cushings ems and overweight

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kellykelbe

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I have a 12hh pony who currently weighs 254kg she has just been diagnosed with cushings and equine metabolic syndrome after as an attack of laminitis. The vet has said that i need to get her to lose weight. She is currently on soaked hay and hifi lite with farrier formula which the vet said is fine but what I want to know is how much hay and hi fi should i be feeding her as i dont want to under feed her. She is not out on any grass at the moment any ideas? She is overweight BUT she has no muscle on her withers bless her
 
To lose weight slowly your pony will need 1.5% of her current weight in feed per day,that's 3.8 kg a day to incude all hay,hifi and farriers formula.Best to use scales for the bucket feed and a spring balance scale for haynets.Divide the hay into lots of small portions and make sure the farriers formula provides all of pony's vit\min requirements.Do join the facebook group for ems\ppid horses and look at their website the laminitis site,its a great group and you will be guided through all your queries.
 
Agree with oldgreymare in regard to feeding amounts. Lots of exercise is also really important to help shift the weight. If she is very unfit start off by just walking her out everyday for 20mins and gradually build this up to include lots of trotting which is great for weight loss. Exercise has also been shown to help improve insulin response which will keep laminitis at bay.
 
It is very important for weight loss that a horse is exercised. If the pony has not been ridden in a while I would start off by walking her out for an hour per day for a month. Try and go up hills if you can. Then introduce trotting in small amounts and build up over the course of a few weeks to 30 mins of trotting per ride. Thereafter you can begin cantering.

In terms of weight loss there is only so much you can do with diet. Exercise will accelerate weight loss and get this pony in a healthier shape. There is no excuse for diet-related laminitis. Ponies these days stand idle in the field when they should be out about using up energy. I can tell you right now that there is no danger of under feeding this pony.This concern may have lead to it being over-fed in the past.
 
I have a pony out on loan 14.2hh welsh D x with EMS. At 18 he was a fit and healthy chap until I sold him, he was not exercised enough and became fat and laminitic for the first time in his life, he was then diagnosed with EMS.

He also has sensitivity to any hay even soaked.

He lives out but the key to keeping his weight down is purely down to the fact his loaner exercises him on LONG hacks!!! An hour hack doesnt make a jot of difference to him, but fast buzzy hacks (as he is just that type) make sure he stays lean!!! Exercise all the way where possible xxxxx
 
Thanks excerise i know is important but she can not do long hacks being that my young daughter cannot go out on her own and to be honest she wouldnt be able to hold her if she cantered not many can. I do lots of lunging and walking and she is used in the school lots of trotting the vet said it was important not to underfeed her too much otherwise it will mess with the insulin remember she is not out on grass so i can not starve her.
 
kellykelbe said:
Thanks excerise i know is important but she can not do long hacks being that my young daughter cannot go out on her own and to be honest she wouldnt be able to hold her if she cantered not many can. I do lots of lunging and walking and she is used in the school lots of trotting the vet said it was important not to underfeed her too much otherwise it will mess with the insulin remember she is not out on grass so i can not starve her.
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Well at the very least you should try and increase the pony's exercise as much as you are able. Lunge it for longer and in trot/canter. At least 30 minutes each time. You need to get the pony's heart and respiration rate up in order to burn off energy. Shorter hard sessions are probably better than ambling about anyway!
 
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