[3WishesDun]

How to feed a chunky monkey an EPSM diet....

Just wondering how you deal with this hypothetically...

How would you handle increasing fat with an IR horse?
And I want to say that I read somewhere that some IR cases cannot tolerate or do worse with fat in their diet... has anyone else come across this?

(let's assume that you are exercising the horse as much as possible)

[Sue B]

Yes, I am in that delema myself....with several horses actually.

The one mare is not very severe....she has a slight hitch...like a stuck stifle...that she is fine with if she gets limited amounts of fat. I think I keep her on about a 5% calories from fat diet.

I have a much more severe Peruvian that gets worse on fat (as far as his metabolic issues go (increased crest and fat pads all orver his body). He doesn't respond any better on the high fat....so that is a wash.

In general, from the EPSM horses I have delt with, they all require different amounts of fat. If you can find the ideal and keep them there....they will not gain weight and the EPSM symptoms will go away.

One thing I question with the low fat diet....have to ask this one on the EquineCusings board....what happens to the muscles from lack of carbs...since carbs are the primary fuel.....if you don't use fat to replace it (the only other source of fuel that seems to be avaiable...then what how will the body respond to this lack of fuel?

It is a mind boggling thing. In general I know that Dr. Kellon doesn't recommend feeding IR horses high amounts of fat....not that they get worse, but that it masks the symptoms and the IR can get out of hand while tests and symptoms reveal nothing. On the other hand, Dr. Valentine recommends that all EPSM horses....even those with IR...be fed the high fat diet. She believes that it improves the IR.

Now, logically looking at these two senerios, I guess you have to decide which side of the fence to sit on....me, I sit in the middle....

[3WishesDun]

Thank you Sue!! I guess it is a balancing act you get the hang of with trial and error on each horse. I so appreciate all your thoughts. You are the best!

[RedBaron]

I'm in that same boat too with my gelding. I did tons of research and worked with Dr. Valentine who recommended I use coconut oil instead of corn oil or in combination with soybean oil as the fat source. I'm feeding Seminole Wellness Senior mix (for the increased fat) and supplementing with a custom mix from Horsetech. The custom mix consists of vitamin E and selenium, flax, wheat germ (Glanzen), a joint supplement(Reitsport) and magnesium, and chromium. This has gotten very expensive but it has been worth it. What was most interesting is my horse started to lose fat and gain muscle on the combo of coconut and soybean oil. His body started using the oils as fuel and he looks and acts like a different horse. You do have to be sure you're not dealing with a mineral deficiency because it can express itself with similar symptoms from what I understand. Also every horse is different and you may end up doing a trial and error thing testing what amounts of fat work for your horse.

[BettyBootsy]

Just wondering if something like this feed would be good or no
http://www.re-leve.com/product.html

[Gypsy Rose]

Have any of you tried beet pulp?

[angie j]

I use Beet pulp and black sunflower seeds with good results.

Angie J

[rageandglory]

what IS it that we are doing/not doing that creates the condition in the first place? looking beyond the standard diet/breeding knowns.

i have a long 6 yo gelding with IR behaviour. it has been managed and the little guy (high % of draft in his blood) is doing very well but what brought it on in the first place? what have i done/not done? i know what will aggravate IR but what STARTS it?

[doublebarr]

Originally Posted by rageandglory

what IS it that we are doing/not doing that creates the condition in the first place? looking beyond the standard diet/breeding knowns.

i have a long 6 yo gelding with IR behaviour. it has been managed and the little guy (high % of draft in his blood) is doing very well but what brought it on in the first place? what have i done/not done? i know what will aggravate IR but what STARTS it?

Honestly, IMO, I believe that these horses lines usually did not survive to propagate very long in the past. We did not have the information to understand what was happening and many had very shortened lifetimes. Thus, the chances of these horses significantly adding to the population was much slimmer. However, now we can keep them living longer, thus allowing mares and studs with these conditions to "pass them on" more often and increasing their numbers in the "general population".

Same with MANY leg/bone issues that are more prevelent today. We can "manage" them now, so they retain their position in the "breeding population".

[MyBelgianAzzy]

Magic had cushings and was on Ultium, which at the time was the latest and greatest in IR geared feeds. At 12.4% fat, it's higher than what is generally marketed at "high fat". Poor M wasn't a very good keeper due in part to ulcers, so I was trying to constantly load her up with feed without increasing the chance of irritating her ulcers. I miss her, but God she was a headache.

Anyway, M was getting Ultium, as per the directions for her weight. She was on pasture and got hay when she was in- as much as she could eat. In the winter she got beet pulp as well- there is sweetened and plain, the plain is without molasses, which is what she got- mixed in the Ultium.

I also had fabulous success with Focus WT... I'm not even sure what all is in the supplement that differentiates it from regular Focus micronutrients, but she blimped out on it. I actually cut the dose back. It was like the 1/2 scoop of Focus WT made every last bite of the other stuff we gave to her digestible and she was deriving every available calorie.

Link to details on Focus WT, which has all 5-star reviews on SmartPak... http://www.smartpakequine.com/Produc...eCategory=true