The cornerstone of managing horses and ponies with metabolic issues resulting in high insulin, is tight control of their diet — specifically, avoiding anything that would promote higher insulin.

Over the course of the last nine months, COVID-19 has proved to be challenging for everyone. People in the equine industry have faced significant hardship, isolation and financial impacts. These unforeseen circumstances provided an opportunity for horse enthusiasts to come together and discuss how to best support each other during these unprecedented times.

Steaming proved most effective in reducing the overall bacteria populations in hay and it maintained the diversity of bacteria naturally found in dry hay. Steaming also reduced the bacteria associated with infectious respiratory disease and dental problems. “The dental issue is quite novel,” says Dr. Daniels of a possible topic for further study. Additionally, steaming was found to preserve bacteria associated with the process of digesting forage. Steaming “denatured” the proteins of several types of bacteria, rendering them harmless in the horse’s digestive system. 

A combination of treatments brought Louis’ cough under control. A bronchodilator and steroid were administered with a metered dose inhaler (aka “a puffer”) via an Aerohippus equine aerosol chamber. Using a steroid and bronchodilator together is important, the veterinarian emphasizes. The good effect of the bronchodilator is opening up the airways, which comes with the bad effect of letting in more particles. The body reacts to these bits of foreign matter in the form of inflammation. That’s why concurrent steroids are needed to control inflammation.