Ponies are at a High Risk of Insulin Resistance, Laminitis, and Cushing’s Disease

Ponies are generally considered to be less than 14 hands tall at the withers. Although energy requirements vary between ponies, most are easy keepers with low caloric requirements and seem to gain weight from the air they breathe! The ancestors of today’s ponies endured harsh conditions and barren environments. Ponies became genetically “wired” to survive with little food. With today’s pastures and plentiful hay, the incidence of obesity and the subsequent health issues are commonplace.

Biotin is a B vitamin often associated with hoof health. Many equestrians consider biotin as the only supplement needed to maintain hoof quality. How accurate is this? Will feeding an “only biotin” supplement fix your horse’s hoof problems? Before examining these questions, let’s discuss biotin and its role within your horse.

What is Equine Insulin Resistance?

The most basic explanation when discussing Equine Insulin Resistance is that we are dealing with an insulin problem within the horse. When a horse consumes carbohydrates, the pancreas is triggered to produce and release insulin. Insulin regulates and lowers glucose levels in the bloodstream by assisting the transport of glucose into the cells. When we have an Insulin Resistance problem, the cells become resistant to the action of insulin. As blood sugar levels rise the pancreas secretes more insulin in the attempt to regulate blood sugar. Blood glucose levels begin to rise along with insulin levels when the pancreas reaches the limit of insulin production. 

In Part 1 of “Correlations Between Equine Hoof and Joint Health,” we discussed how nutrition and body condition are two major factors influencing the health of equine hooves and joints. In part 2, we will concentrate on external and mechanical elements that could be creating stress on your horse’s hooves and joints. Many of the hoof and joint problems we see today can be attributed to the long-term effects of offloading, exposure to hard terrain, and unbalanced hooves.

Have you ever considered the substantial influence the health of our horse’s hooves and joints have on one another? For example, can poor hoof quality negatively impact joint health? Can a joint injury add extra strain to the hoof? It is easy to look at our horse’s health from a narrow perspective, only considering the problem at hand. When it comes to the longevity and comfort of the horse, we need to look at the whole picture. The horse’s joints and hooves function together in its movement and balance. When one is afflicted, the other is often affected as well. Effects from offloading, poor nutrition, hoof balance, terrain, and body condition accumulate over time, weakening the horse’s extremities and creating real problems in the horse’s locomotion. These influences become even more important for older horses, who are more susceptible to joint pain, arthritis, and hoof problems such as laminitis. In part one of this blog, we will discuss the impact that body condition and nutrition have on the health of the hooves and joints.

What is Mud Fever?

Mud Fever or equine pastern dermatitis is a bacterial infection of the epidermis of a horse’s lower limbs.  The lesions are usually located between the fetlock joint and heel but can spread to the upper part of the leg. Occasionally, the back and neck of the horse may also become affected. Horses with pink and non-pigmented skin, white hair or feathers are particularly susceptible to mud fever.

It is vital for Horses with laminitis to receive a balanced diet that fulfills their nutritional requirements. Fulfilling these nutritional needs not only benefits laminitis recovery but can also help prevent future bouts from developing. Additionally, your horse’s current diet could be the cause of its laminitic troubles. Below are five tips to feeding horses with laminitis.

With the development of a hoof abscess, an energetic and active horse can suddenly become severely lame. It can happen quickly, painfully, and with no prior signs of a problem. Finding your horse in this state can be terrifying, especially if you’ve had little experience dealing with a hoof abscess. Luckily, with time, patience and proper treatment most horses will fully recover. In this blog, we will discuss five tips that can be utilized to assist in your horse’s recovery.

As spring arrives, we tend to focus on our horse’s hair coat as they begin to lose their woolly winter coats. And, show season is just around the corner. We put a substantial amount of importance on the outward appearance of our horse, and rightfully so, but your horse’s outward appearance says more about your horse than you may know. Your horse’s beautiful coat is more than a bragging right. The quality of your horse’s hair coat reveals a lot about the overall state of your horse’s health. In fact, a decline in hair coat quality can be one of the first signs of a health-related issue, improper nutrition or poor maintenance.

Hoof Abscesses can seem to appear overnight. Yesterday your horse showed no sign of pain, and today he can barely put weight on his foot. If you have never had a horse develop a hoof abscess, count yourself lucky. They can be extremely painful, often leading to severe lameness. Some horses suffer from recurring hoof abscesses that develop frequently.  Although hoof abscesses can be attributed to either the horse’s environment or the health of the hooves, they are often the consequence of a combination of both factors.