Originally had some luck with Heiro, then it quit working.
Switched to InsulinWise, it did absolutely nothing.
The Old Man just started on Thyro-L this morning, we will see if it does anything.
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Interesting as Quiessence did nothing for my pony.
Heiro and the supplement I linked above have made the most difference.
I had no success with InsulinWise, either. He wouldn’t eat it so I had to (carefully) syringe it and it didn’t do a thing for his insulin numbers. In fact, he had a minor laminitic episode while he was on it (I am not blaming the product in any way- he just needed a lot of changes to his feed and medication). He’s a senior PPID/IR Thoroughbred who is not an easy keeper and I was eventually able to get his numbers under control with diet, exercise, and careful evaluation of his Prascend dosage.
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@JB
Check my math…TC Balancer at 8.8 ppm Chromium per label x 1lb serving = 4.0 mg per 1-lb serving. Ingredients list chromium source as chromium propionate.
Seems like TC Balancer is intentionally targeting the recommended dose for EMS horse? So no (documented) benefit in additional supplementation? (How nice!)
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Quiessence made my two blow up like ballons! Weight gain and puffy sheaths.
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Correct, they intentionally formulated that amount at that serving. IIRC, the research on this showed no benefit of more, though offhand I can’t remember if they looked at less than 4mg to compare that way
New Bolton’s top vets told me it was a waste of money and not to bother with my horse. I know people swear by it, but I guess the research doesn’t support it.
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Same for my pony. His sheath blew up like a balloon.
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I wasn’t convinced (due to the many ‘did nothing’ reviews on various sites) that InsulinWise was worth it, so I chose 707 MetaStable instead, has a more comprehensive ingredient list (I think??) to help with IR.
I’m about to start my fatty on it but am already making other changes as well (diet /more exercise) so it might be hard to tell (if/when his number lowers) as to what made the most difference and/or if MetaStable helped at all.
My vet recommended InsulinWise – she has metabolic horses of her own and uses it – so it must work to some degree on some horses.
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this is really what this is about
Any time you’re looking at a supplement to affect a medical issue, nothing is guaranteed. Some are more likely to work better, for longer, for more individuals, than most.
The problem with supplements is that even if the ingredient in question does have legit research to support its use, does the supplement have enough of it in it? Often not.
But even when it does, I pretty much guarantee there’s no natural ingredient out there with the research showing it does its intended job in 95% of the test subjects (for example), because these conditions just aren’t that simple
So - improving insulin sensitivity (which may or may not result in weight loss), helping arthritis, helping RAO, helping insect sensitivity, they’re all likely to help some % of the population, but probably not most.
Which means - you just gotta pick one and go from there.
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You may want to try Canagliflozin (Invokana). There was a study done on either minis or ponies, which might guide you on the dose. There are 2 sizes to the human pills. My horse got the 300mg. It is more expensive than the compounded Stelgatro (you can save some money ordering from a foreign pharmacy for a different brand name), but some have reported it’s more effective for as yet unknown reasons. It was the one my vet was most experienced with.
My horse was only high normal at baseline (but failed the Karo syrup test and had increasing fat pads and other signs), and his insulin came down to 18. I’ve been able to keep him off the meds by maintaining weight loss, but I do monitor insulin periodically, especially in winter.
It’s easy to administer at 1 pill a day. Doesn’t seem to have any objectionable taste—usually just put it in a piece of banana.
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I’m curious as to why you check it more frequently in the winter. I agree w doing that. However, my local vet says no, and two years ago, we wound up w laminitis in Feb. She was slightly more receptive to testing last winter. It’s important I maintain the relationship for a variety of reasons.
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I’m interested in the compounded pergolide. Where does everyone get there’s? Chewy has powder and liquid (which would make life easier if I could avoid the dosing syringe + molasses everyday!). They even have the liquid in marshmallow flavor. 
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I order from chewy. The compounded flavors are a massive hit in my super picky pony.
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Insulin-wise worked great for my Hippo Haffy, but it took a while, like over a year, for it to really kick in. He was super obese when I got him and my friend who is also a vet recommended it. I thought it wasn’t working but kept him on it and slowly but surely the weight came off, he even has a tiny bit of wither now he didn’t have before. He can also eat more than when he first came without putting on weight, and tolerate a bit of pasture, too, so he will be on it forever. But I did not confirm with blood tests, just what I’m seeing.
His newer Haffy sister is on the same journey, so I’m not discouraged that I’m not seeing instant results quiet yet.
Best of luck with yours!
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My guy tested just slightly above normal (insulin 24.9) for the first time this spring, so maybe it is working for him because of that? Or in combination with his other body chemistry?
I know Tylenol doesn’t do much for me, but other people find it works better than Advil. Different bodies!
And definitely no sheath swelling on my guy since we started Quiessence, or I’d drop the supplement in a heartbeat–he has minor castration scar adhesion and even at the start of a teeny-tiny bean forming he tells me ALL ABOUT IT. 
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Vet’s coming Monday for another IL. I’ll ask her about the Canagliflozin. Thanks, it’s good to have another option if I need it.
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Yes, referenced research shows 2-4mg benefits, >4 mg, no benefit (the study evaluated 0, 2, 4, 8 mg doses).
I can’t decide whether I’m happy to know my at-risk horse is already receiving adequate chromium supplementation through TC Balancer or sad to learn that this isn’t another supplement “knob” to turn for risk management.
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There is a natural seasonal rise in insulin from Dec thru February.
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You will need a GoodRx coupon for it if you go that route. That was the best price I could find. It is incredibly expensive. I did a couple weeks filling from Walgreens to make sure my horse was doing well on it. Then I ordered from overseas through a pharmacy my vet recommended. Not all of them will fill animal prescriptions. The “cheap” price was less than $300 for 90 days. I don’t know how the tariff situation is going to affect that, but even doubling the price is less than you’d pay here.
I stocked up last fall just in case and so far haven’t needed to use it. His insulin did go up to 60 in December, but we were going to do a long haul move for the winter, and I was worried about the stress (he always loses weight on the trailer) plus dehydration. As you know, they pee more to process the glucose. I tested again in Feb and it was down to 33 which is ok for him with the right diet and a good body weight. He definitely can’t get below 20 without meds, but it got to a point where I was either going to need to stop the meds or increase his food a good bit, and I opted to try stopping the meds and keep the diet the same since he is not one to really eat much more hay than he’s getting so that would have meant adding possibly less safe foods for calories. There are some who you can’t take off meds safely and you just have to start feeding them more if they start to lose too much condition.
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