Rainbow Acres, LLC

Now that EPM has caused its furor and has become more commonly acknowledged, a new "epidemic" has surfaced. EPSM or Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy has everyone's attention even though it is a disorder that has been reported for many years. This condition is also known as "shivers" or "stringhalt", and basically consists of symptoms of varying degrees of muscle weakness, tying up, muscle quivering or shakiness, shortened strides or unwillingness to "go forward", and even inability to stand up. The horse's body is unable to convert the carbohydrates in the diet into glycogen and then into glucose for muscle fuel. There seems to be a genetic component, with the draft breeds and some Quarter Horse lines (including Paint and Appies since they are largely QH breeding) being predisposed, and also breeds like the Haflinger. It is also found to some degree in Arabs and Morgans. The university and veterinary solutions for this condition are to take away the grain and replace it with alfalfa pellets, and to supplement the diet with a high percentage of fat up to 20% of the calories, usually in the form of 2 cups of corn or canola oil. Rice bran and even animal fat are also recommended alternatives to the oil. So basically, the idea here is to derive the muscle fuel and energy source from protein and fat, rather than from carbs. In some cases of these prescribed diets, grass hay is recommended with the alfalfa pellets, in other cases, straight alfalfa hay is the choice.

As usual, we Dynamite folks prefer to sit back and say, "Hmmmm. Wonder WHY the horse is not digesting and converting the carbs into glucose, or mobilizing glucose when needed?" So in reading and researching for this article, I came across so much interesting info that the article started to grow like Topsy. I am going to present a plain-English, somewhat abbreviated version here, and you can expect it to morph and swell via the web version, so stay tuned!

Here are some possible reasons why horses would get into this sort of trouble:

Poor digestion in general.
This could be from poor dental conditions, from too much use of wormers, drugs like Bute, antibiotics, stress of travel and competition, even from just the stress of living in a barn and training situation instead of "being a horse". All of these conditions lead to poor microbial activity in the gut, so a pretty clear component of our suggested Dynamite protocol for these horses would be to feed DynaPro daily to make sure the microbes are healthy. The end products of microbial digestion are volatile fatty acids (acetic, propionic, butyric) and these fatty acids supply a good share of a horse's energy requirement. So if the microbes are not up to speed, these fatty acids are not produced in much quantity. Some conventional protocols for these EPSM horses recommend beet pulp which is a fermentable fiber, and rely on that fermentation to produce the fatty acids in the hind gut. Our feeling is that in a horse, the extra sugar and solvents inherent in the beet pulp are not desirable. DynaPro is a fermentation extract designed to feed the microbes so they can do their own work. Vaccinations, chemical wormers, dead enzyme-lacking feeds all stress the gut microbes, and also stress the pancreas and make it produce extra enzymes which eventually "wears it out". Take care of the microbes and they will take care of the horse. I am reminded of one of Dr. Albrecht's axioms: "Never feed your soil anything you would not feed to your livestock" and that was because of the soil microbes being so sensitive and so important. Your horse's gut microbes are his best friends. Interesting to note as well that in nature, the fatty acids especially the important omega-3's come from live green grass. Wild horses can run forever, and they don't get rice bran, corn oil and the likes. So the whole fat supplementation flap is not nearly as important as just taking care of the digestive process, methinks. Make the body work by giving it the tools it needs, rather than propping it up, is our whole philosophy. Get a qualified equine dentist to attend the horse, as well. Reduce the stress level by not feeding incompatible horses together, by making sure the barn is a happier place with ample turnout and "down" time, lights, soothing music, regular meals and free choice grass hay. Remember that every enzyme in the body has a trace mineral at its core, so supplementation with chelated minerals is essential. Regular Dynamite fed daily will provide a profile of chelated minerals, and Izmine offered as a free choice would be important here too, for the 60+ mineral elements that it contains as natural chelates. Salt is essential for proper digestion. Hydrochloric (stomach) acid production is dependent on having the chloride ion present, and that comes from.........sodium chloride! Remember that salt must be in a natural form in order to do its job, our NTM Salt is the ideal salt to be offered free choice always. Once salt has been bleached, or made into blocks or has inorganic trace minerals added, it no longer does such a great job in the body. Many horses are forced to get their salt from blocks, and since they do not have rough tongues like cows, they tire of licking before they get enough. Or they try to chew the block, and that stresses the TMJ, so they give up on that idea and just don't get the salt they really want and need.

Too much grain, in a form that is foreign to horse bodies.
It is not unusual to hear of performance horses getting 20-25 pounds of grain a day! Grain is not really a natural food for horses, in the wild state they would not eat it unless they happened on some wild oats or some such. Ever tried to keep up with a wild horse while riding on a domestic one? Wild horses don't tie up in nature, the ones who did all got eaten and taken out of the gene pool! So here we are, stuffing them not only with grain, but with sweet feeds full of sugar. Sugar stresses the pancreas. And guess what.....horses do not have amylase in their saliva, it is produced only in (drum roll) the pancreas. To me, proof positive that Mother Nature did not intend for horses to ingest a lot of carbs and grain. Amylase is the enzyme that digests carbs, in case you have forgotten your high school biology. So if the pancreas is not healthy, how is it going to produce adequate amylase? Interestingly, alfalfa can also cause pancreatic hypertrophy, which is defined as overdevelopment or thickening. This is due to the trypsin inhibitors present in legumes. So feeding minimal grain, just enough to maintain energy levels and body condition, is the wisest path. Those of us who feed the Complete Grain Ration have all found that mere handfuls of it, in some cases just a couple of pounds a day even for a working horse, provide all the body weight and energy that we need. Our feed is pelleted for optimum digestion, and is from chemical free sources and without preservatives.

