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ES Insulin dysregulation in horses: a new epidemic or a new perspective?
October 18, 2024
October. The month when the wind grows sharper, the grass less lush, and the days noticeably shorter. Nature shifts down a gear. The trees, the birds, the wildlife – all of them adapt.
Except... we.
And therefore also: our horses.
They keep driving, training, performing, going to class or competition as if nothing has changed. Sometimes against their will. Sometimes with tension in their bodies. Sometimes with that look of: “Does this really have to happen now?”
Horses are seasonally sensitive animals.
They are built on adaptations to light, temperature, and food availability. Their coat responds. Their metabolism slows down. Their behavior changes.
But our schedule doesn't do that.
We often train at the same rhythm. We feed at the same hours. We keep riding in the dark — with lights, blankets, and supplements to keep “everything up to par.” And somewhere, that doesn't sit right.
Not because it is wrong.
Because we too often forget that rest is not a luxury. It is biologically necessary.
I am not talking about keeping horses in a stable for months. Or stopping work. It is about daring to scale back. Leaving space. Introducing variety.
An autumn ride instead of spring training. A groundwork session instead of always that lesson.
An extra day of nothing.
Not as punishment. Not as falling behind. But as a recovery phase. Because recovery is not laziness. It is investing in long-term health.
Because let's be honest: much of that pressure doesn't lie with the horse. It lies with us.
Because we have goals. Schedules. Expectations.
Because the boarding stable is full and it will otherwise be difficult. Because we ‘have to’ ride for that one competition. Or because we are afraid of losing control.
But the horse is not an agenda. It is a living being.
And sometimes it's just… done for now.
Let October be your motivation.
Not to stop. But to pause.
To see what is needed. What no longer fits. What can be reduced.
Not out of laziness. But out of care.
For your horse. And for yourself.
Rest is no regression.
It is space.
For recovery. Growth. And starting over.
I am that woman who constantly loses her glasses, forgets her keys, never finds her phone. But my opinion? I always have it ready.
Half wolf, half woman - literally in my Facebook profile picture, figuratively in everything I do. I am someone of extremes. Intuitive and astute. Calm and storm. Silence and voice. Soft to what is vulnerable. Tough on what deliberately damages. I am not a perfect version of myself. An honest one, though.
I work with people, systems, food, chaos and vision. Sometimes with horses, often with principles. I believe in truth over diplomacy, and in nuance without wooliness.
Here I share what concerns me. What chafes, what moves, what knocks. Welcome to my head. It's a little wild there - but always real.
#more than power supply #MIRA