My girl has not been officially diagnosed as IR but tends to have symptoms such as being an easy keeper. She currently has some fat pads on the shoulders and in the tail area. Most of her issues have been in the hooves such as white line separation and ouchy when on grass.

She is in a boarding situation and so 24 hour hay is impossible. I did purchase her a nibble net which helps to slow her down.

Current diet:

3 lbs TLC lite divided twice daily
Alfalfa hay pellets added for volume, same amount as TLC

3 flakes brome/1 flake alfalfa 2x daily

Current supplements are Glanzen 3, probiotic

I'd like to add Smartcontrol IR pellets and switch the Glanzen to Bioflax 20 and add some salt. I don't think a probiotic is needed with this since there are probiotics and digestive enzymes in the IR pellets.

She gets the supplements in beet pulp once daily.

I just want to verify that that combination is safe and going to be beneficial. Thank you!

Kimberly

Where are you from? Kansas

Then again... would it just be better to stop the TCL and just do SmartVite EZ keeper with the alfalfa pellets? I have to keep with supplements that I can get in the smartpaks because the barn staff rotate and she ends up getting the wrong amounts.

3 lbs alfalfa pellets
Smartvite EZ keeper
Smartcontrol IR
Bioflax 20

3 flakes brome/1 flake alfalfa

Soaked beet pulp with supplements.

Kimberly

Where are you from? Kansas

Hello Kimberly,

I see overlaps between the two Smart Pak products, so go with the Smart Control IR and the BioFlax20.

She probably doesn't require the additional beet pulp if she is already overweight. This is simply adding more calories. You can mix the supplements with moistened alfalfa pellets.

I do have to let you know that restricting hay is keeping her insulin levels high, which is preventing her from losing body fat. So, as long as she goes for periods of time with an empty stomach, she will continue to release higher levels of cortisol (stress hormone) which not only keep her metabolic syndrome a problem, but can induce a laminitis attack, due to elevated insulin.

I know you board her, but not all boarding situations are out of touch with how horses are meant to eat -- they need to graze on forage at all times. Many informed barn managers are aware of this. But, many are not, as you are experiencing. Perhaps you could lend them a copy of my book?

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio