For those of you who have no grass in winter, do you keep feeding the insulinwise ? Horse is otherwise on low sugar (tested) hay with a ration balancer. On grass in summer with grazing muzzle hence the insulin wise.
Yes I have. My vet told me to keep them on it year round even while doing other measures to lower the insulin levels. However Iām seriously considering stopping it for one of mine (I have 2 on it) as he was started on steglatro. I have mine tested every 3-4 months and I really am not sure of itās effectiveness at this point. Any improvement Iāve seen seemed to be related to soaking and med changes, not the IW but vet still wants me to continue with it.
1 Like
My IR pony has decided she wonāt eat the Insulin Wise anymore. She ate it for months with no problems but now wonāt touch her feed if the IW is in it. Not sure if it helped or notā¦poniesā¦go figure.
2 Likes
We started one on it in the summer (no grass in summer, grass just started coming in now) on our vetās recommendation. So yes, we give it in the dry season.
1 Like
Mine is on it year round.
1 Like
I have one that wonāt touch it any more. I have another on it year round. I, too, wonder about effectiveness but Iām afraid to stop.
1 Like
I had my older IR mare on Metaboleeze for several months this year, after a course of Thyro-L to help her lose weight. She did well on it but this fall was dropping weight so we pulled her off it. Metaboleeze is what my vet recommended. Itās a mineral supplement mostly and one of the few with the clinical level of chromium.
2 Likes
Iām also afraid to stop. Mini was down to 50 from 77 with 1/2 steglatro and last week he was increased to a full dose. If at the next blood draw he is normal, I think I will stop it. Itās expensive to have 2 on it along with their other pills.
1 Like
Iām curious about your dosage of Steglatro. Is yours a 15 mg pill? We used it this summer and the weight fell off of him (Iām thinking of trying itš). Heās not on it now; Iām still quite curious about the dose. I purchased ot through Good RX which helped a bit.
Heās a mini so they started him on 2.5mg. He now on 5mg which is the standard mini dose. I think it may be too much for him, heās peeing A LOT and he is really amped up. He always was a hot one but wowza, heās back to his colthood 
. The vet said this is good, but she doesnāt have to deal with him! My pharmacy wonāt take the GoodRX coupon for steglatro because heās a āpetā (but they will take it for his other stuff).
1 Like
Thank you!
1 Like
I donāt feed it, but there is evidence that shows there is a natural seasonal rise in insulin from Dec-Feb, so even though there is no grass, Iād keep using it.
Going to test my guy soon to see if he needs to go back on canagliflozin for winter, though my vet was still pleased with the look of his neck at fall vaccine time. Heās not at his lightest at the moment, but heās still at least 75 pounds lighter than his heaviest.
2 Likes
Iāve read this too. My horse tested positive for PPID and IR this spring. The Prascend brought the insulin down some but not enough, so my vet put him on Insulinwise. Iām keeping him on it through the winter.
1 Like
This is a great thread. Thank you, everyone.
1 Like
We should have an ongoing thread for those with Metabolic horses, tips and new meds, questions and venting. Itās so difficult to deal with these horses. We all need a pat on the back or a hankie to cry into one in awhile from those who get it.
5 Likes
Agreed 1000 times!
1 Like
Well, I suspect Feronia has PPID, so I may start one if someone else doesnāt first. Vet is coming tomorrow to draw blood and take hoof X-Rays. No signs of laminitis; I get them done once or twice a year because she has very steep pasterns which means scary P3 angles.
Sheās lost her topline in the past few months and developed that weird ribby but big belly thing that PPID horses sometimes get. After ages as a pretty easy keeper, weāve added 4 pounds of TC Senior to her daily ration, and she now has hay 24/7 in small hole nets, and sheās not really gaining weight. Sheās always drank a lot of water and peed a lot, but BO says this is increasing. And her winter coat isā¦ strange, for lack of a better word. Sheās running a bit warm; sheās in a dry lot with a shed, low tonight is supposed to be 20 degrees, and sheās in a 100g with neck cover, because a medium would be too much.
Nonetheless, she was quite happy on our 4 mile walk today, once she warmed up. Most walks are 2 to 2 1/2 miles, but I try for something longer once a week. She is a super hiking companion as long as I go at her speed.
2 Likes
My PPID pony has a strange coat, itās not the usual āCushingāsā coat, thick and wavy. His is sparse and coarse and oddly different lengths. Itās better this year than last but itās embarrassingly ugly, poor boy. He also has that āribbyā look even tho the rest of his body is the proper weight. My farrier got after me because he thought he was getting too lean because his ribs show if he bends, so I had the vets check him out and they said āheās fine, heās got fat pads, so no fatter!!!ā Itās so hard with the weight/body shape and I get paranoid people will think Iām not attending to him. Heās on Prascend and Metformin and IW, a combo of tim pellets, hay, and chopped hay totalled at 2% of his body weight plus a vitamin supp and vitamin E. He has soy allergies which makes finding a ration balancer difficult.
He foundered 4 years ago, he gets around ok but needs boots on gravel. I still do walks with him and some agility, which he likes and like Feronia, heās happy.
Good luck with Feroniaās tests. Keep me posted!
2 Likes
