pistolpete
Well-Known Member
I’m struggling with understanding EMS. Forgive me for being thick but isn’t it just grossly overweight horses or natives designed to live on a poor diet? What am I missing?
EMS Please help me understand.
- Thread starter pistolpete
- Start date
PinkvSantaboots
Well-Known Member
It's like diabetes so if a horse has too much sugar sometimes they can go into a metabolic state where they can't get rid of it.
Hence why it presents as hard crests and fat pads over the body sometimes they don't necessarily look obese.
With correct management and sometimes the right drugs you can get them out of that metabolic state but it's not easy I find exercise is key for getting them out of it.
Hence why it presents as hard crests and fat pads over the body sometimes they don't necessarily look obese.
With correct management and sometimes the right drugs you can get them out of that metabolic state but it's not easy I find exercise is key for getting them out of it.
Equi
Well-Known Member
It’s to do with insulin regulation. Yes most that get it are overweight hardy types but not always.
It’s akin to type 2 diabetes.
It’s akin to type 2 diabetes.
maya2008
Well-Known Member
It was age related in our Shetland. She’s always been out on grass, unmuzzled, in full work and fine for nearly a decade. Then this crept up on her. Now she can’t eat much more than straw, has to be thinner than I ever thought a Shetland could be (we could see ribs at one point while trying to get her sound) and needs a buddy in her paddock to keep her moving all the time.
SEL
Well-Known Member
They don't have to be overweight but do tend to put weight on easily. There's probably a genetic link which is why it's often hardy, native types designed to live on moss and lichen - but you do find it in warmbloods too.
My littlest native and my old Ardennes could both pile on weight in summer but neither have / had out of the ordinary insulin or glucose levels on blood tests. They just ate themselves fat rather than being genetically predisposed
The best way to find if a skinny horse has it is to take a set of bloods, feed them glucose, wait a while and take a second set of bloods. If you have elevated insulin and glucose levels then they have EMS
My littlest native and my old Ardennes could both pile on weight in summer but neither have / had out of the ordinary insulin or glucose levels on blood tests. They just ate themselves fat rather than being genetically predisposed
The best way to find if a skinny horse has it is to take a set of bloods, feed them glucose, wait a while and take a second set of bloods. If you have elevated insulin and glucose levels then they have EMS
PinkvSantaboots
Well-Known Member
Arab's can be prone to it as well.
Highmileagecob
Well-Known Member
There was some research a while back to test 'insulin resistance.' Small number in the study were fed rations known to cause issues, and then they were injected with insulin, as you would for diabetes. Working on the theory that food intake was causing rising blood sugar, and not enough insulin response to deal with it. Every horse in the study went down with laminitis, which led researchers to conclude that food intake - blood sugar- insulin had to be kept in balance.
Imagine the horse's gut like a conveyer belt. Small handful of food every five seconds, precise amount of insulin drops on the food, food drops off the end of the belt into a bucket ready for digestion to take place.. Now increase the amount/frequency of the food. Then turn up the insulin flow to deal with it. How is the bucket looking? This basically is EMS, when more food is taken in than normal digestion can cope with. There will probably be other factors to consider, such as exercise and temperature, but in a nutshell, trickle grazing is the key.
Imagine the horse's gut like a conveyer belt. Small handful of food every five seconds, precise amount of insulin drops on the food, food drops off the end of the belt into a bucket ready for digestion to take place.. Now increase the amount/frequency of the food. Then turn up the insulin flow to deal with it. How is the bucket looking? This basically is EMS, when more food is taken in than normal digestion can cope with. There will probably be other factors to consider, such as exercise and temperature, but in a nutshell, trickle grazing is the key.