-
Wren Update
Thank you so much for this information! I’ve shared and shared with others. I don’t tell them what to do, I just say look up THA and read and listen to the podcasts.
When our vet came in March for routine vaccines/Coggins, his glucose was 232…yikes! This was after I started SBM and soaking hay. I hate to think what it was before. Scary! She came 5-weeks later, and it was down to 151. She is going to return for another test the first part of July. I believe he will continue to show improvement because I’m doing everything advocated and getting results. When Wren and I play at liberty, he actually offers to canter without me asking.
Thank you so much! Wren’s person, Linda.
-
3 Replies
-
Blood glucose (BG) is highly variable due to the time of day, the time taken after a meal, stress, and other factors, such as how well they slept. Therefore, BG is not a good marker of metabolic health.
Here is what I copied from Equus Magazine to explain it further: “Glucose. This sugar is an energy source inside the horse’s cells. Serum glucose fluctuates widely in normal individuals, in response to factors such as stress, pain or recent feeding, so an elevated reading on a single test isn’t necessarily significant. However, chronically elevated levels of glucose may also indicate a metabolic disorder, such as insulin resistance (IR).”
A better blood value to look at is blood insulin. A random sample may not be as indicative of metabolic syndrome as a sample taken after fasting or one taken after a glucose load challenge. Both of these are a better marker of IR or “dysregulation.”
ACTH level is another marker associated with “Cushing’s Disease” and should be looked at along with insulin from an oral glucose test (OGT). These values, when compared over time, will give you a better picture as the results are less variable. But most importantly, your evaluation of how the horse is doing is the best indicator of metabolic health. Body fat loss, gain in muscle, and athletic performance (willingness to move, for example), tell more about how healthy the horse is.
Here is another pasted copy of information from Merck: “Horses with EMS respond to high carbohydrate meals with an exaggerated increase in insulin, a higher than expected blood glucose level, and a very slow return of blood glucose concentrations to baseline values. This indicates a resistance to the peripheral effects of insulin (EMS) and/or an inability to metabolize oral carbohydrate normally (insulin dysregulation).”
I think I’ll address this on the next Thursday Zoom meeting. Thanks for this update, and please, let us know if the vet is also testing for these other values or using the OGT. Doc T
-
It was a blood draw at 1 PM. He had his soaked hay and SBM around 8 AM. His ACTH was good. Yes, the real result is having a little Morgan that is no longer in pain and wants to move and play.
I’ve kept a journal during this 6-year quest to find help. (It’s an interesting read.) I truly believe THA saved Wren’s life and I tell everyone I meet. Thank you so much!!! Linda
-
🤠👍
-
-
Log in to reply.