Wild Hearts Farm Horsemanship

10/13/2026

It’s a This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen

10/10/2026

They both fpund the mud 😂

10/10/2026

Someone found the big mud puddle…

09/22/2026

We are part of a study! I hope I don't have to take a test!

09/18/2026

This was a landmark study published in 2007 linking insulin to laminitis.

That wasn’t long ago, my friends, just under 20 years.

All the current internet circus that feeds misinformation is coming from folks that never set foot in a laboratory.

Some of these folk I have the greatest respect for - you know who you are….. however I must remain science focussed. If you can give me clear controlled evidence to the contrary. then I’m happy to listen.

In this paper.
The researchers wanted to answer one very important question: Could high insulin itself damage the lamellae and cause laminitis, even when blood glucose remained normal?

They used nine young, clinically healthy ponies. None had any history of laminitis or known insulin resistance. Five received insulin continuously while their blood glucose was carefully maintained within the normal range. The four control ponies received only saline.

Note the control group. That is critically important to test a hypothesis.

The results were striking. Every one of the five ponies receiving insulin developed laminitis in all four feet within 72 hours. On average, clinical laminitis developed after approximately 55 hours

Note that NONE of the control ponies developed laminitis.

Importantly, the affected ponies did not have gastrointestinal disease, hindgut disturbance or signs of systemic illness. The significant difference was their extremely high insulin concentration.

Examination of their feet also confirmed genuine structural damage within the lamellae.

This study demonstrated that prolonged, very high insulin could directly cause laminitis, even in previously healthy ponies with normal blood glucose and without carbohydrate fermentation or illness affecting the hindgut.

This was a hugely important turning point in laminitis research. It helped us understand why dietary sugar and starch can be so dangerous for horses and ponies with insulin dysregulation. It is not simply that “sugar causes inflammation” or that every case begins with fermentation in the hindgut.

In susceptible horses, sugar and starch can provoke an abnormally large and prolonged insulin response, and it is that hyperinsulinaemia that can directly damage the lamellae.

That is why recognising and controlling high insulin is so important in the prevention and management of endocrinopathic laminitis.

Despite the internet frenzy, please apply critical thinking.

09/13/2026

09/04/2026

The difference in sole depth- the picture on the left is August of last year, and the right is current. This hoof belongs to Sonnet, my ~24 years old QH mare. She had great hooves for most of her life. Then we started struggling with subtle lameness, thin soles, and hoof capsule distortion. The underlying reason-PPID. New issues with the hooves of an older horse should be a red flag and prompt testing for PPID. The next tricky step is getting up to the correct dose of pergolide. In my experience, most horses are undermedicated. Last year she was only on 2mg of pergolide (Prascend). She’s been in several rounds of glue on shoes, squish pads, or boots. But nothing was improving her sole depth. This year i quickly moved her up to 4mg daily, a dose that she has been on since about May, and to get through the seasonal rise she will be on 5mg. For those that need higher doses, I switch them to compounded pergolide capsules. The cost savings is massive and the results are fantastic. Don’t stop at low dose of Prascend, once the diagnosis has been made then the dose should be symptom dependent and not solely rely on bloodwork. No degree of fancy/expensive shoeing package will keep the horse comfortable if the disease is not managed correctly.

08/27/2026

08/25/2026

This is my 9 y/o daughter’s design…. And I love it! I think it’s one of my favorites!