Bio-chemical individuality is another way of saying "genetically predisposed".
There are wide variations in the body requirements for vitamins and minerals, any reputable nutritionist will verify that. Perhaps these genetically predisposed horses just have a higher requirement for some trace element than the horses that are not predisposed. Free Choicing of minerals so that the horses can balance themselves makes total sense to me, their innate wisdom far outweighs our intellect.

A deficiency of choline, a B-complex vitamin
Choline is necessary for the production of acetyl-choline, which is essential for neuromuscular transmission. In other words, the nerves do not "fire" to properly move the muscles when there is inadequate choline. Choline is also important in the metabolism of fat. Regular Dynamite contains 4300 mg of choline per pound, and if needed, you can also supplement with more choline. It is usually sold in combination with inositol, another B-complex substance that is also important for fat metabolism. The whole soybeans in HES Pellets are also a great source of choline.

A deficiency or imbalance of major minerals, particularly magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium is a mineral that is necessary for conversion of glycogen into glucose. It is also the mineral that relaxes muscles and is essential in the production of ATP in the energy pathway. If there is too much calcium in the diet ( as is found in alfalfa hay, for instance...) you will end up with a deficiency of magnesium. Dr. Eleanor Kellon, in her excellent article on Magnesium in Horse Journal, November 1998, cited corn oil and coconut oil as being 2 fat sources that will inhibit magnesium absorption. So I really scratched my head here, over the veterinary recommendations to substitute corn oil and alfalfa for grain sources in the EPSM cases. Stress also really depletes magnesium, and what performance horse do you know that is not under stress of some sort? Crop stresses and droughts can create imbalanced feeds, too. In times of drought, cattle on the ranges suffer from grass tetany which is nothing more than a magnesium deficiency. As our crops become more stressed, chemicalized, genetically modified and mineral deficient, it is even more important to provide usable minerals in the diet.

Liver toxicity
Preserved and heavily fertilized or herbicide treated feeds, chemical wormers, and pollution of all sorts contribute to liver congestion in horses and all beings. The liver is also important in the digestion process, secreting bile to help with digestion. One of the liver's primary jobs is to store energy in the form of glycogen. The liver removes glucose from the blood when blood glucose levels are high, then creates glycogen as a stored form of energy. When the amount of glucose in the blood falls below the level required during exercise or periods without food, the process is reversed and the glycogen becomes glucose for muscle fuel. A toxic and congested liver can't do this effectively, and you have a tied up or weak and shaky horse, or one that just plain does not want to work because it is painful and difficult. One Dynamite rep that is a dressage trainer told me that when she rides horses to evaluate for clients, she can tell in about 10 minutes if the horse is on a popular area sweet feed, because the horse will get anxious, then crabby, then stall or become resistant as the muscles run out of fuel.

We have had some truly wonderful turnarounds in the field among EPSM horses by using our Complete Grain in a moderate amount, with some added HES Pellets for a fat source and also for additional protein (it is 8% fat and 25% protein, and is designed to be fed at the rate of 1/2 pound up to 1 1/2 pounds a day). The fat in the form of whole organic soybeans in the HES contains all the protein and oil and enzyme components just as nature intended, and is a safe and natural way to provide extra fat at a sensible level. We know from Dr. Kellon's previous teachings and also from physiology texts that horses do not have a gall bladder, which is the organ that helps assimilate fats. About the only fats that horses get in nature are the seed heads from grasses, so again they are not designed to be heavy fat eaters. When oils are fractionated (separated from their protein components and enzymes) they are absorbed thru the lacteal ducts in the horse's intestinal tract. These ducts are also the receptor sites for the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, so the oil competes and inhibits the absorption of these key vitamins that relate to calcium assimilation, antioxidant function and blood clotting ability. These omega 6 oils like corn and canola typically fed to horses are also prone to producing inflammatory prostaglandins, so they can contribute to structural deficiency and joint problems when fed for more than a few weeks. (I have always been rather amazed that we see gallon jugs of corn oil at the race tracks where so many horses are arthritic and bleeders...... Animal fats are not appropriate for herbivores, and are nearly always heavily preserved as well. Use the Complete Grain and HES with grass hay provided free choice, regular Dynamite, DynaPro daily and perhaps some Easy Boy for the magnesium and glucose contained therein, especially at times of heavier work or competition. And, take note! With the advent of our new TNT, the whole program just got simpler! The recommended 1 and 1/3 cup dose of TNT contains a full ounce of Dynamite supplement, a full ounce of Easy Boy for magnesium, Izmine for more magnesium and 70+ trace elements/detoxifiers, Excel for digestion and pH balance, 2/3 ounce of Free and Easy joint supplement, and 1 full cup of HES. It is the perfect pelleted "all in one" for ease of feeding at home and on the road. Many horses do well on this alone, with no grain. If they are working a little harder, you can feed a little extra HES, and a little of our Pelleted Grain Ration if needed. Use NTM Salt and Izmine free choice of course, and 1 to 1 and 2 to 1 Free Choice are always a great idea to compensate for imbalances in the hay. Go easy on the chemical wormers with these horses, and do some detox work periodically to clean up the liver and keep it operating efficiently. Amazing what a little common sense can accomplish!