The Diet Connection
I think it is
well accepted knowledge that diet plays a huge factor when it comes
to overall health. The Chinese have said for many centuries that you
are what you eat and you are what you breathe. If one does not eat a
healthy diet, a breakdown in health often follows. Eating excess
sugars and carbohydrates leading to Type II diabetes is a typical
example.
Horses, just like people, are not
immune from this. In fact horses and humans often develop similar
health issue because of the kind of diet they are on, and are
generally treated with the same medications and diet modifications.
In horses Type II diabetes is generally referred to as Insulin
resistance or metabolic syndrome.
Horses did
not evolve to eat cereal grains and sugars and most do not need them
in their diet. The workload is usually the deciding factor, but even
then, it is possible apparently for some horses to maintain well on
primarily a forage diet. I do not think that horses even evolved to
be primarily grass eaters. Horses are more like browsers. They eat a
variety of plants, including weeds, such as dandelions, or firs and
gorse (a form of Scotch broom in Britain). I think for optimum
health, a horse's diet should ideally be as close as possible to
what nature intended.
Most health issue in horses that are diet related,
come form a diet that is high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs),
also known as simple starches and sugars. Pete Ramey refers to it as
"Horse Candy". Not all horses are equally susceptible, but many are,
and those who are, tend to be the "easy keepers".
(Note: there's current debate which carbohydrates are actually
responsible for the health issues listed below, as they are not all
the same. It probably eventually comes down to which feeds induce a
high glycemic response when digested).
Research has now linked excess NSCs to conditions
such as
-
Equine
Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (EPSM)
- Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis (RER)
- Metabolic Syndrome or Insulin Resistance
-
Developmental
Orthopedic Disease (DOD)
- Gastric and Colonic ulcers
NSCs and Hoof Health
What has not yet been linked through research,
but what my trimmer (Pete Ramey too, among others) and I
frequently observe, is a possible strong link between NSCs and "subclinical"
hoof problems. We all know how serious it can be if horses
overload on grain or grasses that are high in sugars. It appears
however, that even small amounts can cause negative changes in
hooves, in horses who are sensitive to sugars in their diet,
again generally the "easy keepers". They tend to be tender
footed and/or have a tendency to bruise easily and develop
abscesses, suffer from white line disease, without ever
developing full blown laminitis, causing their owners to believe
that the horse needs shoes to be sound when in fact the diet is
the root cause.
Personal Experiences:
Two Arabs had developed a serious case of
laminitis on pasture grass and some grain. They were
successfully turned around with correct trimming and diet
modifications (removed all excess sugars), but had a relapse
approximately 2 months later. This was traced directly to a
new load of local hay. Our local hay is usually low in NSCs,
but it was obviously too much for those Arabs. The horses
improved immediately, when the owner started soaking the hay
and are still doing very well - barefoot!
Another barefoot horse (QH) developed and
illness that affected his appetite. in desperation the owner
started feeding a grain mix. Within a few days this horse
became sore footed, but improved just as quickly when the
offending feed was removed.
My trimmer worked on a TB who had been
rescued off the track. His feet improved beautifully until
my trimmer noticed that the sole had come down from one trim
to the next. This is usually an indication that the internal
hoof structures weakened somewhat and allowed for this negative
change. The feet had lost all their concavity. What had
changed? The owner had started feeding a cheap
grain/molasses mixture since the last trim.
I believe that a diet that is high in NSCs and
that is fed to sugar sensitive horses, can cause a "subclinical"
weakening of the internal hoof structures which then manifests
itself in conditions such as susceptibility to white line
disease, bruising and abscessing and being more tender footed.
Other Diet Related Health/Behavioral Problems
Spooking
I
have an American Saddlebred/QH x Selle Francais cross. He
does not tolerate grain or alfalfa. He is a 16.2 hh horse
who ever only received 2 lbs of grain/day and one flake of
alfalfa Am and PM. It made him excessively spooky and caused
him to develop EPSM symptoms. In hindsight I now also know
that it was probably the contributing factor of his 2005
right front suspensory strain - running on a sugar high in
his pasture, sliding in the mud and thereby probably hyper
extending the right front suspensory.
