Weight alone doesn’t tell the story. Many EMS horses are overweight, but some can look deceptively “normal” and still be insulin resistant.

Signs that suggest EMS rather than simple weight gain include:

• a hard, lumpy crest that doesn’t reduce with dieting
• fat pads on the shoulders, tailhead, or behind the saddle
• footiness, short-striding or digital pulses
• bloating or gassy gut episodes after grazing
• constant hunger or “feed mugging”
• difficulty losing weight despite fewer calories
• spring/autumn sensitivity
• recurring laminitic tendencies

The only definitive diagnostic tool is an insulin blood test – but even this must be interpreted carefully (avoid testing if the horse is in pain, stressed, or has seen the vet’s car that morning, as cortisol spikes insulin).

If you’re seeing several of the above signs, it’s wise to begin EMS-appropriate management regardless of the blood result.

EMS isn’t a fixed, irreversible label – it’s a metabolic state that the body can move into and out of depending on diet, gut balance, hormones and lifestyle.

With the right approach, many horses experience:

• softer crests
• reduced fat pads
• calmer hunger signals
• stabilised pulses
• improved movement
• greater metabolic resilience

Laminitis risk dramatically reduces once insulin stabilises.

However, some horses will always be carb-intolerant and need careful management around grass and rich forage. Think of EMS as something you manage, not something your horse is doomed by.

Haylage is marketed as gentle – but for metabolic horses, it’s the complete opposite.

Haylage ferments using lactic-acid-producing bacteria, which are compatible with cattle and human biomes,  but disruptive to the equine hindgut.

These bacteria:

• lower hindgut pH (hindgut acidosis)
• cause gas, bloating and discomfort
• kill off fibre-fermenting microbes
• contribute to leaky gut
• trigger inflammatory cascades
• increase laminitis risk

For EMS horses, meadow hay is the safest, most appropriate forage, whereas haylage is a metabolic grenade.

No – and this is one of the biggest misunderstandings in EMS care.

Restricting hay:

• spikes cortisol (stress hormone)
• raises insulin
• worsens leptin resistance
• slows metabolism
• increases fat storage
• risks hyperlipidaemia (dangerous in ponies)
• increases food-related anxiety
• destabilises the gut

EMS horses must have access to forage at all times. Weight management comes from forage type, not forage restriction.

A safe EMS feedbowl is built on two principles:

1. Forage first

• ad-lib meadow hay

• no haylage

• simple forage carriers such as a meadow grass cob, nut, pellet, or flake 

2. Absolutely no sweet or processed feeds, including:

• beet (molassed or unmolassed)

• wheatfeed, oatfeed, soya hulls

• molasses

• cereal-based balancers

• “digestible fibre” mashes

• oil

• anything sweet-tasting, even if labelled “low sugar”

EMS horses thrive on simplicity:

• hay

• balanced minerals

• linseed (for omega-3)

• supportive herbs

• appropriate gut function

Less is always more - if it's made from grass, feed it; if it's not, don't.

Yes – but when and how depends entirely on their insulin stability.

A horse should only return to grass when:

• insulin is within normal range

• pulses are stable

• crest is soft

• fat pads are reducing

• the gut is settled

• behaviour isn’t driven by hunger

• the body is metabolically calm

When reintroducing grass:

• use track systems or restricted areas

• avoid morning turnout on sunny frost days

• never turn out on an empty stomach

• monitor pulses daily

• increase access slowly

Some intensely carb-sensitive horses can never have unrestricted grass again – but with the right management, most can enjoy controlled turnout safely.

Not at all – this is biochemistry, not misbehaviour.

EMS horses often develop leptin resistance, meaning the brain never receives the “I’m full now” signal. Instead, the hunger hormone ghrelin dominates, driving constant foraging and food obsession.

This isn’t greed. It’s a misfiring biochemical survival system.

When leptin signalling improves (with the right forage, minerals, gut support and Alcar), the hunger drive softens dramatically.

You don’t treat EMS with a product – you support the body so it can rebalance itself.

Your core framework includes:

Detox & Gut Reset

• OptimaCARE

Clears inflammatory load and reopens detox pathways.

Metabolic Support

• MetaTonic

Your signature metabolic blend for glucose balance and systemic support.

Anti-Inflammatory Layer

• DuoBute

Helps maintain comfort and reduces inflammatory pressure on metabolic pathways.

Leptin Signalling

• Acetyl L-Carnitine (Alcar)

Supports appetite regulation, crest reduction and metabolic clarity.

All-in-One

• MetaCOMBO

Simple for overwhelmed owners – three core products in one.

Additional Gut Support

• BiomeTonic (fed in short blocks)

• WildFed Prebiotics (roughage diversity)

Mineral Balancing

• VitaComplete or forage-balanced minerals with added linseed

• Salt daily