04/06/2026
With spring grass comes a wide range of feelings; excitement for warmer days ahead, relief for farmers getting low on their winter stores of hay, and dread for those of us who have metabolic horses. IYKYK.
If you have an IR horse in your barn, you’re likely doing the same thing we are- 👀 watching for any signs of a hardening crest, checking for digital pulses, fat pads and heat in the hooves. Daily.
The best thing that we can do for our metabolic horses is to be diligent, even when we think that we have them well maintained.
If you are new to the whole IR/EMS thing, knowledge is key. 🎓
There are many factors that make the spring grass so dangerous for our IR horses. Firstly, it’s high in stored sugars and the horses aren’t used to the influx of glucose. Secondly, it sneaks up on us. There is always more out there than we realize!
And let’s be honest, unlike humans who KNOW what’s bad for us, metabolic horses have the more-is-more mentality, and we are just here trying to save them from themselves. That looks like:
➡️decreased time on grass or the use of a grazing muzzle 🌾
➡️increased exercise, even if that just means hand walking 🚶♀️➡️
➡️soak & rinse the hay to combat the extra sugars in the grass🪣
➡️watch them like a hawk! Check those feet. Monitor the fat stores.
For many horses, supplementing for prevention is the key… and that’s where WIRX comes in. It can be the missing piece of the puzzle for safely lowering and maintaining your horse’s insulin and glucose levels, helping with weight-management, and giving you peace of mind. 💜
