Horses who show signs of Equine Metabolic Syndrome are prone to laminitis any time of the year but the risk goes up in spring and autumn.
A horse with EMS is not a healthy horse but the condition can be successfully reversed with dietary and lifestyle adjustments. Understanding the syndrome is Step 1.
Most people know these horses need a diet which is low in sugars and starches (<10%) and an increase in exercise but EMS is not the same as being over-weight.
Some EMS horses are over-weight and some are not but EMS horses are distinguishable by their ‘lumpy look’ with their ‘cresty’ neck and the extra ‘fat’ pads above the tail-head, behind shoulders and on the sides of the rump. They are also prone to ‘puffiness’ in general, swollen sheaths and swellings in front of the udders.
Thus EMS is actually a ‘metabolic disorder’ due to malnourishment – not because of insufficient quantities of food – rather it is caused by not eating the right food.
This is why starving the EMS horse by keeping him in ‘jenny craig’ type paddocks does not reverse EMS and does not prevent them from tipping over into laminitis. Severely limiting forage intake (either by keeping the horse on very short grass, not supplying enough hay, or by spending long hours in a grazing muzzle) is merely reducing the amount of unsuitable food going in which is harmful to the horse both physically and mentally.
Managing metabolic syndrome in horses is possible. If we confine our thinking to the sugar content of the forage alone as a cause of metabolic syndrome and laminitis then there is no explanation for why horses & ponies on very well managed, low carbohydrate diets still get laminitis.
Cresty necks
While most stallions and some breeds have a more prominent crest, (eg Welshies & Spanish breeds), when horses develop EMS, the crest of their neck enlarges further– an extra ‘ridge’ appears on top of their normal neck profile – hence the term ‘cresty’.
They also develop other sub-cutaneous (just under the skin) swellings, above the eyes, behind the shoulders, at the tail-head, on the sides of the rump, these are referred to as ‘fat pads’ but they are more like ‘fluid lumps’. They give these horses that ‘lumpy look’! (See picture below)
We always used to wonder: How is it that the ‘crest’ of the neck can suddenly go from feeling comparatively soft and wobbly to ‘standing up’ and hard as a rock in a very short time, like over-night?
We learned from Dr Deb Bennett PhD, that “the horse’s “crest” is made of fibro-fatty sub-cutaneous (adipose) tissue similar in texture to high-density foam”.
Like foam, the crest tissue can take up fluid like a sponge; so under certain metabolic conditions it becomes ‘turgid’ ie it fills with fluid which is ‘leaking’ from tiny capillaries, until it is hard as a rock.
This rapid hardening of the ‘crest’ tends to happen a day or two after rainfall events, potentially at any time of the year but more frequently in spring and autumn conditions which favour growth spurts of the grass.
Many people make a point of monitoring the hardness of their horse’s crest daily because it is a major indicator that a laminitis episode is imminent. Since laminitis is a disaster this is like living on the brink of disaster. The fact that the horse has a ‘cresty’ neck is reason enough to make urgent changes to diet and management.
If urgent action isn’t taken the hardening of the crest is closely followed by ‘stiffening’ of movement, the presence of a digital pulse and sore feet (being ‘footy’), tender on hard ground, ie laminitis.
The crest ‘softens’ once nutrient imbalances are corrected. This is why feeding EMS horses isn’t just about low sugars and starches. It is also about correcting mineral imbalances which cause the puffiness and swellings.
It is best not to focus on any one mineral like magnesium, there are many other equally important minerals, vitamins and amino acids which need to be supplied because they all interact and help one another. It is about lowering intake of some nutrients and increasing intake of others.
Take the below case of ‘Georgia’ for example
See the picture of ‘Georgia’ ‘Before’ when she had sore feet and whilst not rocked back on her heels, she was very reluctant to move. You can see signs of metabolic syndrome like the puffiness around her eyes but clearly she is not obese. She had been kept on what her owner thought was a ‘low sugar’ diet, had been fed hay every day, had a mineral bucket available yet she came down with sore feet soon after a couple of days of rain. Clearly visible are the green areas of her pen. Nibbling around on these tips of fresh autumn growth after the rain will bring on an attack of laminitis in susceptible animals and it happened to ‘Georgia’.
The quickest recovery from sore feet (laminitis) is achieved when ALL GREEN is immediately and thoroughly removed from the diet. This includes the most microscopic green shoots coming thru the dirt. You need to be ‘on patrol’ for these and cover them up with salt, sand or bark.
Merely restricting access to grass, mowing, putting other stock through first; none of these strategies cut the mustard. The slightest green tinge can perpetuate this painful condition.
Horses with metabolic syndrome may need to go into some kind of a ‘dry lot’. This may be a large yard, round pen, arena, or a track.
‘Georgia’ was moved into a completely grass free area, her hay was soaked, her feed was reduced to suitable damp chaff with salt, Graze Ezy and SOS along with Supreme MVA.
See ‘Georgia’ ‘AFTER’: The difference in her overall health and vitality in just a few weeks is obvious and she is walking freely again.
When you take a horse or pony off the grass you must make sure they never run out of food by supplying adlib hay. Hay-nets with the small mesh are invaluable as they slow the eating process down and ensure there is a constant trickle of coarse, fibrous material going thru the digestive system.
When managing horses with metabolic syndrome their recovery time will depend on how well you can manage their diet which needs to consist of suitable hay, not fresh, green hay and definitely no clover or lucerne. (Lucerne is often advocated as a suitable feed for laminitic horses and ponies on the basis that it has lower sugar content. However because it is a very high potassium/low sodium forage we have found it to be totally unsuitable).
After the horse has recovered, access to grass needs to be gradually introduced for very limited periods of the day on the most mature grass possible. People completely underestimate how much grass a horse can consume in a short time let alone 3-4 hours or a whole day! Start with no more than 10 minutes!
Diligence is needed to avoid them eating grass that is stressed or short, green and growing to prevent a relapse to which they will be very susceptible.
‘Georgia’ Before – Not obese but puffy around the eyes and sore in her feet.
‘Georgia’ A different pony ‘After’ only 3 weeks on her new diet
Feeding Grass Affected horses – Click here for details
Click here to read more about Laminitis and how to prevent it.
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