05/09/2026
This is the time of year when a lot of us in the equine world start holding our breath.
The temperatures change. The grass changes. The days shorten. Hormones change. And for metabolically vulnerable horses, the margin for error can become very, very small.
We talk a lot about the “fall rise,” pasture sugars, insulin resistance, obesity, and laminitis. But I think sometimes we lose sight of what those words actually mean for the horse standing in front of us.
A horse doesn't wake up one morning and suddenly become metabolically unhealthy.
Read that again.
More often, there has been a long period of accumulating risk.
A little too much weight.
A little too much grass.
A little too much feed.
A little less exercise.
The added stress of extreme heat.
A cresty neck that we learn to consider “normal.”
A body condition that gets dismissed because the horse is happy, energetic and otherwise looks healthy.
And sometimes a veterinarian, farrier, nutritionist, trainer or other professional says:
“I'm concerned about this horse.”
And we say it again.
And again.
Not because we are trying to be difficult.
Not because we are judging how someone cares for their horse.
Not because we enjoy telling people that their horse needs less food.
We say it because we know what can happen next.
The science is increasingly clear that insulin dysregulation is one of the most important risk factors for endocrinopathic laminitis. Obesity is strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction, and prolonged exposure to metabolic stress can leave a horse increasingly vulnerable to the things that finally push them over the edge.
And then fall rise comes.
For some horses, seasonal changes can alter insulin physiology. Cool nights can also contribute to accumulation of nonstructural carbohydrates in pasture. For horses already living close to their metabolic threshold, that additional stress can be enough to trigger a crisis.
And this is the part that is hard for those of us who work on these horses.
Because when the warnings aren't acted upon, we eventually get the phone call.
“My horse is really sore.”
Suddenly everyone is scrambling.
The veterinarian is trying to get there.
The farrier is trying to make a painful horse comfortable.
The owner is terrified.
And the horse is standing there wondering why their feet hurt.
It happens when we are away at a clinic. When its our first day off in 3 weeks- never when we were already on the way to the appointment.
I don't say this from a place of anger.
I say it from a place of exhaustion and heartbreak.
Because I have watched too many practitioners pour themselves into these cases. I've watched veterinarians, farriers and other professionals rearrange entire days, drive long distances, work through exhaustion and put their own bodies through hell trying to help a horse that might have been spared some of that suffering if intervention had happened earlier.
And right now, many of us are already exhausted.
We've spent weeks working in brutal heat. We're physically worn down. We're emotionally worn down. And we are watching colleagues we care about struggle too.
So when another emergency laminitis case comes in, it doesn't just affect the horse and the owner.
It affects the people who are trying desperately to put the pieces back together.
**Please don't wait for your horse to become painful before taking metabolic warnings seriously.**
If your veterinarian, farrier, nutritionist or other trusted professional has told you that your horse needs to lose weight, have insulin evaluated, have pasture restricted, change their diet, increase appropriate exercise, or otherwise change management—
**please listen before there is a crisis.**
You don't have to make the perfect change overnight.
You don't have to know everything.
You don't have to do it alone.
Ask questions. Get help. Make a plan. Start somewhere.
Because managing obesity and insulin dysregulation isn't about punishment.
It isn't about depriving a horse.
And it certainly isn't about making a horse look pretty.
It's about giving that horse the best possible chance of never having to experience the pain we're all working so hard to treat after the fact.
And to my fellow professionals:
I know how hard this season can be.
I know how much it hurts when you warned someone, tried to educate them, and then find yourself standing beside the same horse in an emergency.
Please remember that you cannot make someone else choose prevention.
You can educate.
You can advocate.
You can warn.
You can show up when they finally call.
But you cannot carry the responsibility for another person's decisions forever.
Take care of yourselves, too. ❤️
Cresty horse photo courtesy of Madbarn.com
Fall rise chart courtesy thelaminitissite.org
For more information on managing metabolic horses and laminitis prevention: www.ecirhorse.org
