Volume 3 Issue 3

                                                           SENIOR CITIZENS

Equine Metabolic Syndrome

What Is Equine Metabolic Syndrome [EMS]?

These days, with the horse population creeping towards obesity, it is getting harder to view a fit horse as not being underfed, abused, or starved.  We have a tendency to call these overweight horses “easy keepers”.  These days it seems that our whole society is over-fed and under-exercised.  Naturally, we have a tendency to treat our pets the same way.  In humans, this can, and quite often does, lead to diabetes.  We want to be careful not to let this happen to our equine friends as well.

EMS is a cluster of problems including obesity, IR and laminitis.  Symptoms include some of the same as found in the Cushing’s horse, such as thick cresty necks, swollen sheath in geldings and fat pads distributed throughout the body.  Ponies, Morgans, Passo Finos, Spanish Mustangs, European Warmbloods and Arabians are particularly prone to it, but it can affect all breeds.  Most commonly, it affects horses of middle age [8 to 18 years].  These horses can also suffer from Hypothyroidism.  This means that they have low thyroid production by their thyroid gland, leading to a low metabolic rate, thus, weight gain.

What Causes EMS?

With horses, it is not really known what causes EMS.  It could be a combination of genetic or environmental factors however; it is most likely connected with obesity and lack of exercise.

Meals high in starch and sugar lead to spikes in blood glucose and insulin with Insulin Resistance (IR) as a result.  This occurs commonly, especially in the spring when horses are grazing in a pasture that is lush and green.

In our efforts to supply the best feed for our horses, we also have a tendency to feed them what they like (for example high protein sweet feed and alfalfa hay).  Unfortunately this is not necessarily what they need. It is always best to


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Wendy Teddiman, Trainer (wen-dacres@cox.net) (http://Wen-D-Acres.com) (http://Blog.Wen-D-Acres.com) 949-357-8040