Feeding an EMS pony with no energy?

Tiarella

Tiarella

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Hi, just to clarify my pony has not been tested for ems/Cushings but is treated as one.

Basically this year as a turning 11 year old my boy has some fat pads on neck(always had a big neck as gelded late) shoulders, over ribs(further back) and on his hindquaters. Nothing horrendous but they are noticeable when he is standing. He hasn't had these before so I am treating him as a typical ems case.

He is on limited grazing, although have very good grass all year in around an 80x20 size patch at the moment, was strip grazed but no longer moving fence. Fed a sprinkle of molasses free Alfa a just to mix with supp and a large soaked for 12 hours hay in 2 haylage nets to slow him right down. Have only started soaking net for a week so hoping this will improve matters in the next few weeks. He is worked 6 days a week, and is fit and happy but since cutting everything down he is as dead as a dodo.

What is there I can do to keep his energy levels up but being on diet? I have spent hours googling and speaking to other people and not sure these fat pads will actually go?

Would you involve a vet?

Was thinking of using naf energ?

Any ideas welcome? It's not really a case of getting him fitter than he already is (ideas suggested on Internet) because he wants to work and carry on for me but he just dies on me and really struggles to carry on bless him.

Eta - he is a low level 'competition pony' so not a happy hacker. Jumping up to 90, nov/elem dr and hopefully some 70/80 eventing.
 
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What are his current supplements?
Naf EnerG is a high iron supplement and for most of the UK, iron levels in forage/grazing are already higher than ideal, so unless your horse has been diagnosed as iron-deficient, I would be a bit wary of trying it. It does have Cu and Zn too, but the levels of iron would put me off.

There is some anecdotal evidence that feeding magnesium can help with fat pads, so that may be worth a try, also extra vit E and chromium are sometimes suggested for EMS.
 
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I would involve a vet - a blood test, a glucose test. You can only guess from symptoms what is wrong and who knows? Could be something simple or something really serious. Once you know then its a much easier game!
 
Thanks for replies :)

He is just currently on suppleaze gold for his joints. I was feeding him lo-cal but he was putting on weight so currently has no vit/min supp as not sure what to give! - any (cheap) recommendations welcome!

I was going to try and control myself first before involving vet for tests etc.
 
My pony is quite similar to yours, he is currently being tested for EMS and Cushings just in case. We give him soaked hay and he is fed Spillers Lite Balancer along with a small handful of Hi Fi Lite chaff and Speedi Beet. Speedi Beet provides the energy he needs without making him 'fizzy'. There is a lot of soluble fibre, mostly pectins in Speedi-Beet, which means its fibre is more easily digested than that found in forage like hay. This makes it a great source of slow release energy, perfect for competition horses. However Speedi-Beet is starch free and low in sugar therefore suitable for laminitics and approved by the laminitis trust. We used NAF Energy shots last season for competing and eventing and they worked well however I have not used it as a daily supplement. We did use Propel towards the start of last year as well. In the summer he is on restricted grazing with a muzzle.
http://www.britishhorsefeeds.com/
Probably didn't help at all but I hope it did! X
 
rachaelstar said:
Thanks, it's nice to hear from someone with a potential EMS comp pony too. How much speedibeet do you feed?
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No problem, it's quite difficult controlling everything and it's horrible not to be able to feed him as much but sometimes I think I have to be cruel to be kind as I know it will help him in the long run, especially as he is a bit of a porker at the minute!
I soak the Speedi-Beet the previous night and make up the feeds when I arrive at the yard. The ponies get a half scoop (I use the big purple scoops/sorry can't remember how much they hold!) and they have half a scoop in each feed so they are basically having a scoop per day.
I get a lot of help from the nutritionist at British Horse Feeds to help me work out a balanced diet for my pony, however I do know Speedi-Beet takes a while to digest so I know that my pony will have something digesting through his gut at all times. If you want any contact details for the nutritionist PM me and I would be happy to help :) x
 
Mag not just used as a calmer - if def didn't make Frank worse!

I use equimins advanced complete - it is very palatable to the point that ours will take the pellets from my hand so no other feed needed necessarily.

It is difficult though, I think F needs to come off his oats before proper spring but I will miss the extra oomph!
 
My Welsh was diagnosed towards the end of last year,he was fit,not too fat but had a crest and fat pads,he went down with Laminitis overnight.He was Cushings tested which was clear and the vet suggested doing the Glucose test as was no explanation as to why he had gone down with it.The result should have been below 80,he was 200 and I was so shocked.He had been drinking a lot but just thought that was because he hard been working hard and weather had been so warm,I have to say he was very sluggish until I had totally turned his feed around and about 3 weeks later he was def a lot sharper.I personally would get yours properly tested,mine was high only on the Glucose test so vet did not want him going on medication.He was changed to Hi Fi Molasses Free,Hi Fibre Nuts and Baileys Lo Cal Balancer.We have to watch him as he has been treated for Ulcers.His hay is soaked for minimum 6 hours.He has 2 decent haynets a day and as much time out as possible.Since changing his feed and having his levels under control he has not put weight back on and looks really fit as well as having loads of energy.All of mine get Naf General Purpose Supplement.
I got told to feed Speedi Beet for more energy if needed.
Diamantejumper-I took him off the Dengie Hi Fi Lite as the sugar content is not much less than normal Hi Fi-it is only about 3% different whereas I changed to Hi Fi Molasses Free which is only about 1-2% Sugar altogether which can make a big difference.
My boy does Affiliated Dressage.Good Luck.
 
