I would like to write about a subject near and dear to my heart – food. It is near and dear to all of our horses’ hearts as well. Too many times we want to show our affection with treats or bigger helpings of the foods they love. This is true in people as well, and in both species many health problems have resulted from overfeeding.
We have found that a horse’s fat can begin to act like it is a separate organ, producing its own hormones and regulating the body’s ability to store energy. The more fat an animal has, the more the body will want to store fat, making it possible for people like Richard Simmons to have a job.
Diabetes develops when the fat no longer listens to the signals sent by other parts of the body about when to store and when to burn the energy stored as fat. The body will then send out these signals louder and louder to convince the fat to obey. This causes many problems for the body because these signals also cue other important events in the body. Diabetes comes about due to these signals, and this causes problems in places such as the feet, the kidneys, the liver, and sometimes the heart and brain.
When considering this problem, there are two important things to remember. First, this condition is almost completely avoidable by simply adhering to an appropriate diet; and second, this condition is much more difficult to recover from than to prevent. A horse is at its appropriate weight if you can easily feel your horse’s ribs, but not see them. Most horses should be on pasture or fed grass hay and, if needed, a fat source such as rice bran, beet pulp, or corn oil may be added. Your horse may be “doing fine” on straight alfalfa, but I could easily survive on McDonalds’ Big Macs all the time as well (see “Supersize Me”).
Make changes in your horse’s diet gradually, and then continue with that diet for a month to know if the change is working. In order to lose weight, a horse must intake 10-25% less than what it absolutely requires, so remember this – we as veterinarians see far fewer problems from horses that are 10% underweight than those that are 10% over weight. If you truly love them and want what is best for them, feed them correctly so that they will be healthy for years to come.