winnie
Well-Known Member
Now the drug has been widely used for a couple of years I wondered what percentage of horses don't respond with regards to lowering insulin.
Briefly my story is my 20 year old Dartmoor Pony came down with laminitis 2 1/2 years ago. It was caught very early and she came back sound very quickly after appropriate management. It was my fault in that I'd let her weight creep up. She is semi-feral so not ridden but used to exercise herself very well in the field until she got older. Once 100% sound again blood tests confirmed EMS and insulin of 100. Metformin was tried but had no effect on the insulin levels. I started walking her out daily, a brisk walk for a couple of miles at the most. This, plus change in diet etc caused her to lose a fair bit of weight but she still needed to lose more and her insulin remained at 100. She was also tested for Cushings and was just in the inconclusive zone so was started on prascend but again this had no effect so it was discontinued. She has remained fit and sound since her first bout of lami, no hic ups at all fortunately despite the high insulin. Then, a month ago a new vet advised trying a course of ergutliflozin which I duly did. Weight dropped off her so I was hopeful for good results but her insulin is still 100!
I hear of many "miracle" stories of horses blood insulin coming right down along with the weight. So I now wonder how many horses don't respond at all, like my pony. I did read a while ago about some research testing Shetland ponies for ACTH normal levels and they found the breed had a higher "normal" than horses, so could be misdiagnosed as having borderline cushings when in fact they don't. So maybe same for many other Natives, and perhaps "normal insulin levels" are also breed dependent but surely not as high as 100?
Briefly my story is my 20 year old Dartmoor Pony came down with laminitis 2 1/2 years ago. It was caught very early and she came back sound very quickly after appropriate management. It was my fault in that I'd let her weight creep up. She is semi-feral so not ridden but used to exercise herself very well in the field until she got older. Once 100% sound again blood tests confirmed EMS and insulin of 100. Metformin was tried but had no effect on the insulin levels. I started walking her out daily, a brisk walk for a couple of miles at the most. This, plus change in diet etc caused her to lose a fair bit of weight but she still needed to lose more and her insulin remained at 100. She was also tested for Cushings and was just in the inconclusive zone so was started on prascend but again this had no effect so it was discontinued. She has remained fit and sound since her first bout of lami, no hic ups at all fortunately despite the high insulin. Then, a month ago a new vet advised trying a course of ergutliflozin which I duly did. Weight dropped off her so I was hopeful for good results but her insulin is still 100!
I hear of many "miracle" stories of horses blood insulin coming right down along with the weight. So I now wonder how many horses don't respond at all, like my pony. I did read a while ago about some research testing Shetland ponies for ACTH normal levels and they found the breed had a higher "normal" than horses, so could be misdiagnosed as having borderline cushings when in fact they don't. So maybe same for many other Natives, and perhaps "normal insulin levels" are also breed dependent but surely not as high as 100?
Just have to keep her in work now and see how we go. (She’s not had any grass since June 
)