Trail Training Newsletter - Volume 86

March 2008

Dear Readers,

I hope you are getting some good winter trail riding.  That's not the case in our neck of the woods.

I don't ever remember a winter where I rode less on the trail than this one.  Most winters, my riding is limited to just going up and down the hill because the river is frozen.  This winter, I haven't even been able to do that.  The problem?  Ice.  The driveway has been too icy to walk safely down it to get to the trail.  It has been very frustrating.  Since I am limited to weekends, I have only been able to get Mingo down the hill just a few times this month.  Consequently, I won't be writing much about trail riding, this time.

When Mingo had his hoof abscess problem, you got to hear all about it.  Then, you learned more about bowed tendons.  We have a new subject now-Insulin Resistance.

Be sure to stop at my brand new website.  There, you can look at my pictures and sign my guestbook.  It is www.trailtrainingforthehorseandrider.com  

Feel free to forward my newsletter to your friends and encourage them to sign up.  If you bought and enjoyed my books, spread the word.  I don't have much a marketing budget, and I can use all the help I can get.

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The Sugar-Free Low-Carb Life

Cruiser has had a tough time over the last year and a half, or so.  He bowed his tendon quite seriously when he was chased by a dog and jumped over a ditch.  Healing went very slowly, but at least I was riding him through the majority of it.  After a year of physical therapy-most of it on trail-the vet said we could ride as much as we liked.  Slowly, I increased his work, but before we could get where we wanted to be, the weather became winter like, and I ended up riding less.

In December, during a pretty easy ride with only about 10 minutes of trotting, he hurt his tendon.  The vet checked him and said there were no lesions.  That was a relief.  I was told to give him a month of stall rest.  After that, I did a month of walk-only riding in the indoor arena.

It bothered my vet that he hurt his tendon so easily, so he suggested testing him for Cushings Disease and Insulin Resistance.  I knew that they both caused complications in a horse's health-the worst being laminitis-but I didn't know that it could cause tendon issues.  Since Cruiser's tendon vet is one of the best tendon vets around, he has had plenty of experience. 

Both diseases have similar symptoms with different causes.  Cushings is a pituitary gland problem.  Insulin Resistance is an insulin problem similar to Type 2 Diabetes.  Some horses have both. 

Cruiser didn't have any other obvious signs of the diseases.  The most typical one is a long, wavy coat that doesn't want to shed out.  They will also get a cresty neck.  Cruiser's neck is only slightly cresty-nothing real obvious.  Another thing to look for is obesity-not Cruiser's problem.  There is some loss of the topline muscles-Cruiser has that.  I but I thought it was due to his age and lack of condition because of all the time he had off for his bowed tendon. 

Other things to look for is a pot belly, fat deposits over the eyes, a thickened dorsal topline, chronic infections, periodontal disease, skin infections, hoof abscesses, lack of estrus in mares and abnormal mammary gland development.  Increased thirst is common.  Worst of all-laminitis.  Vetrinarians now believe that most laminitis in older horses is caused by Insulin Resistance or Cushings Disease.

These conditions are most common in older horses with the average age of 20.  If your horse is showing these symptoms, it would be wise to get him checked.  By treating it as early as possible, you can possible prevent complications down the road.  The way the vets test for it is with a blood test.  Beware-it is fairly expensive.

My vet told me that a tendon bows for a reason-they just don't bow.  When he initially hurt it, there was a reason, but this second time, there wasn't one. In situations like this, my vet has found that the horse could be a victim of Cushings or Insulin Resistance.  He had one horse that was bowing a tendon who was not being exercised and lived in a standing stall.  Turns out-he had Cushings Disease.

I held my breath for 2 weeks until I couldn't take it any more.  To make the long story short, I ended up breathing a big sigh.  He had the lesser of 2 evils-Insulin Resistance.  Rather than an expensive medicine, he is going on the Adkins diet.  We are switching his grain to Safe and Easy-a low carb grain.  I bought some sugar free peppermints for treats and no more of anything else.  This should give his tendon a chance to heal, prevent him from getting laminitis and I bet he'll be feeling really good.

This was probably the problem from the beginning.  His tendons were weakened due to the Insulin Resistance when he leapt the ditch; causing the injury.  Most likely, that is why it took so long for him to heal and I'm sure that is why he reinjured it.  I'm so happy we got to the bottom of it.  After all, he is only 20.  We still have a lot of trails to ride.