Feeding Easy Keepers
Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc
May 1, 2010
The term “easy keepers” refers to horses and ponies that maintain or gain weight on a minimum amount of food.
The term “easy keepers” refers to horses and ponies that maintain or gain weight on a minimum amount of food.
Triheptanoin does not appear to be a good fat supplement for polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) horses.
Most people wouldn’t think of getting up from a desk job and heading off into the mountains or hill country for long hikes without first getting into condition. The same should be true for your horse.
Breed-specific growth models help fine-tune feeding recommendations for young horses in the near future.
Proteins, composed of essential and nonessential amino acids, are important nutrients for horses.
Mare nutritional status is a critical component in foal health from conception through weaning.
Reader’s question about why her Thoroughbred horse (stallion) won’t put on weight despite excellent care, and a veterinarian’s response discussing nutritional management, veterinary examinations, and genetics.
Equine obesity increases a horse’s risk for equine metabolic syndrome, laminitis, and insulin resistance. Owners can bring horses back to healthy body condition by replacing grain rations with a fiber-rich, low-carbohydrate diet, while increasing exercise to include daily workouts.
Horses that are mainly ridden on weekends require special care and training to avoid injury.
Pasture-induced laminitis (sometimes referred to as founder) can be triggered when susceptible horses ingest high amounts of sugar or fructans that are naturally found in some pasture grasses.
Susceptible horses include, but are not limited
The sport in which horses participate often dictates the body condition in which they are maintained. Polo ponies are typically sleek and trim, their fitness evident in a tight, tucked-up appearance. The same can be said of most racehorses.
Horses are better able to maintain fitness when turned out on large pasture, according to Patty Graham-Thiers, PhD, of Virginia Intermont College, Bristol, Va. She presented results of her recent study at the 2009 Equine Science Society
Oregon State Researchers suggest that a low bioavailability and a rapid rate of elimination of the drug metformin might explain the “varied reports of clinical success” for improving insulin sensitivity in horses.
Metformin is an oral
Much like humans, horses need a proper diet and adequate exercise to maintain a healthy body weight.
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A recent human study has found that tart cherry juice blend (TCJB) had beneficial effects on exercising muscle. The objective was to determine if TCJB can lessen exercise-induced muscle damage in horses, as measured by serum enzymatic markers.
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