Signs of disconfort

[Sandy_K]

Looking forward to Doc T’s reply as My OTTB (Off track Thoroughbred) also does this. She has been grain free for 2 yrs. My gelding that I wrote about being “sensitive” to SBM is also very girthy to the point that if he is girthed up too fast he will violently set back on his lead.

[Doc-t]

Girthiness is associated with colon pain which runs directly underneath the girth. There are a lot of “causes” but they boil down to a dysbiosis of the gut microflora caused by excessive glucose loads (grain, hay, pasture), gut inflammation from eating byproducts with lectins that affect the horse and all courses of stress such as shipping.

In horses that are refractory to the simple removal of all grain, grain byproducts, starch sources (apples, carrots, excessive hay), medications (non-steroidal antiinflammatories or NSAID’s like bute, Prevacox / Equiox, Banamine) and have been given at least 6 weeks to heal, sometimes they also need some medication. This includes a course of Gastroguard or Ulcerguard even though these are made for gastric ulcers. I also recommend Succeed for colonic ulcers. I am friends with the owner and he is passionate about gut health. They have a 60 day money back challenge but it is only available in the US.

We all want our horses to heal given the best environment. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. I am learning about the genetic differences in humans to glucose transport both in our cells and in our brains. It is fascinating and I will be podcasting and writing about it soon. Frankly, it is mind blowing but it helps me to explain why not all diets work the same in us or our horses.

One last thing – have either of you tried to eliminate all hay for 12 hours a day? The reasoning for this is for hormesis as well as reducing glucose intake. Limiting turnout is also an option as well as soaking the hay. The theory behind this is that even though the horse may not “look” metabolic (fat) they still may be insulin resistant. Be sure to feed them hay or pasture before you exercise as movement on an empty stomach may be a principle cause of gastric ulcers (splashing of acid within an empty stomach.

[Mary]

<font style=”vertical-align: inherit;”><font style=”vertical-align: inherit;”>Tank you DocT for your very helpful replay. At least I know now it is the colon. I didn’t took away the hay for 12 hours….so hard to do….🙂 But I have just buy Succeed powder on Ebay site and it should arrive by March 9th, cross fingers. </font></font>

[Rosie]

Doc T: I thought it wasn’t good for the horses gut to leave them without forage for more than 6+ hours? Because of the absence of their gall bladder they need multiple small meals during the day and if the stomach is empty too long aren’t they at risk for colic or ulcers?

[Doc-t]

I have not seen proof that there is a deleterious effect of not feeding a horse for 12 hours. For a long time I also told people that without a gall bladder the horse needed small meals throughout the 24 hours. However, in the artificial world horses live in today, the horse is being fed glucose (starch, sugar, carbs – all the same) continuously and the gut never gets a rest throughout the year. We must all remember that hay is a man-made idea that is only 60 years old – meaning that 60 years ago we didn’t have a lot of tractors and baling machines, interstate roads, large delivery trucks or a hay distribution system like we have now. We also didn’t have genetically modified grasses and legumes sprayed with desiccants to prevent mold. When we had a hay delivery in 1973 (when I started) it was common to have half the load rejected due to dust and mold. Now this is infrequent. And hay is delivered to south FL from western Canada!

The bottom line is that continuous feeding of glucose in excess of daily needs will start the resistance of insulin at the muscle cells. It will also alter the gut microbiome. What I am about to say here needs to be seared into all of our minds: INGESTING SUGAR IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT FOR LIFE!

There are essential amino acids and in humans, essential fatty acids (maybe not for horses?) but there are zero essential sugars. This is because all animals can make ALL the sugar they need from gluconeogenesis in the liver. If you ate zero carbs you will be OK. But if you eat carbs in excess, the glucose will 1st be stored as glycogen (needed for emergency movement and to balance gluconeogenesis), the excess within the muscle burned to remove it and the remaining left outside the cell stored as body fat due to the completely normal resistance to insulin.

However, excess glucose (starch in grains and hay) within the gut moves to the colon where it alters (lowers) the pH and therefore the microbiota and the more acid pH leads to gut inflammation / ulceration / pain. The solutions are to 1) reduce the hay fed, 2) soak the hay to remove the sugar, 3) remove the starch in grain and/or 4) reduce pasture time or quality. Of course you can also increase the amount of moderate exercise for the horse that allows for more glucose uptake but be sure the stomach has some hay in it before exercising to prevent the splashing of the stomach acid.