Among the many pathologies that can affect the development of horses, the Equine Metabolic Syndrome (better known as equine diabetes or EMS) can have very serious consequences. It develops especially in overweight horses with little or no physical activity. Some treatments exist, but the best solution is prevention.
WHAT IS EQUINE METABOLIC SYNDROME (EMS)?
Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is similar to type II diabetes in humans. It is a metabolic disorder in horses in which insulin no longer fulfills its role of moving glucose into the bloodstream for use by the cells. Horses are then said to be insulin resistant. Since the glucose cannot be used by the cells, it will accumulate in the blood, resulting in hyperglycemia. In turn, insulin will accumulate in the blood and cause hyperinsulinemia.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?
The causes of this disease are still unclear, but we can already identify some factors, especially genetic: “hardy” horses are more susceptible to the disease because their metabolism tends to store fat deposits easily. These breeds include the haflinger, the shetland, the fjord, the iberian horses, etc. Horses of other breeds are generally less affected, but can be if the right factors for the development of EMS are present.
The horse’s diet may also be responsible for the development of the syndrome. If the horse feed used is too high in carbohydrates (or fed in excess of the horse’s energy requirements), then this promotes obesity. For horses living in pasture, the very rich and fatty spring grass can also be a source of obesity.
The activity of the horse can also be responsible for the appearance of the syndrome, especially if the horse does not exercise any physical activity.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF EQUINE METABOLIC SYNDROME (EMS)?
Equine Metabolic Syndrome can be difficult to diagnose because some of the symptoms are common to Cushing’s syndrome. Both are hormonal diseases that cause a change in the horse’s body shape. In the case of Cushing’s syndrome, the horse may have hirsutism, which is not the case with EMS. Also, Cushing’s syndrome only affects horses over 15 years of age, so it will be ruled out as a diagnosis if the horse is younger. As for EMS, it more often affects horses between 5 and 15 years of age.
In the case of Equine Metabolic Syndrome, the following symptoms can be observed: excess and localized fat deposits (neck, shoulders, strap passage, etc.), chronic laminitis, reduced fertility in mares, obesity/overweight, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia…
To confirm the diagnosis, the veterinarian may do laboratory tests or possibly a glucose tolerance test.
WHAT TREATMENT?
Although the best treatment is prevention, there are some things that can be done to help the horse with EMS. For example, horse nutrition is a major factor in regulating excessive weight gain. The diet for horses with EMS should be very low in starch, grain, molasses or beet pulp. The Royal Horse range of feeds is available in a low starch version, under the reference H150, which contains all the horse nutrients necessary for a balanced diet, while keeping the starch content to less than 10%. It also secures the digestion of horses thanks to the presence of prebiotics and probiotics, and promotes recovery by incorporating antioxidants for horses, etc.
If a horse with EMS lives in a pasture, it will be necessary to limit its access to spring grass (even if it means placing it in a paddock without grass or limiting its grazing area) and to give it fairly poor horse fodder (chalk hay is to be avoided absolutely because it is too rich).
Apart from horse feed, it is also possible to adjust the physical activity of your horse to avoid overweight. But this is only possible if the horse does not suffer from laminitis. If this is unfortunately the case, physical activity should be avoided and the farrier should be called in to fit a suitable shoe to relieve the horse.
From a medicinal point of view, few treatments currently exist. An anti-hyperglycemic molecule used in humans, metformin, seems to give conclusive results, but in no way dispenses with the measures to be taken above.
