Feeding Strategies for Metabolic Horses: Mitigating Postprandial Insulin and Glucose Spikes with Practical Feeding Interventions

SUMMARY: Researchers will study practical feeding strategies to create evidence-based guidelines for those caring for horses with metabolic conditions.

THE PROBLEM: Some horses have problems with how their bodies handle insulin, similar to people with prediabetes. These horses are at high risk of developing a painful hoof condition called laminitis, which can make it hard or even impossible for them to walk. In some cases, euthanasia is needed due to extreme pain. The main way to prevent this condition is through careful feeding. But the amount of sugar and starch that these horses can safely eat is very small, so small that many regular horse meals are too much, even when owners try to feed carefully. Owners need practical help with nutritional guidance to care for these horses.

THE PROJECT: This project will test simple and realistic feeding tools—like hay nets, grazing muzzles, and slow feeders—to see if they help lower the spike in insulin after a horse eats. These tools may help slow eating and spread meals out over more time. The team will test these tools using common hay and grain amounts and study both healthy horses and those with insulin problems. They’ll also measure how fast the horses eat, how much they chew, and how their blood sugar and insulin levels change after eating.

POTENTIAL IMPACT: By using meal sizes that match how horses are fed in real life, this study will give horse owners and vets better information on how to keep horses with insulin problems safe. The team hopes this will help prevent laminitis, improve horse health, and make it easier for owners to manage these horses at home using tools that are readily accessible.