Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) ?!

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k_sandy93

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Hi H&H Readers!

Just seeking a bit of experience on EMS.

My welsh who I event with BE successfully, I have a feeling may have EMS. He got tested last July/August via a blood test however they came back normal. He does have the symptoms- a wide crest, fatty deposits (like cellulite) behind his shoulders, does pee quite a bit, struggles with his weight maintenance, and mid-season last year he suddenly started getting lethargic etc.

At this point we started to assume he was getting a bit 'bored' of competing, so didn't do as much, and put him on some Racehorse cubes just to give him a bit of lift for a Regional Final in a few weeks time. He qualified for the grassroots, came off the racehorse cubes after, and just had a BE100 to end the season. And he went straight back to being extremely lazy and not quite right again, had everything checked.

He since had a long winter break, as he deserved it. He is a super pony. Was expecting him to come back as his normal self, but is still as lethargic. Don't get me wrong, he will still do a lovely test etc, but just seems to have lost a bit of his 'sprakle', despite being on a Low Cal Balancer, & Top Spec Turbo (which we are in the middle of changing to Spillers Instant Response).

I have also just started putting him on Red Cell incase he's slightly anaemic?

But I keep looking at the EMS Symptoms, and I am convinced he has it. Wondering if anyone had any experience with it? Or if their horse has it and how it was diagnosed? I would never event a horse that is 'overweight' as it does more damage than good, but he never looks 'eventing slim', and his fatty deposits behind his shoulder always remain there.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
EMS signs & Symptoms are; abnormal deposits of fat on neck, crest, behind the shoulder, over the tail head, above the eyes and in the sheaths of males. - Insidious onset of laminitis, difficulty in weight loss, obestiy, lethergy, excessive drinking and urination. EMS is similar to type 2 diabetes in humans. The treatment is keep him exercised, which is vital and restrict calories and sugar but include essential vitamins and minerals, i.e. soaked hay with low calorie balancer. Include supplements of Vit E & C, Chromium, Biotin, Methionine, Magnesium, Taurine, Cinnamon, Fenugreek and Banaba.
Some recent research has suggested that ponies with EMS may benefit from treatment with Trilostane (Vetoryl) which has previously been used in treatment of Cushings Disease. EMS can present with normal blood tests and if so your ponies response to glucose needs to be measured. Glucose tolerance tests (CGIT or FSGIT) and fasting hyperinsulinemia. But basically if he has EMS it is good that you are keeping him excercised and his major threat is laminitis, so have a look at his diet. Hope that helps.
 
Yes, he has a crest (nothing like a stallions crest mind), but its wide as it makes it difficult to plait. He has fatty deposits like cellulite behind his shoulders, haven't looked at his eyes, but his sheath seems a little fatty (different to my other geldings), fatness over the withers and a bit at the tailhead.

He has difficulty loosing weight, as I said wouldnt event something that was overweight, but for the amount of work he will do, you would expect him to be a lot slimmer.. Been lethargic since August last season (me assuming he was bored once the EMS Bloods came back fine).

He is on Hifi Lite
Top Spec Senior Lite Balancer (just for the fact its lo-cal and has a built in joint supplement).
Ive been feeding him the Turbo and changing it to instant response to see if I can get some energy in his system, but no luck so far. But obviously this is putting starch in him (which isnt really needed). So a bit stuck, as I need the energy, without the Calories.

Im sure they did a Glucose test on him (he was starved overnight, then fed in the morning with a bit of chaff but loads of glucose). Bloods were taken after he ate it, apparently it was normal. He is exercised 5 days a week, due to the eventing season creeping up.
 
For info on EMS/IR/Cushings ( or PPID as its known now) please look at thelaminitissite. You will find a mountain of accurate information on there. EMS results can come back false negative several times. There is another blood test to be done that is more accurate. Low sugar, soaked hay, exercise and if needed (diagnosed) Metformin to get said pony back on the straight and narrow. Cannot stress enough how much info there is on this website plus a facebook page you can join for support and questions answered..
 
Has he had an ACTH test? As in the non-glucose, straight blood test? Also be careful with the Red Cell, from what I understand, iron deficiency is very rare, and unlikely on UK grazing. I would look to increase magnesium levels as a starting point rather than iron, and keep on at your vet. They need to pinpoint the problem and start him on either metformin or Prascend depending on whether you are looking at EMS or (and?!) Cushings.
 
My mare was diagnosed ems last summer,she was exactly as you describe your horse,however her glucose tolerance test was positive.Join the facebook group Micky has suggested,I did and I followed their diet advice to the letter and my mare lost weight and a follow up test about 3 months later was proof that the diet worked as the result was normal.I then relaxed the diet a bit and only now has she returned to her normal bouncy self. Good luck and pm me if you wish.PS don't feed her anything that's over 10% sugar and starch combined and be really careful with his grass intake.
 
My mare was diagnosed with EMS just before Christmas after a glucose test. Her cushings test came back with a low reading, which is why I then did the EMS test. the result of the glucose test was 776! She's never had laminitis but has always been cresty, impossible to lose weight and had fatpads over her eyes. The vet put her on 6 weeks of Metformin to "kickstart" the weightloss and I'm now soaking her hay, cutting the amount she gets as low as possible and exercising her as much as I can, given the awful weather at the moment. She has lost some weight and her neck went softer but progress has slowed since she finished the metformin and I'm beginning to worry.
 
Post by sidesaddle gives lots of useful things to try - I add fenugreek and cinnamon ( in Chinese herb format with a couple of other things). But for humans fenugreek, cinnamon, magnesium, chromium are all helpful for diabetics ( type 11) so add those in and keep exercise, even in hand 5 mins twice a day, going. There's some good info on http://www.naturallyanimals.co.uk/blog/?row=6 and scroll through to insulin resistance article.
 
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