When choosing a suitable compound feed look for feeds low in NSC and high in fibre with appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals to balance the diet and support an older horse. In many cases feeds that are labeled as senior feeds are also high in NSC content and should be avoided when feeding a horse with Cushings disease.
Try and keep them fit with a target body condition score of 5 out of 9 on the Henneke Body Condition Scale for horses.
What do you feed a horse with cushings. With PPID there is not a one-type-fits-all diet and you must consider the age weight activity level and body condition of the individual horse when determining the right diet but Purina Animal Nutrition has multiple premium horse feeds that have been successfully fed to horses diagnosed with Cushings disease including but not limited to. Equine Senior Equine Senior Active WellSolve LS and. Decisions about the diet may also be dependent on whether the horse or pony has suffered from laminitis in the past.
Pergolide especially at higher doses can affect appetite with horses going off their food and eating something for a while before going off it. Rather than constantly changing the overall diet it is worth adding extras to tempt them like cinnamon fenugreek mint apple juice or blended or grated apples carrots or bananas. Horses with PPID and a moderate body condition score without evidence of insulin resistance can essentially be fed as normal horses to maintain body condition and prevent obesity.
The need for supplementary feed will depend upon the individual horses metabolism and available pasture or hay. If extra energy is needed feeds with moderate carbohydrate content fed in small meals are acceptable. Some horses may do well on just a balancer pellet rather than a traditional feed.
For a pony or horse suspected of having Equine Metabolic Syndrome EMS or diagnosed with Cushings Syndrome diet and exercise management is essential. Try and keep them fit with a target body condition score of 5 out of 9 on the Henneke Body Condition Scale for horses. Feed little and often and encourage them to eat slowly to avoid large peaks.
The goal in feeding a horse with Cushings is to limit the intake of nonstructural carbohydrates NSC feeds such as the sugars and starches found in grains. In many cases feeds that are labeled as senior feeds are also high in NSC content and should be avoided when feeding a horse with Cushings disease. Horses and ponies diagnosed with PPIDCushings Disease should be fed a low sugar and starch diet.
As alfalfa is naturally low in both sugar and starch there are a number of feeds in our range that are suitable. Your horses diet should be balanced and provide a level of energy appropriate to your horses condition and workload not all horses with PPIDCushings Disease are overweight. SafeChoice has been used successfully for horses with Cushings Syndrome when fed with appropriate forage and fed as directed with moderate meal size.
Key to forage selection is avoiding cool season grasses that are high in NSC content. We also use Life Design Senior with a. Choose fibre based feeds that are low in sugar and starch and that are approved by The Laminitis Trust.
Have your forage analysed for water soluble carbohydrate sugar. It isnt just used for horses with cushings hormonal mare and riggy males are also given this supplement to balance hormone levels. You can purchase this from most horsey feed shops and many big brands have it listed in the ingredients in their Stroppy mare supplements.
Sugar cubes apples sweet feed and other things high in carbohydrates and sugars should be eliminated. Instead feed your horse a diet that is high in protein and fiber. Seek out types of feeds that meet your requirements or find feeds specially formulated for horses with Cushings disease.
Your horse should also be given vitamins and minerals such as salt magnesium chromium vanadium and sulfur. For feeding Cushings or Equine Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction PPID horses have a lower ability to digest and tolerate nonstructural carbohydrates starches and sugars. Consider appropriate complexed trace minerals and vitamin C in your horses diet.
It is recommended to limit starch to. Since timothy grass pellets or alfalfa pellets can. Feeding horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction PPID also known as equine Cushings disease can sometimes be difficult because horses affected with PPID are often older underweight and may have insulin resistance with or without recurrent laminitis.
When feeding horses with Equine Cushings Disease its important to keep the following in mind. Reduce grazing Cutting down on the amount of grass your horse eats will avoid any sudden increases in carbohydrates that can cause a bout of laminitis. You shouldnt restrict the amount of hay your horse eats though.
This guide will provide you with really useful information and some great feeding ideas. To download your FREE guide to feeding a horse with Cushings disease simply complete a few short details on the form below. As with all the information we provide we hope it will give you the answers you need.
If any question is left unanswered please do not hesitate to contact our expert nutritional team who will be. When choosing a suitable compound feed look for feeds low in NSC and high in fibre with appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals to balance the diet and support an older horse.