Archie's Weight Loss Journey

Archie joined the Weight Wise program 4 months ago to help him lose the excess weight he had gained during rehabilitation from colic surgery. 

June

July

August

September

Archie is signing off from Weight Wise, keep up the good work!! 

Mission Complete

Mission complete! I am pleased to report that Archie has reached his body condition score target of 3/5 (3.5/3/3) and a fantastic body weight loss of 36kg, the equivalent to a Giant Anteater. Archie has also been given the all clear to return to full work following his colic surgery earlier this year. Well done Archie!

We hope that Archie has helped to raise awareness with regard to equine weight management and offer some tips and advice to achieve your goals. As winter creeps ever closer, remember to use the colder months to your advantage. Native breed ponies in particular are designed to drop weight over the winter months, this allows them to come into the spring grazing season safely. Avoid over feeding and over rugging the well conditioned horse or pony during the winter.

How much weight has your horse or pony lost?

It can be hard to appreciate what the numbers really mean, so here is a fun guide to help you recognise your achievement.

Our ambassador, Archie, has lost an impressive Labrador of excess weight in his two months on the Weight Wise program!

Has your pony lost a porcupine this year, or maybe a kangaroo?

Archie makes a break for it!

Archie is clearly feeling far more active now that he is returning to work and fighting fit. With improved energy levels Archie decided to jump his fence and explore outside of his restricted grazing paddock this week! Luckily he was found swiftly and returned to his paddock, whilst looking a tad sheepish.

Despite this cheeky break in Weight Wise protocol, Archie continues to do fantastically and is well on his way to his second target of 475kg and a body condition score of 3/5.

Albert the Fjord Weighs In on Weight Wise

Albert, a very handsome Norwegian Fjord horse was seen today for a routine visit. In early June Albert was noticed to be carrying some extra weight, checking in as a body condition score of 4/5 and a weight of 500kg. Albert's owner, Sharon, has done so well following the Weight Wise scheme over the last few weeks, already smashing the first weight target of 470kg! Today Albert scored 3.5/5 and weighed in at 462kg! As his fitness continues to improve we expect he will reach his condition target of 3/5 very soon! Well done Sharon and Albert!

Sharon shared some top tips for keeping exercise fun and frequent for Albert, which has clearly been successful.
*Trailering out to different areas for hacking.
* Parelli natural horsemanship games in the paddock.
*Last but not least, Albert loves playing football! ⚽️⚽️

Not only has the increased activity helped with weight loss, it has also increased their bonding time together.

 

 

Is your dieting horse at greater risk from Ragwort poisoning?

Ragwort that is actively growing in pasture is not particularly palatable to horses due to the bitter taste, however horses and ponies that are on restricted bare grazing are more likely to investigate weeds as a possible food source. In addition to this many horses that are on low sugar diets to prevent laminitis will receive soaked hay for much of the year, please be aware that Ragwort that has been dried and baled into hay is more readily consumed and poses an increased risk for ingestion. Pulling apart hay sections can help identify material that should not be present, especially if you have recently changed your hay supply. 

 

Top facts about Ragwort poisoning.

Ragwort is a plant that we are all familiar with and spend a lot of time removing from our pastures, but why is this aspect of pasture management so important?

*Ragwort can be just as toxic to the liver when ingested in small quantities over a number of years, as it can be when large quantities are ingested.
*Dried ragwort that has been accidentally baled into hay is more palatable than growing plants and presents a hidden danger to horses.
*Effective removal and dilligent prevention of spread into agricultural land is important. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-the-spread-of-harmful-invasive-and-non-native-plants
*The symptoms of Ragwort poisoning will not become apparent until a large number of liver cells have been damaged.
*The first signs to look for in your horse will be depression, loss of body condition, poor coat, poor appetite, diarrhoea, photosensitivity - sun burn on areas of pink skin, often the muzzle and lower limbs. You may notice a yellow colour to the gums or eyes.
*The later stages of liver failure will cause behaviour changes such as aggression, circling, aimless wandering, poor coordination, head pressing against walls, noisy breathing, collapse and can prove fatal.
*Diagnosis of liver damage in horses can be performed with blood testing and biopsy of the liver under ultrasound guidance.
*The earlier the diagnosis is made the better the prognosis for survival.
*Prevention is better than cure, as well as removal of the weed from pasture please do monitor your hay content.

