Care Tips for Metabolic Horse

Mine was also in a greenguard when the laminitis started. He was in a very grassy 20 acre field/woods with 3 other horses for 12-18 hours a day depending if he decided to come to the gate at dinner time. Ideal turnout for those that aren’t easy keepers :frowning:.

GG does make a “diet insert” now though which I have on hand. We were at a “camp” type weekend and they did offer turnout but it was on grass and I used it then. Otherwise for normal turnout on hay, I just use the standard.

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Green guard and flexible filly. The FF are all “rebuilt.” We add extra connections between the “petals” to give it more structure.

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For low sugar treats- whole peanuts in shell (sounds weird but my horses love them) or celery stalks

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I’ll have to try that! I normally just use hay pellets and he also likes Nutri Good low sugar snax.

The peanuts are awesome since they are so cheap compared to regular horse treats lol and a bag seems to last forever

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That’s what I was thinking!!

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Ooo I didn’t know this was a thing! I do like the green guard generally in terms of structure and ventilation. The one I posted above gets waterlogged and I actually have several I rotate to keep it clean and dry.

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My pony shredded flexible filly in a few hours. And they aren’t cheap for what they are. He now angles his head and steps on each one to test shear strength of each. :roll_eyes:

If you’re concerned about the ration balancer, and I understand that finding reliable sources for feed can be challenging in the northern areas of most of our provinces, try Mad Barn’s Omneity P. In fact, Mad Barn will work with you to formulate the best diet for your specific horse, AND they ship to everywhere in the country, so you don’t have to have in-store access. The EMS and PPID mare I have does very well on Omneity and W3 oil, and alfalfa hay. She does wear a Greenguard muzzle for the 14 hours per day that she’s turned out on pasture, and that’s been a miracle. She occasionally gets it off, maybe twice in 6 or 7 months, so very seldom, and it’s 3 years old and hasn’t been damaged yet. It’s a good thing, because she’s maintained on 2 tablets of Prascend per day, and that alone is really expensive.

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Mine too!!!

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Clever pony! Sorry about that very frustrating when you really need the muzzle to work.

My metabolic horse LOVES teff pellets, so I use those for treats! He can basically have as many as he wants so I use them as training rewards and as a carrier for his supplements.

I use Mad Barn Amino Trace Plus and have been super happy with it.

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To clarify: he had the greenguard on and foundered with that amount of grass, or you put the greenguard on after he had foundered? I am super hesitant to ever put my horse on grass again but had considered the greenguard as one option if I did want to try pasture again.

He got it while wearing the GG :frowning:

If you’re worried, I’d recommend picking up their diet insert. That limits their access by quite a bit more than without. He was also on an idyllic lush green green pasture, for up to 18 hours a day with no competition for grass as added factors.

I wouldn’t put an easy keeper on that type of turnout again after that experience.

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If you are feeding grass hay, be sure to soak it for at least an hour to remove the sugar from it. It is higher in sugar than say Alfalfa or Teff (not tiff) hay.

Oof, that is rough. Sorry to hear that and I hope he’s doing well now.

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I’m using GG for two of mine and a thin line for two others. If your horse doesn’t test the muzzle the thin line are the best. They are the lightest weight. But, if your horse is naughty it can figure out how to eat sideways out of it or step on it and rip it in two.
I was very skeptical about the GG but it’s been wonderful so far. My chestnut mare has decided it’s acceptable and has not gotten a rub from it. And my naughty pony gelding has tried to step on it to remove it several times and has not succeeded in removal.

Depends on the hay. I just got a load of fresh (beautiful and smells GREAT) Orchard grass. I had it tested and it came back at 7.2% NSC. My vet said there was no need to soak at that level. She wants it definitely below 12% and preferably below 10%.

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He fully recovered in a few months thankfully! I’m much more cautious of his turnout environment and hours now though that’s for sure!

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