Spookiness that makes no sense, is often
diet related and due to excess sugars in the diet. If a
horse is truly scared about an object, they will be
consistent about it until they have learned to trust the
object. Diet related spooking is very inconsistent. The same
object is usually spooky one day, not the next, but spooky
again on the third. In addition the horse tends to
"overreact" to perceived dangers.
Behavioral or Diet related?
In addition to spooking and being over
reactive, excess energy from the diet can also cause a horse
to be more prone to bucking and bolting, having an inability
to focus when working, be more fretful in the stall (causing
excess weight loss) and become more ornery or even
aggressive in some cases.
Most
owners are quick to assume that those traits are behavioral
without considering that diet may be a factor. Often the
connection is found by chance, when diet modification become
necessary, due to a lay up for example, as it was the case
with my horse. He was out 24/7 and stall rest was not an
option when he injured the suspensory. I had to change his
diet to keep him sensible so he could heal. Not long after
the change I noticed that the following behaviors/symptoms
started to disappear:
- Being more aggressive
- Over reactive
- Inability to focus
- Inconsistent spookiness
- Balkiness under saddle
- Not being able to keep up with me
when walking next to me
- Increased grooming sensitivity over
hindquarters
- Excessively pulling hind legs away
when being trimmed and shod
- Stringhalt type movement with the right
hind leg
- Susceptibility to bruising
It took about 6 months for all the
EPSM symptoms to completely disappear. I also
noticed then a change in muscle tone. He used to look
more like a body builder with inflated muscles - he
simply looked tight all over. Now his muscles have
become more pliable and his whole body looks loser.
I now know, that when I see horse's
with similar tight muscle tone, they are probably
affected by a diet that is too high in NSCs for this
particular horse and this is usually confirmed upon
further investigation.
Supplements
Horses should be supplemented as
needed but avoid over supplementation. For
example, it is important that your horse gets enough
selenium, as it is needed for proper muscle, thyroid and
immune function. If in doubt consult your veterinarian
and test for it.
Be aware that the joint supplement
glucosamine can push an insulin resistance horse into
laminitis because glucosamine is actually a sugar amino
acid.
Additional information concerning
equine diets and diet related issues:
Safer Grass.Org
PSSM....Could my horse have it?
Pete Ramey Article on Laminitis
For the Love of Horses - Articles on Metabolic
Syndrome
Muscle Disorders: Untying The Knots through
Nutrition
Alfalfa for Distance Horses
High Octane Diets
Overactive and Underweight
Food for Thought: Digestive Health
From The Horse - Feeding to Prevent & Control
Disease, August 2006
Take-Home Message
There are some general trends in feeding your
horse that can help him be healthier, and detailed nutritional
management regimens to control specific diseases. If you have
questions about your individual horse's nutritional management,
discuss them with your veterinarian or an equine nutrition
consultant.
GENERAL FEEDING
RECOMMENDATIONS
As you read through the nutritional
recommendations for many of the ailments that plague horses, you
might notice common threads used to manage or prevent many
problems. One of the primary considerations mentioned by all
these experts is the danger of overfeeding, particularly a diet
rich in carbohydrates or grain. To best keep your horse “as
healthy as a horse,” dietary strategies should follow some basic
and simple rules:
-
Feed at least 1–2% of the diet as fiber
(hay and/or pasture), that is 10–20 pounds per day for a
1,000-pound horse (in other words feed 1-2% of the horse's
ideal body weight in forage/fiber).
-
Feed small amounts at frequent intervals
or free-choice forage rather than relying on twice-a-day
feeding with long intervals of fasting.
-
Feed primarily grass hay and supplement
with small amounts of alfalfa only when necessary.
-
Integrate fat supplements and/or high-fat
feeds to substitute for calories previously provided in
grain.
-
Limit grain to as little as possible, not
exceeding four pounds per feeding for a 1,000-pound horse,
but better yet, use substitute feeds (fat, alfalfa) instead
of grains.
-
Minimize extraneous feed additives and
minerals so you feed only what is necessary to constitute a
balanced ration.
-
Have feed analysis done at a lab to
obtain specific nutrient content if in doubt.
-
Consult with an equine nutritional
specialist to tailor a diet specifically for each individual
horse.
-
Exercise the horse or provide regular
turnout as often as possible.
With these dietary practices, you really will
possess the magic elixir to cure many equine ills and to achieve
the best performance your horse has to offer. —Nancy S. Loving, DVM (reprinted
with permission)
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