Premier Horse Agistment

Split Rock Mountain

The photo above is of Jessie with a ration of Bisset Bluegrass hay

Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is an endocrine disorder involving abnormal blood insulin levels (insulin dysregulation) along with obesity and reduced ability to lose weight.

EMS has a genetic component. Many horses and ponies can graze fresh green grass ad lib without any problem. But breeds of horses that have evolved in harsh climates, such as ponies, Arabians, brumbies and donkeys, often metabolize sugars very efficiently to ensure their survival when it is hard to find adequate food. Welsh Mountain ponies can be observed scratching away snow, to find lichen on rocks. It is very different living here in southeast Queensland, with a season such as we are experiencing this year. It is a little like being let loose in the chocolate shop!

Hence some horses must be confined during spring and summer to prevent them having access to green grass. Fresh grass is high in a range of sugars, including mono-, di-and poly saccharides and fructans. When these animals consume and metabolize these sugars, their systems produce higher than normal levels of insulin, in response to high blood sugar levels.

While abnormally high insulin levels can make an animal very unwell, with symptoms including lethargy, frequent urination and failure to lose weight, the most serious consequence of EMS is the development of laminitis. 

Laminitis affects the tissues (laminae) bonding the hoof wall to the pedal bone, located inside the hoof. This causes significant mechanical damage to the hoof and results in the pedal bone rotating forward and down, or ‘sinking,’ within the hoof under the weight of the horse. In extreme cases the pedal bone may penetrate the sole of the hoof. Laminitis is an excruciatingly painful and potentially fatal condition.