Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hi Drin - One of my higher mileage horses is insulin resistant.  You
should have your vet test for it to see for sure.  Either way, if
you are experiencing symptoms it is better to make some changes now
before you have a more serious health issue.  

Check out the

Equine Cushings list in yahoo groups. If you subscribe they will send
you a lot of stuff to read.

Have your feed tested: 
Equi-Analytical Labs. 
I have had all of my hay and feed (grain type stuff) tested so that I
know what the values are.  Fortunately, the hay I've been feeding
for years from both suppliers is ideal; however I did make some changes
in how I feed each type (see below).  I found that some of my
complete feeds were high in NSC, even though low in sugar so are now also
on the 'do not feed' list.  

There are a lot of great articles on the
safergrass.org
 website.

For daily maintenance on my IR horse I do this: 

1)  No pasture; or - very limited grazing only in ideal conditions
2)  No grains or complete feeds unless I have had them tested and
know they are appropriate
3)  No carrots, apples or treats with sugar
4)  Keep him leaner
5)  Keep the hooves trimmed every 4 weeks, toes short
6)  Before I knew the hay test results, I soaked before feeding (hay
nets or laundry baskets work well for this)   
7)  Any beet pulp that is fed is

soaked and rinsed to remove sugars
8)  I stick with straight grass now - NO alfalfa, not even in a mix

Of course, if you are competing then during periods of work it's okay to
add in a few of those things that they don't get on a daily basis. 
Even a horse that isn't IR can have hoof sensitivity if they are fed a
diet high in sugars and carbs.  Some of the minor changes I've made
have benefited all of my horses, so it's all good.  Horses never
allow you to stop learning!  :)   

Karen