Archie Trots On

Today Archie received the great news that his incisional hernias have improved sufficiently for him to start trot work! Fantastic news, Archie is raring to go. While Archie was visiting our surgeon today he received a Weight Wise check up. Right on target Archie recorded 503kg on the weight tape. Body condition scoring was 3.5/5 over the neck and shoulder, 3.5/5 over the ribs and back and 4/5 over the rump.

Having achieved his first weight loss target, Archie received a second target to aim towards of 475kg and a body condition score of 3/5. Now that Archie's exercise levels will be increasing we are expecting his metabolism to improve and his muscle tone to return. Great work from Archie and Fran!

The low down:
520kg on weigh scale. 503kg on weigh tape (target 1 met).
BCS Neck/shoulder 3.5 Ribs/back 3.5 Rump 4 Overall BCS 3.5/5
Excellent improvement.
Grazing 12hrs over night with muzzle.
Feed intake 2kg/day (dry weight of hay prior to soaking).
Cleared to start trot work so exercise levels will increase and help with metabolism.
New target weight set for 475kg (weigh tape). Target BCS 3.

Looking after the locals.

We are so lucky to live and work around the beautiful New Forest National park. The New Forest ponies and other forest stock are a huge part of the park's identity.
It is important to keep a distance from all stock, avoid encouraging human interactions, particularly at road side or car park locations and never get between a mare and foal. Enjoy them from a safe distance. Feeding and stroking the ponies not only risks aggressive behaviour but can also lead to road accidents.
The National Park Authority has issued the following advice:

Ponies, donkeys, cattle & pigs: For their safety and your own please leave the animals alone - although owned and cared for by local people called commoners, they are unpredictable and best treated as wild. Please don’t feed or pet them; there is plenty of natural food and it’s best that they don’t come to rely on people’s attention. They may look friendly but they can bite and kick, especially mares with foals.

 

Please be a New Forest friendly visitor.

Top 10 conditions diagnosed at the annual health examination.

The Top 10 conditions found during your annual equine health exam.

Even the healthiest of horses will see their vet annually, this is often the time that they receive their vaccinations and dentistry. In addition to this, your vet will also examine your horse's body condition, heart, lungs and abdomen. The head, body and skin are evaluated. A free of charge oral exam can be completed and advise is given regarding nutrition, de-worming and other management strategies for the year ahead. A manure sample can also be collected for faecal worm egg count analysis, as part of your targeted worming strategy.

The vets here at The Barn Equine Surgery recently compiled a list of the top 10 conditions diagnosed at annual health exams.

10. Eye conditions.

Uveitis is a term for inflammation within the front portion of the eye. The condition may be recognised by mild discharge from one or both eyes, the eyes being held slightly closed or mild swelling of the tissue around the eye. Equine Recurrent Uveitis, if left untreated, can lead to recurrent episodes of pain and eventual blindness. It is important to differentiate this condition from mild conjunctivitis that may be caused by flies or tearing due to blocked nasolacrimal ducts (tear ducts) that can be readily flushed by your vet.

9. Degenerative Joint Disease

You may mention to the vet that you have noticed some increased stiffness when first riding your horse. Arthritis becomes more common as the horse ages. Although it is often a progressive condition, early diagnosis can lead to prompt management changes that may prolong the soundness of your horse and improve their comfort.

8. Dermatitis

Skin problems are often noted on yearly examinations. Advise and treatment options can be provided for conditions ranging from rainscald to sweet itch allergies. Sweet itch can be differentiated from those animals that are rubbing their tails due to pinworm and approprate treatment can be implemented. Mud fever (pastern dermatitis) can be differentiated from the more serious condition of pastern leukocytoclastic vasculitis, a condition specific to white legs that can extend up the pastern and include portions of the canon region of the limb. This condition can have an immune mediated element or be an early indication of photosensitivity.

