Monday, August 29, 2011

Horse Supplements Plus Feared Horse Ailments

By Ryan Ready


Horse Supplements along with the proper data can help keep the mount strong and good. Equine Metabolic Syndrome, formerly referred to as Peripheral Cushing's Disease, is really a hormonal problem of ponies, and more commonly ponies that have been identified in the recent past. It has some similarities with Cushing's disease, particularly in its propensity to cause laminitis. Overweight native ponies are most frequently afflicted, although it has been observed in all breeds and types. There also is a strong link with obesity. Any horse could be afflicted with EMS, but it's observed far more frequently in obese animals.

The primary problem in EMS is blood insulin resistance. The function of insulin inside the body is always to boost the usage of sugar from the bloodstream into cells, and in conjunction with glucagon plays the major part in managing glucose levels. Horses having EMS don't respond to blood insulin as they should, so sugar stays inside the blood vessels. This is quite similar to type II diabetes mellitus in people. There are also some irregularities in body fat metabolic process that can contribute to the disease, firstly, the production of steroid-like hormones by excess fat, and secondly the conversion of inactive steroid hormone back again to its active state.

This can lead to a higher than usual circulating steroid hormone blood circulation, much like Horse Cushing's disease. In previous years, a number of these horses would have been called hypothyroid ponies, because some do actually have lower thyroid hormone levels. Nevertheless, more recent studies suggest that hypothyroidism could be much more of a consequence of the problem, rather than the cause; and that not all EMS horses have reduced thyroxin concentrations. Equine Metabolic Syndrome is most likely to be recognized in horses between 8 and 18 years old. When younger EMS animals are in serious training for different competitive or extreme recreational events, and are eating just enough energy to fund the requirements for growth and also exercise, the condition might not be readily apparent.

As an EMS equine becomes less active, it may still be getting similar amounts of hay, feed and pasture, and warning signs worsen. Probably the most devastating part of Equine Metabolic Syndrome is the associated laminitis or founder, which could permanently cripple a mount. It is believed that insulin resistance is the part of EMS that predisposes horses to laminitis. Insulin resistance generally means that normal levels of blood insulin that ought to induce expected changes in target cells such as facilitating uptake of glucose from the blood by muscle, liver, fat and other tissues don't cause those expected changes.

Horse Supplements can help but you must know just what to do. The horse's pancreas then makes up by secreting higher and higher levels of insulin to trigger the required reactions in body tissues. This extra insulin causes numerous negative health consequences which equine researchers are actively studying, in hopes of discovering more effective treatments for horses which suffer from this ailment. EMS can't be cured, but the all around health, well-being, and laminitis episodes can be improved by instituting the necessary lifestyle and diet changes.




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