining the dietary management of your horse so that he or she can ingest the proper nutrients and calories for their metabolic needs.

 

EMS is a complicated problem for any owner, especially after it has evolved to limiting or even debilitating laminitis. However, it can be treated and managed with a proper exercise regimen, dietary adjustments and medical treatments if necessary.

Speak to your vet and he or she will work with you to find the best treatment plan for you and your horses.

 

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Horses, The Pet Professionals

Spring and lameness – Laminitis and beyond

 

One of the most beautiful landscapes that spring has to offer us is a vast, luscious green pasture, with the sun shining up in the blue sky and the opportunity for our horses to graze freely and enjoy nature.

However, as horse owners are well aware, fresh spring grass is very sugary and, if you have roughed off your horse and then suddenly notice that they are limping, the first thing that would cross your mind would probably be laminitis.

There are factors other than diet that can predispose your horse to develop this condition, including excess weight and obesity, hormonal and metabolic disorders, bacterial infections, excessive concussion, and even stress. Also, if your horse has had laminitis before, it is more likely for this problem to recur.

Unfortunately, laminitis is a serious condition that can easily become chronic, with the hoof structures suffering permanent damage, which is why it’s so important to seek veterinary assistance as soon as you notice something unusual about your horse’s walk.

Acute episodes of laminitis tend to be extremely painful, and clinical signs will not go unnoticed, including:

  • Reluctance or inability to walk or even stand,
  • Altered stance, usually favouring weight support on the hind feet,
  • Lameness,
  • Signs of pain which may resemble an episode of colic.

However, there’s more to lameness in the horse than laminitis. So, if your horse is lame, what else could be causing it?

There are other chronic conditions that can cause pain in your horse’s feet and, consequently, an altered gait, such as osteoarthritis and navicular syndrome, for example.

With chronic conditions, clinical signs tend to be more subtle, given that the horse has had time to adapt. In such cases, you may not be able to perceive an evident limp, but you may notice a slight head bob as your horse is walking, or an abnormal stance, for example.

As for acute conditions, these can include injuries, sprains, fractures, infections and even lesions that are higher up in the musculoskeletal system, such as the back and the neck.

If you notice something is different about your horse’s walk, you can check their feet and lower legs to try to identify if there’s a visible or palpable injury, such as hoof rings, cracks or dark spots, something caught in the gaps of their hooves, cuts, swelling and if the legs feel warm or painful.

Independently of the cause, all kinds of hoof and lameness problems should be addressed as soon as possible. Lameness-associated conditions are usually very painful and can even be life-threatening. If you have any concerns regarding your horse’s health, don’t hesitate to contact your vet for advice.

Would you like to know more about horses? Check our Equine Courses:

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