7. Equine Asthma

Equine asthma, formerly known as recurrent airway obstruction, can be detected whilst in the early stages of disease, prior to performance limitation. This is an allergic disease of the airway, often triggered by environmental allergens such as mould spores, bacterial toxins, dust particles and ammonia. Sensitivity to pollens can cause a pasture associated asthma condition. Auscultation of the chest can often identify early signs of disease and environmental, feed or medical management can be implemented promptly.

6. Laminitis and hoof problems.

Many horses will develop sub-clinical hoof changes before lameness develops. Wide white lines, converging hoof rings, recurrent solar bruising and increased sensitivity to riding over hard or uneven ground can all be early signs of laminitis, that are found on annual health exams. Poor hoof quality, conformation or conditions such as thrush can also be addressed.

5. Dental conditions

A free of charge oral examination with an oral speculum (gag) can be performed at your annual exam. If dentistry is required then this can be performed. All horses should receive an oral exam every year, a sedated oral exam should be performed at the very minimum of once every 2 years, to allow accurate use of a dental probe and mirror to evaluate each tooth for signs of infundibular decay or caries, abnormal occlusal wear patterns, periodontal disease, crown fractures or disease of the dental pulp. This sort of detailed examination can not be performed fully in an unsedated horse.

                                     

4. Cancerous lumps

Sarcoids are the most common skin tumour of horses and are caused by bovine papilloma virus. Early diagnosis and removal reduces the chance of the lesions seeding around the body and improves the prognosis. Melanoma is a common tumour of grey horses and can often be found under the tail, around the mouth and infiltrating the parotid region of the throat. The majority of melanomas are benign, however malignant melanoma does occur and melanoma found in non-grey horses is often more severe. The location and size of melanoma growths are recorded to allow accurate monitoring. Squamous cell carcinoma is often found around the eye of horses lacking eyelid pigment, on the third eyelid and in male horses around the sheath and penis. This type of skin cancer can be easy to miss in the early stages, prompt treatment will improve prognosis.

3. PPID (Pars pituitary intermedia dysfunction) or Equine Cushings Disease.

This common endocrine disease is more prevalent in older horses, although it can occur at any age. A simple blood test can be used to screen for the disease and during the summer season the laboratory fees are free of charge for this blood test. The disease causes a reduced ability to fight off infection, muscle loss, a pot belly appearance, delayed shedding of the winter hair coat or the presence of guard hairs and of course, laminitis.

2. Heart murmurs or arrhythmias

Heart murmurs indicate an abnormal flow of blood through the heart, not all murmurs cause problems, however ongoing monitoring is important to detect changes in the status of the heart. This includes monitoring the rate and rhythm of the heart to allow early detection of compromised heart function.

1. Obesity

By far the most common health condition detected on health exams, that owners are often not aware of, is obesity. Obesity greatly increases the chance of your horse developing laminitis, arthritis and colic. Increased fat deposits are known to cause insulin resistance and are often a component of equine metabolic syndrome. Blood testing for insulin dysregulation is available and your vet can guide you on your nutritional and exercise management. You may consider opting for ongoing weight management with our Weight Wise Scheme. 

Helen Christian BVetMed CertAVP(EM) MRCVS

Archie's 2 week progress

As part of the weight wise scheme we encourage owners to body condition score and weigh tape their horse every 2 weeks. An update from Archie's owner, Fran, shows that Archie is certainly aiming for his slimmer of the month award. We have a fantastic loss of 14kg already, over half way to our first goal weight. Well done Archie and Fran!

Archie's Weigh In

Weigh tapes are a fantastic tool, they allow us to follow trends in our horses' weight quickly and simply. They are accurate to within 10% of your horse's body weight, a fact which must be taken into consideration. Of course if your horse holds deposits of fat at the tail head, then they could feasibly lose weight by mobilising these fat pads, without alterations being seen on the weigh tape.

When using a weigh tape here are some points to remember.
1. Always use a scientifically calibrated tape that has separate horse and pony measurements.
2. Make sure your horse is standing squarely.
3. Try and take a measurement at the same time of day on each occassion.
4. Position the tape from the lowest point of the wither to behind the elbow, this is often a diagonal line.
5. Pull the tape snug and make sure your fingers aren't underneath.
6. Make a note of your horse's weight every 2-4 weeks and plot it on a chart.