fusspot said:
My Welsh was diagnosed towards the end of last year,he was fit,not too fat but had a crest and fat pads,he went down with Laminitis overnight.He was Cushings tested which was clear and the vet suggested doing the Glucose test as was no explanation as to why he had gone down with it.The result should have been below 80,he was 200 and I was so shocked.He had been drinking a lot but just thought that was because he hard been working hard and weather had been so warm,I have to say he was very sluggish until I had totally turned his feed around and about 3 weeks later he was def a lot sharper.I personally would get yours properly tested,mine was high only on the Glucose test so vet did not want him going on medication.He was changed to Hi Fi Molasses Free,Hi Fibre Nuts and Baileys Lo Cal Balancer.We have to watch him as he has been treated for Ulcers.His hay is soaked for minimum 6 hours.He has 2 decent haynets a day and as much time out as possible.Since changing his feed and having his levels under control he has not put weight back on and looks really fit as well as having loads of energy.All of mine get Naf General Purpose Supplement.
I got told to feed Speedi Beet for more energy if needed.
Diamantejumper-I took him off the Dengie Hi Fi Lite as the sugar content is not much less than normal Hi Fi-it is only about 3% different whereas I changed to Hi Fi Molasses Free which is only about 1-2% Sugar altogether which can make a big difference.
My boy does Affiliated Dressage.Good Luck.
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Thanks for letting me know about that, haven't heard of the molasses free before but will have to look into it a bit more once we have finished using the Hi Fi Lite. As you say even a little bit of sugar makes a difference. We were advised by our vet to use the Lite because we had to use it as a total hay replacer at one point. Interesting to hear a different opinion though, do you find that your horse prefers one over the other?
 
My boy eats both quite happily,the Molasses Free is looser and almost has a few pellets in it,mine is a bit of a pig with hard feed though!When you feel the difference the Lite def feels a lot stickier.My vet hadn't heard of it as don't think it's been out that long and she could not believe the difference in Sugar amount,she is doing a study on the EMS/Glucose Intolerance and now recommends the Molasses Free to any that she comes across.
 
fusspot said:
My boy eats both quite happily,the Molasses Free is looser and almost has a few pellets in it,mine is a bit of a pig with hard feed though!When you feel the difference the Lite def feels a lot stickier.My vet hadn't heard of it as don't think it's been out that long and she could not believe the difference in Sugar amount,she is doing a study on the EMS/Glucose Intolerance and now recommends the Molasses Free to any that she comes across.
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That's great, thank you for your help! Definatley something else to try. :)
 
PLease get him checked out by the vet for PPID (cushngs) and EMS, no energy sounds like PPID, classic sign and no amount of feed will correct it, your horse will need Prascend and you will be amazed at the difference! You can feed magnesium but it will help to shift fat pads on your horse. Please refer to the laminitis site for all info concerning lethergy, PPID, EMS and feeds to help, plus facts. There is also a facebook page link on there if you actually want human contact!
 
If he is positive for PPID ( cushings ) or EMS, you wont notice a difference at all, Doesnt sound like you are being very fair to your horse, Prascend is the only thing that will help him, that and diet overhaul to get rid of Fat pads...Good luck to your horse
 
Micky said:
If he is positive for PPID ( cushings ) or EMS, you wont notice a difference at all, Doesnt sound like you are being very fair to your horse, Prascend is the only thing that will help him, that and diet overhaul to get rid of Fat pads...Good luck to your horse
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I think you misunderstood me slightly. Since reducing grass/hay/feed he has become sluggish. He has always been chilled but not sluggish.
 
HappyHooves said:
I would involve a vet - a blood test, a glucose test. You can only guess from symptoms what is wrong and who knows? Could be something simple or something really serious. Once you know then its a much easier game!
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How lucky to have a owner like you.Think above correct .could ask vet B12 for energy and corn oil if worried weight.
 
diamantejumper said:
No problem, it's quite difficult controlling everything and it's horrible not to be able to feed him as much but sometimes I think I have to be cruel to be kind as I know it will help him in the long run, especially as he is a bit of a porker at the minute!
I soak the Speedi-Beet the previous night and make up the feeds when I arrive at the yard. The ponies get a half scoop (I use the big purple scoops/sorry can't remember how much they hold!) and they have half a scoop in each feed so they are basically having a scoop per day.
I get a lot of help from the nutritionist at British Horse Feeds to help me work out a balanced diet for my pony, however I do know Speedi- Beet takes a while to digest so I know that my pony will have something digesting through his gut at all times. If you want any contact details for the nutritionist PM me and I would be happy to help :) x
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Forgive me hear not being rude but my 15hh cob was only allowed one handfull speedi beet vets instructions.One scoop you sure ?
 
I would get the Vet and have tests as well to be honest. I have an EMS / Cushings horse and she can lack energy on her low cal diet as well, she is a hack but I am sure she could not compete on her current diet its a very difficult one to juggle.
 
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