soloequestrian
Well-Known Member
If so, do you know how long it took for insulin levels to return to normal following the removal of the stressors?
Thanks
Thanks
Anyone dealt with stress-induced insulin resistance and laminitis?
- Thread starter soloequestrian
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SmartieBean09
Well-Known Member
Not personally but I have a friend whos (unfat, fairly fit 16.2) horse developed an insulin resistance after being on box rest with a leg injury. This also then resulted in laminitis! She recently wrote in to Horse and hound after they published their resport on EMS stating that it effects fat horses which she obviously knows is not always the case.
Sorry, must also add that her horse took a long time to recover. I think is was around 12 months. I can find out more for you when I next see her. However, the recovery period was longer because the horse had developed laminitis and so had to recover from this also.
Sorry, must also add that her horse took a long time to recover. I think is was around 12 months. I can find out more for you when I next see her. However, the recovery period was longer because the horse had developed laminitis and so had to recover from this also.
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cptrayes
Well-Known Member
I recently took on an insulin resistant horse to stop him being put down for foot sensitivity and navicular. It took me four days to stabilise his eating and from then on he and his feet have gone from strength to strength.
If your horse is doing what mine did, eating as if he had not seen food for a month (this is a symptom of IR), then you probably need to do what I did to get him stable. The key was to feed him less per day than he had been eating (he was slightly overweight), but to slow down his eating so that he was trickle feeding all day and night. That stabilises the insulin levels from the glucose in his feed, and if you have removed the stressors he should level out quickly. I removed my fellow from grass completely, because grass sugars were his main problem. But I also realised that he had been eating competitively with his sisters and that he felt responsible for looking after his sisters. Here, he is happier living apart from my other horses. In the first few days I fed him little and often, six feeds of haylage a day. After that, I wired up a hayrack so that he only had tiny holes to eat through. After four days he stopped eating as if he was starving and began to eat like a normal horse.
His feet are getting stronger and stronger every day, with thicker and thicker soles, so I am pretty sure that we have the insulin resistance under control because of his foot development and his eating behaviour. In another two months I expect him to have grown completely new feet and all signs of laminitic issues to be gone. But he is barefoot, you will not get foot growth and laminar reattachment that fast if your horse is shod.
Good luck, these horses aren't easy to deal with.
ps the navicular is pretty certain to be on its way out, that was the easy bit.
If your horse is doing what mine did, eating as if he had not seen food for a month (this is a symptom of IR), then you probably need to do what I did to get him stable. The key was to feed him less per day than he had been eating (he was slightly overweight), but to slow down his eating so that he was trickle feeding all day and night. That stabilises the insulin levels from the glucose in his feed, and if you have removed the stressors he should level out quickly. I removed my fellow from grass completely, because grass sugars were his main problem. But I also realised that he had been eating competitively with his sisters and that he felt responsible for looking after his sisters. Here, he is happier living apart from my other horses. In the first few days I fed him little and often, six feeds of haylage a day. After that, I wired up a hayrack so that he only had tiny holes to eat through. After four days he stopped eating as if he was starving and began to eat like a normal horse.
His feet are getting stronger and stronger every day, with thicker and thicker soles, so I am pretty sure that we have the insulin resistance under control because of his foot development and his eating behaviour. In another two months I expect him to have grown completely new feet and all signs of laminitic issues to be gone. But he is barefoot, you will not get foot growth and laminar reattachment that fast if your horse is shod.
Good luck, these horses aren't easy to deal with.
ps the navicular is pretty certain to be on its way out, that was the easy bit.
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mrdarcy
Well-Known Member
No one knows more about IR in horses than Jackie Taylor and the other members of the Metabolic Horse Yahoo discussion group. Jackie is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful - either email her privately or join the discussion group and post on there. The link to the Yahoo group is here:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/themetabolichorse/
and Jackie's own website is here:
http://www.metabolichorse.co.uk/
Both are a mine of information and should be able to answer any questions you have.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/themetabolichorse/
and Jackie's own website is here:
http://www.metabolichorse.co.uk/
Both are a mine of information and should be able to answer any questions you have.
soloequestrian
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your replies!
It's my ongoing recovery-from-septic-pedal-osteitis horse who became IR as a result of the stress/operation. She is behaving completely normally now but is still on metformin. I was booked in to have her blood taken for an insulin test yesterday but the vet rang and said that she would need to be starved for 12 hours before the blood was taken. This of course would cause her stress, and especially given the probable cause of the condition, I didn't want to do that, so I was wondering about just taking her off the drug without testing - she has been home for about 6 weeks now so her corticosteroids and therefore her insulin levels should have returned to normal. The vet has now said though that we could get away with starving her for just two hours before the test, which I can manage, so I think I will have it done just for peace of mind.
I will have a good look at the Metabolic Horse site. Cptrayes, do you plan to publish your case study anywhere once the horse is fully recovered?
It's my ongoing recovery-from-septic-pedal-osteitis horse who became IR as a result of the stress/operation. She is behaving completely normally now but is still on metformin. I was booked in to have her blood taken for an insulin test yesterday but the vet rang and said that she would need to be starved for 12 hours before the blood was taken. This of course would cause her stress, and especially given the probable cause of the condition, I didn't want to do that, so I was wondering about just taking her off the drug without testing - she has been home for about 6 weeks now so her corticosteroids and therefore her insulin levels should have returned to normal. The vet has now said though that we could get away with starving her for just two hours before the test, which I can manage, so I think I will have it done just for peace of mind.
I will have a good look at the Metabolic Horse site. Cptrayes, do you plan to publish your case study anywhere once the horse is fully recovered?
mrdarcy
Well-Known Member
Email what you've posted above to Jackie Taylor (either privately or on the discussion group) and she will be able to advise the best way forward re testing or taking off metaformin - she usually answers very quickly. Good luck.
cptrayes
Well-Known Member
I am documenting his progress daily on smartiesdiary.blogspot.com My friend Nic is running the navicular trial which will be documented to academic standards. I'm only doing this one because he was going to be put down, for my own experience and, hopefully, the satisfaction of saving his life.
(Note to trolls: I accept all constructive and politely put comments, but I would like to know who you are. I have had to delete one abusive anonymous post recently and since it is my blog and I have full control of it, please note that posts will be deleted without response if I find them in the slightest offensive.)
(Note to trolls: I accept all constructive and politely put comments, but I would like to know who you are. I have had to delete one abusive anonymous post recently and since it is my blog and I have full control of it, please note that posts will be deleted without response if I find them in the slightest offensive.)