 Correct positioning of a weigh tape. 

Archie came to visit us at the practice to make use of the weigh bridge, this is a large scale suitable for horses and ponies of all sizes. We were pleased to find that the weigh bridge weight for Archie was 530kg, only a 5kg difference from his weigh tape measurement at the time. Great news!

Blood Results - A bit of a surprise.

Within a couple of days we received the results from Archie's free seasonal ACTH test for Cushings disease and his insulin and glucose levels from his dynamic insulin response test. The reason for performing these tests was to evaluate Archie's current laminitis risk status, as discussed in our earlier blog post.

Due to the excellent management by Archie's owner, Fran, we found that Archie had normal glucose and insulin levels following his meal of glucose powder in chaff. Indicating that Archie is regulating his insulin levels appropriately, when faced with sugars, such as those found in grass.

The fact that Archie is carrying larger fat deposits than normal, but is currently regulating his insulin efficiently indicates that the current feed restrictions and management practices are working to tell Archie's body that he is in a negative energy balance and he needs to metabolise those fat stores.

Insulin resistance occurs naturally in the majority of UK native breeds, as they gain body fat they become more insulin resistant, leading to higher circulating levels of the hormone insulin. High insulin levels trigger the body to store fat in deposits rather than break it down. This would allow these native breeds to store fat whilst grass was available and therefore to survive through cold winters with poor sparse grazing. However our local native breeds are far from facing exteme feed shortages or snow covered fells, this cycle of insulin resistance triggering further fat deposition, causing increasing insulin resistance, is a difficult cycle to break. High levels of the circulating hormone insulin can directly trigger laminitis in otherwise healthy horses (De Laat et al, 2010).

Welsh ponies and other native breeds such as these, are naturally insulin resistant. 

The second part of Archie's results revealed a bit of a surprise. Archie's ACTH value was 41pg/ml, normal being <29pg/ml for this time of year. This indicates that Archie has evidence of Pars Pituitary Intermedia Dysfunction, more commonly referred to as Cushing's disease.

Archie is currently not showing symptoms of Cushing's disease. We know the disease is very common in horses over 15 years of age and we believe it starts to occur quite some time before it is detectable on ACTH tests. In horses that show symptoms of Cushing's disease, but have a normal ACTH reading a more sensitive test known as a TRH stimulation tests can be performed to pick up early cases.

The symptoms of Cushings disease are mild to start with and include a loss of topline muscle, a pot belly appearance and fat deposits in the hollow above the eye. Delayed hair shedding or long guard hairs are often seen. Increased drinking, sweating and lethargy can develop. The disease causes suppression of the immune system leading to increased worm burdens, gum disease, delayed healing of wounds or corneal ulcers and recurrent respiratory infections. The disease can also lead to hyperinsulinaema and laminitis. Horses can develop both Cushing's disease and Equine Metabolic Syndrome, the combination of which leads to a high laminitis risk.

As Archie is full of beans and not showing current symptoms of the disease he will be monitored with a follow up blood test during the Autumn, when testing of ACTH is even more accurate. Archie's owner will be monitoring him closely for any of the clinical signs mentioned and when neccesary Archie will be able to start treatment with pergolide tablets to restore normal ACTH levels and counteract the symptoms of disease. The diagnosis does not alter Archie's current management or his ability to continue with rehabilitation and return to eventing.

Reference

De Laat et al (2010) Equine laminitis: induced by 48 hour hyperinsulinaemia in standardbred horses. Equine veterinary journal 42 129-135

Archie's First Weight Wise Visit

What to expect at your first weight wise visit.

Firstly it is important for those who have received a glucose feed for dynamic insulin resistance testing, that blood is drawn at 2 hours from the feed being consumed. Therefore that was the first step in Archie's visit.

 

Secondly a body condition score was determined in three sections. We use the Caroll and Huntington scoring system, scoring out of 5. The ideal body condition score being between 2 and 3. We use half scores to allow greater accuracy.

