This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "Krist Martinsen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Has anyone had a horse with a high glucose level and any experience with a > horse that insulin resistance, especially in terms of having a foal? This > Fjord mare has just had a extremely thorough physical presale exam. > Everything checked out okay except the glucose which came in at 120. The > potential buyer felt that this might interfere with her being able to foal. > Mare is 18 years old and is somewhat overweight which may be a factor. She > did have a foal three years ago. Several articles in Horse Journal suggest > that giving 3 teaspoons of magnesium may help. Any input on this? Thanks > > Krist in Northwest Washington State
Vets and horsemen are becoming better educated about insulin resistance, "metabolic syndrome", etc---but things are still in the experimental stage. When our vet was out to do dental work last week, she looked at all 3 of my critters (2 Fjord geldings and a pinto jenny), and chanted "more work, less food---and get some magnesium into them". So, I did some research---it's probably not that simple. For instance, chromium is also important, as well as other supporting nutrition. Check out articles on www.foxdenequine.com and www.safergrass.org . The rainy parts of the Pacific Northwest have a problem with soils being deficient in minerals (including magnesium) and the grass (hence hay) being high in sugar. That's a bad combination for Fjords, who are the "poster children" for insulin resistance---breeds that evolved to survive on limited food, by storing up all spare calories for later. My old Nansy mare was sold to me at age 17, in part because she was a "poor breeder" (only one foal in many years of trying), and always overweight. I tried dieting her, with variable success; Thyro-L (she tested low on thyroid, sometimes) helped for a while; eventually, she was diagnosed with Cushings (flunked the dex-supression test). Now, she would probably be diagnosed as insulin resistant, and managed differently. No, I never tried to breed her. The potential buyer you mentioned is probably justified in backing away from a pudgy late-teenage mare that might be insulin resistant. She could probably be made ridable, but I doubt that the "research" (mostly anecdotal at this point) is far enough along to know if such a mare would become breedable, when supplemented correctly. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon
