Your horse’s health is our top priority! Maintaining a healthy diet for your horse is extremely important to prevent health issues such as Insulin Resistance. Insulin Resistance, also known as I.R, is a serious condition in which your horse’s cells become less sensitive to insulin, causing the pancreas to be overworked and the body to have an overabundance of glucose in the blood. Insulin is an important cluster of cells that is created by the pancreas. It helps to manage the metabolism of sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. As the amount of sugars in the bloodstream increase, insulin must be increased as well in order to break down these amounts of sugars. If the pancreas and/or insulin aren’t functioning properly, this can cause some serious problems for your horse. This is why the key to controlling insulin production and carbohydrate metabolism is by eating the right foods in the proper amounts. The Heiro program is an incredible asset for your horse by helping to manage or prevent Insulin Resistance while providing proper nutrition.

Because I.R. is such a serious condition that can greatly impact your horse’s body, it’s important to look out for the outward signs of insulin resistance. Some key signs to look for are:

• Abnormal fat deposits along the crest, romp, and above the eyes
• Excessive drinking or urinating
• Excessive appetite
• Laminitis (an inflammation of the tissues that bond the hoof wall to the bone)

In order to manage or prevent insulin resistant horses, there are three important things that need to be watched closely: 

 

• Diet
• Exercise
• Hooves

Diet and Exercise: It all starts and ends with diet and exercise. Insulin can be managed through monitoring these important activities. Make sure that your horse’s diet is nutritionally balanced with minerals and essential fatty acids like that provided in the Heiro diet. This helps to monitor the production and absorption of the insulin into the horse’s body. Increased exercise is also important because when exercise increases, the glucose and insulin levels in the blood decrease.

Hooves: Hoof management is important because many horses who are insulin resistant have laminitis, a painful hoof condition. As the hoof is properly maintained and trimmed, this can help with the discomfort and in turn, help your horse to exercise more freely.

Insulin resistant horses and the resulting laminitis can greatly disturb your horse’s happiness and well-being. This is why a Heiro diet in combination with exercise is so important. For a free veterinary consult and for more diet tips for insulin resistant horses, click here!