Overweight in horse and pony
Especially now that the grazing season has started again, we see them a lot, the horses and ponies with overweight.
This can cause serious health problems in the long run.
Do you have questions about the weight of your horse or pony? Or do you want advice? Feel free to contact us!
Insulin and overweight
Did you know that many horses and ponies are overweight? Do you recognize overweight in your horse or pony?
It is by no means always just a big belly, the fat deposits on the mane comb and at the base of the tail are important signals.
Especially in the spring when the grazing season starts again, many animals become too fat. These horses and ponies can eventually develop sugar metabolism problems, such as insulin resistance.
Insulin is very important for sugar metabolism and normally ensures an almost constant glucose level in the blood and a good distribution of nutrients in the body.
When a healthy horse eats, the nutrients are released through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, causing the insulin concentration in the blood to rise.
Insulin ensures that sugar is absorbed from the blood by muscle cells, fat cells and the liver (glycogen). In addition, insulin inhibits sugar production by the liver.
Insulin causes a reduction in the blood sugar concentration after ingestion of food through these processes.
With insulin resistance, the fat and muscle cells only respond to insulin when the concentration of glucose in the blood is unnaturally high. The cells’ insulin receptors have become less sensitive, so that a lot of glucose has to be processed in a different way.
The excess glucose in the blood is converted by the liver into fats that are distributed over the adipose tissue in the body.
It is therefore very important to ensure that your horse or pony has a healthy weight!
Read the interview with Eric Laarakker on the Phytonics website here .