 

Score	Section 1 Neck, withers and shoulder.	Section 2 Back and ribs	Section 3 Tail head and pelvis
0	Ewe neck which is slack and narrow at the base. Bone structure easily visible.	Individual ribs and vertebrae visible and easily felt. Tissue either side of backbone sunken.	Rump is sunken – angular pelvis and tight skin – deep cavity under the tail.
1	Ewe neck still narrow and slack. Bone structure well defined.	Ribs and vertebrae visible.	Rump sunken but skin is supple. Hip bones visible. Deep depression under the tail.
2	Neck narrow and firm blending smoothly ith the body. Withers rounded over the top.	Ribs just visible, backbone well covered, vertebrae still felt.	Fat around tail head – rump flat either side of backbone – slight cavity under the tail.
3	Firm neck with some fat deposits, no crest. Some fat behind the shoulder.	Ribs covered but still felt, no gutter along back.	Fat around the tail, rump rounded, no gutter along backbone.
4	Wide firm neck with a slight crest. Filling of fat along withers and behind shoulder.	Need firm pressure to feel ribs, gutter along the back to the tail.	Pelvis only felt with firm pressure, gutter along backbone to tailhead.
5	Very wide and firm crest, bulging fat over withers and shoulder.	Cannot feel the ribs, deep gutter along the back.	Cannot feel pelvis, deep gutter along backbone.

Archie was graded as a condition score of 4 in the first section, 3 in the mid section and 4 over his rump.

The next step was to record his body weight with a weight tape. Weight tapes are a useful tool for measuring trends in your horse's weight. They are accurate to within 10% of body weight. On the weight tape Archie was recorded as a body weight of 525kg.

An initial target to work towards was set as 500kg. As this target is approached, Archie's body condition score will be evaluated. Aiming for a score of 2-3 in all sections. On occassion, target's will then need to be adjusted for that individual. Condition scoring is a vital part of weight management and often of more value than a numerical weight measurement.

As a feed intake of 2%-2.5% of bodyweight will maintain a horse at their current weight, in the instance where weight reduction is required then a feed intake of 1.5% can be used under veterinary guidance. Archie will therefore be aiming at a dry weight feed intake of 7.9kg per 24 hour period. This is made up of grazing time, soaked hay and a small amount of fibre based feed.

Grazing time of 8 hours on summer grass equates to approximately 7.5kg dry matter and 76MJ caloric content. With a grazing muzzle used for the duration in a small paddock size this can be reduced by 25% to a dry intake of 5.6kg, leaving Archie with a 2.3kg allowance for the dry weight of his hay and dry weight of his low sugar, high fibre hard feed. Luggage scales work perfectly for weighing hay nets and feed buckets.

Archie's owner, Fran, has already instituted several great methods for helping with weight loss;

• Grazing muzzle.
• Using grass that has been previously grazed.
• Soaking hay for 12 hours, draining and rinsing away sugar water.
• Bedding on shavings to avoid eating straw.
• Using a trickle net to make hay last longer when stabled over night.

 

With the Weight Wise program Archie will receive a veterinary evaluation every 6 to 8 weeks. Archie's owner Fran will body condition score and weigh tape Archie every 2 weeks and the data will be plotted on an electronic Weight Wise graph at his next visit.

Laminitis Risk Analysis

Although there are numerous benefits to maintaining a healthy body weight, our prime concern as equine practitioners is to prevent laminitis from occuring. With a proactive approach to the nationwide problem of horse obesity, we hope to make changes to reduce the prevalence of laminitis, a painful, debilitating and at times, fatal disease.

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got" Henry Ford 

So, instead of reacting to cases of laminitis, let's be proactive and prevent them from occurring in the first place. 

Studies have shown that up to 90% of laminitis cases have underlying endocrine disease. Both Cushing's disease (PPID) and Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) can lead to hyperinsulinaemia, an over-secretion of the hormone insulin. We now know that these spikes in insulin are directly linked to laminitis. When healthy horses are exposed to insulin infusions over a few days, laminitis will develop (De Laat et al, 2010).

Therefore we can use simple blood tests to perform a laminitis risk analysis BEFORE laminitis develops. Horse's can then have their management adapted depending on their current risk level.

An ACTH blood test will evaluate for Cushing's disease. In borderline cases this diagnosis may be confirmed with a TRH stimulation test.

