Preventing founder
Question for everyone--or at least anyone with experience with horses that are sugar-sensitive / insulin resistant;
My horse *was* slightly insulin resistant but we put him on a drylot, supplements for low thyroid, herbs for the "Metabolic Syndrome" and he lost 250 lbs (which he needed to lose.)
So now he seems to do okay with a few hours out on pasture when the sugar levels are low. He is off the supplements completely and I know that being not-so-obese now he is less prone to foundering.
But he moved to a new barn, where horses have not lived before, which means the pastures are virgin pastures. It's already gotten cold here in New England, and the grass is *dead* meaning it is high in sugar. He escaped his little dry lot and was found in the morning grazing on the dead grass.
I am not sure how worried I need to be about him possibly foundering. His manure is normal, appetite normal, hooves not hot. He escaped Monday night and it is now Wednesday.
I've been told that you should ice their coronet bands/hooves for 3 days after a 'jailbreak' like that, to prevent laminitis. My understanding is that you do that *preventatively* before their hooves are warm.
Other people think that is going totally overboard and is unnecessary.
My horse is back on one of his supplements (a chinese herb called rehmania that he took for awhile) and my vet says that's all he needs, to not bother with icing his hooves.
I also checked in with the yahoo group for insulin resistant horses, which is where they say "ICE THEM FOR THREE DAYS ROUND THE CLOCK! NO MATTER WHAT!"
So I am looking for other people who have dealt with sugar sensitive horses to weigh in with their experiences. My horse has only had episodes with warm hooves twice, about a year ago. None since he lost so much weight. I am icing him to be on the safe side, although I have not iced him every few hours as recommended. More like 3 times a day.
Thoughts? Advice? Comments much appreciated.
My horse *was* slightly insulin resistant but we put him on a drylot, supplements for low thyroid, herbs for the "Metabolic Syndrome" and he lost 250 lbs (which he needed to lose.)
So now he seems to do okay with a few hours out on pasture when the sugar levels are low. He is off the supplements completely and I know that being not-so-obese now he is less prone to foundering.
But he moved to a new barn, where horses have not lived before, which means the pastures are virgin pastures. It's already gotten cold here in New England, and the grass is *dead* meaning it is high in sugar. He escaped his little dry lot and was found in the morning grazing on the dead grass.
I am not sure how worried I need to be about him possibly foundering. His manure is normal, appetite normal, hooves not hot. He escaped Monday night and it is now Wednesday.
I've been told that you should ice their coronet bands/hooves for 3 days after a 'jailbreak' like that, to prevent laminitis. My understanding is that you do that *preventatively* before their hooves are warm.
Other people think that is going totally overboard and is unnecessary.
My horse is back on one of his supplements (a chinese herb called rehmania that he took for awhile) and my vet says that's all he needs, to not bother with icing his hooves.
I also checked in with the yahoo group for insulin resistant horses, which is where they say "ICE THEM FOR THREE DAYS ROUND THE CLOCK! NO MATTER WHAT!"
So I am looking for other people who have dealt with sugar sensitive horses to weigh in with their experiences. My horse has only had episodes with warm hooves twice, about a year ago. None since he lost so much weight. I am icing him to be on the safe side, although I have not iced him every few hours as recommended. More like 3 times a day.
Thoughts? Advice? Comments much appreciated.