Obesity

Jun 28

6/28/21

“Fat DOES NOT = Healthy”

Let's talk about equine obesity for a moment...

Did you know it is estimated that over 20% of horses in the US are obese?

Well, it's true. And chances are, you could have an obese horse or know someone who does.... often without realizing it!

This topic isn't fun for me as a nutritionist because no one likes to hear that their horse is overweight, fleshy, fat, obese, or "metabolically efficient" (<-- my favorite gentle way of saying your horse is fat).

But I owe it to my clients to be honest and help them get their overweight horses into a healthy body condition. IT IS possible... especially with my help.

As horse owners we need to realize that equine obesity is a metabolic ticking timebomb. When fat accumulates, it acts as an endocrine organ that promotes a pro-inflammatory state in the body.

Deleterious consequences that can arise as a result excess adipose (fat) tissue in your horse include:

Equine Metabolic Syndrome
insulin dysregulation
laminitis
osteoarthritis
decreased athletic performance
poor ability to thermoregulate
the list could go on...

So what can you do?

The first step is being able to identify whether or not your horse is overweight, obese or just right. You can use this free presentation to learn more about body condition scoring: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../NM... Passcode: =4Zf#.0h

(sorry for bad sound quality in a few spots... my internet connection is terrible! )

The next step is creating a program that gets your horse back to healthy body condition. This will take guided direction from a nutritionist and your vet. This effort is a process but your horse's health, wellbeing and longevity depend on this action.

With this, I encourage you all to learn how to body condition score your horses and give it a try next time you see them. If their score is a 7 or higher, it's time for a new nutrition and exercise plan!