An oral-glucose challenge test is a dynamic test for insulin resistance, seen with Equine Metabolic Syndrome. This test is easy to perform, involving holding the horse off feed over night, feeding a chaff meal containing 1g/kg body weight of glucose powder, then a blood sample 2 hours later to evaluate insulin levels. This process mimics the horse's response to exposure to carbohydrates and sugars in the grass. Both tests can easily be performed within one veterinary visit, they are quick and non-invasive.

We recommend that both tests are carried out as part of the Weight Wise program. Archie had blood drawn and submitted to the laboratory for laminitis risk analysis. Stay tuned to find out his results and what they mean.

Reference

De Laat et al (2010) Equine laminitis: induced by 48 hour hyperinsulinaemia in standardbred horses. Equine veterinary journal 42 129-135

Thursday Night Fright

Looking back, there had been clues! A weight tape had been used, the hay had been decidedly wet recently after soaking in water all day and a grazing muzzle had made an appearance. Then, on Thursday night, Archie finished his tea and waited patiently for a hay net that never arrived!
Twelve hours without food! TWELVE!
Much to Archie's surprise, a night without food was OK after all, he was still alive and kicking when the sun came up.

The next morning, breakfast was decidedly weird, chaff with glucose powder. 1g of glucose powder per kilo of body weight to be exact.

Then two hours later, the vet arrived!

The Weight Wise Program

Weight Wise

Do you wish you could take your horse to slimming world?

Are you worried about the laminitis risk?

Is your horse looking poor?

Why not join the Barn Equine Surgery's Weight Wise Scheme, just like Archie!

Included with Weight Wise:

• A free starter pack including
  • A weight tape
  • A weight chart
  • A guide to body condition scoring
  • A discount voucher
  
  
• Book two Weight Wise appointments and get the third visit fee free! **
• Weight Wise appointments are available on our Zone Visit scheme.
• A Weight Wise appointment involves a veterinary examination and evaluation of your nutritional management.
• A nutrition plan will be tailored to your individual horse and we will set targets to work towards.
• We will follow your progress every 6-8 weeks and at each visit you will be provided with a weight graph electronically to map your achievements.
• Blood testing can highlight laminitis risk and track metabolic improvement achieved through Weight Wise.
• The seasonal Free ACTH lab fee can be incorporated into your visit, as can dynamic insulin resistance testing.*

Together we can stamp out laminitis.

          *Cushing's Disease and Equine Metabolic Syndrome account for 90% of laminitis cases.

Dynamic testing with an in-feed oral glucose challenge will involve prior planning with your vet, so please let us know if you would like to do this at Weight Wise Visit 1 when you book.
**Your third Weight Wise visit fee will be free of charge if booked on your zone visit day or a £15 visit discount can be applied to a standard visit fee at your convenience.

                 Of course you can incorporate your other veterinary needs into your Weight Wise appointments.

Meet Archie

Gorgeous Archie has had a bit of a rough year. In January Archie underwent colic surgery and unfortunately developed some complications with the healing of his incision. This meant that poor Archie was on strict box rest for 3 months, followed by a gradual re-introduction to a small turn out paddock. Three weeks ago Archie and his owner, Fran, received the all clear to start ridden work at walk.
Through no fault of his own, this prolonged time away from exercise has meant that Archie became overweight. Archie has kindly volunteered to become our Weight Wise ambassador. I know a lot of our clients will be following our Weight Wise management program to help their horses drop those extra pounds, to reduce the risk of health complications including lipoma related colic, joint stress and of course insulin dysregulation and laminitis.
Archie is going to share the ups and downs of his weight loss journey, hopefully as an inspiration to others, or possibly to receive as much sympathy as possible!

Archie is an 18 year old Welsh Cob Cross. Archie is owned by Fran, one of the team of staff at The Barn Equine Surgery. No stranger to veterinary involvement, Archie can spot a vet at 50 paces. Ever the gentleman, Archie tolerates his veterinary staff with fantastic manners, if not the occassional look of disdain. As you can tell, Archie is a firm favourite at the practice and I know he will be pleased to help other horses and ponies on their Weight Wise journeys.

Stay tuned to find out how Archie got on with his first Weight Wise visit!

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