Insulin Resistance

Insulin Resistance is also called Equine Metabolic Syndrome. This occurs when the horse's body fails to respond to insulin even in increased levels. Insulin is a hormone that tells the horse's cells to absorb glucose. Glucose is a form of energy derived from sugars and starches.

Symptoms (similar to human diabetes):
1) Laminitis
2) Gains weight easily and holds on to weight easily
3) Fat that is irregularly distributed over the horse's body
       a. Crest
       b. Over the eye
       c. Around the tail head
       d. Around the shoulder area
4) Excessive hunger
5) Excessive urination
6) Excessive laziness when exercise is involved
7) Fertility problems
8) Excessive thirst

Testing for Insulin Resistance
A veterinarian will need to draw a blood sample after the horse has not consumed anything for eight to 12 hours or at least has not consumed any starches or sugars for at least five hours. The veterinarian will test for insulin and glucose levels.

Managing Insulin Resistant Horses
Insulin Resistance can be managed through diet and exercise. The diet needs to be low in starch and sugars, and balanced and exercise needs to be on a daily or at least routine basis unless the horse has acute laminitis.

The diet is the hardest part because the horse needs hays low in sugar, starches and fructans. (Refer to the article "Selecting Hays Low in Non-Fiber Carbohydrates" The horse also will need a vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure no deficiencies of nutrients. If the horse needs more calories than what hay can provide, beet pulp with no molasses or rice bran are good choices. If beet pulp with no molasses is unavailable, the beet pulp can be soaked and strained to remove the molasses.

Keep in mind that when feeding large amounts of beet pulp or feeding rice bran, the calcium and phosphorus ratio needs to be balanced because beet pulp contains a lot of calcium and rice bran contains a lot of phosphorus. If you want to avoid these problems consult an equine nutritionist or specialist or use a rice bran that already has a balanced calcium and phosphorus ratio like Doctor's Choice rice bran.

References:
http://www.petcaretips.net/diabetes_horse.html. "Diabetes in Horses."
Ken Marcella, DVM. April 12, 2005
"A Case of Insulin Resistance." Equus. Susan Kauffmann. January 2005.