By Gary Joiner
Editor

There are two conditions of ponies and older horses that have many equine owners desperate for help.

The syndromes are called pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID)—formerly equine Cushing’s disease—and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS).
The conditions can lead to laminitis and then founder.

A huge struggle for owners is finding the right hay to feed.

Not until recently did animal health professionals identify a common cause of the problems—high levels of insulin in the blood.

In PPID, horses have a growth on the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. The growth produces hormones that increase levels of insulin in the blood.

In EMS, horses and ponies of any age have Insulin Dysregulation, or hyperinsulinemia. Many gain weight easily, although thin horses may also have high insulin levels. These horses and ponies are called “easy keepers.”

Dr. Bob Judd, a veterinarian in Hewitt who is board-certified in equine practice, has worked on horses since 1980. He also hosts Texas Vet News on the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.

He said it’s estimated as many as 20 percent of horses 15 years and older have PPID.

Common symptoms of PPID are a lack of shedding of the horse, increased water consumption and urination, increased susceptibility to infection and, probably the most important, Judd said, laminitis and subsequent founder.

There is critical once-a-day medication available for horses that test positive for PPID.

Judd said if the horse is also hyperinsulinemic, either as a result of PPID or EMS, it’s important the horse receive the right nutrition.

“You need to be careful about the nutrition the horse gets. It needs a ration with less than 10 percent non-structural carbohydrates,” Judd said. “This includes the hay, the grain and it includes the pasture. But, unfortunately, most of these horses that are insulin-resistant cannot have pasture.”
It’s easier said than done in finding the right hay for these circumstances.

Kathryn Watts is a professional crop consultant living in Arizona. Her website, www.safergrass.com, is a leading national provider of forage information and research.

She said the vast majority of horse owners have no way to locate and purchase low-carb hay. In fact, very few hay growers actually test their bales for carbohydrates.

It’s a worldwide problem, she said.

In the absence of a test, horse owners must either soak the hay prior to feeding in an effort to lower the carbohydrate levels, find another hay or feed they can get, playing Russian roulette, she said, hoping the next batch of hay does not send their horse into another bout of lameness.

“Many horse owners can only store 15-20 bales a week. As a result, they are stuck with having to buy whatever is available in the feed store that day, whether the hay is right for their horses or not,” Watts said. “I fully believe horse owners would pay a premium to be able to go into a hay yard and select the hay that is right for their horses.”

Watts contends hay growers could use a “value-added concept” for pre-tested hay. Hay growers aren’t taking advantage of hay testing in order to reach the right owner, she said.

Judd agreed growers need to test their hay more thoroughly.

“I think it’s critical. If you’re going to produce hay, you need to know what’s going on with the hay,” he said. “A lot of people produce hay and test for crude protein, and that’s great to do. But that doesn’t tell us anything about the other nutritional aspects of the hay. And some of these test results are extremely important for horses that need a specific kind of hay.”

Equi-Analytical Laboratories offer a variety of forage test packages from its Ithaca, New York, facility. It is a Dairy One Enterprise dedicated to serving the equine community.

To evaluate carbohydrates, Equi-Analytical Laboratories offers starch, water soluble carbohydrates and ethanol soluble carbohydrates testing in a variety of packages.

“The horse community is definitely trending in the right direction by arming themselves with hay and feed analysis information, because they now realize it results in improved diet formulation decisions,” said the lab’s Forage Laboratory Chemist Michael J. Reuter. “Eviden