• Home
    • What we do
    • About TLS
    • TLS Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    • Case Studies
  • Laminitis
    • Emergency Treatment
    • Chronic laminitis
    • Laminitis FAQ
  • EMS/ID
    • Management strategies for EMS/ID
    • EMS/ID FAQ
    • Rosie
  • Diet
    • Diet FAQ
  • PPID
    • PPID FAQ
    • Half Pint
    • Widget
  • Feet
    • Realigning Trim
    • Feet A-Z
    • Chronic laminitis
    • Understanding x-rays
    • Taking hoof photos
    • Feet FAQ & Articles
    • Feet gallery
    • Reading the foot
    • Dorsal rotation/long toes
    • High heels
    • Palmar Angle Calculator
    • Sorrel
    • Monroe
    • Cedar
  • News
  • Articles
  • A-Z
    • A
    • B
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • H
    • I
    • J K
    • L
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • P Q
    • R
    • S
    • T
    • U V W X Y Z
  • Case Studies
    • Brandy
    • Danae
    • Half Pint
    • Herbie
    • Herbie diary
    • Herbie's TTouch diary
    • Izmir
    • Misty
    • Nero
    • Nutmeg
    • Nutmeg TLS rehab
    • Rosie
    • Sorrel
    • Tex
    • Widget
  • Research
    • New Research/Research by Date
    • Research papers by subject
    • Research papers by author
    • Research news/comment
    • Articles (not peer reviewed)
    • Research projects >
      • NSC in grass & hay
      • How much do horses eat?
      • Do fructans cause laminitis?
      • Insulin response to diet
      • ID/ID & PPID
      • Vasodilation or vasoconstriction?
      • Turmeric/Curcumin
  • Help!
    • Join Friends of TLS
    • Donate
    • Appeals
    • Raise funds for TLS
    • In Loving Memory
    • Friends of TLS Website
    • Horse Nutrition & Health Website
The Laminitis Site

Giving Metformin

3/15/2016

10 Comments

 
Q:  My horse has been prescribed Metformin but I am having trouble getting her to eat the tablets.  Any suggestions?

A:  One owner found that crushing Metformin tablets in a coffee grinder then mixing them with a small amount of stevia encouraged her horse to eat the tablets when mixed into her normal feed.  Sugar free peppermints could perhaps also be used.  

Metformin will dissolve in water.  Some owners dissolve it then syringe it into the mouth, either just in water or mixed with apple sauce, sugar free cordial or flavoured yogurt.  Try to keep sugar low!

You might discuss with your vet whether your horse needs to have Metformin.  Metformin is called "exercise in a tablet" by some vets, and may be prescribed if a horse cannot exercise due to laminitis, or if insulin levels are very high.  However, research by David Rendle et al. suggested that any benefit of Metformin may be questionable when  horses are on a low sugar/starch diet (as they should be if they have EMS or a history of laminitis) - see Metformin.  

Here are some tips for encouraging fussy horses to eat mineral supplements in their feed - these may be helpful for disguising medicines too:
  • Start by giving a very small amount in a large amount of carrier (e.g. unmolassed chaff/sugar beet), and if that is accepted, gradually increase it up to the recommended amount - a small amount of minerals is better than nothing (however this may not be the case for medicines - check with your vet).
  • Keep the carrier (e.g. unmolassed chaff/sugar beet) to mineral ratio low - it seems logical that a horse is more likely to notice 40 g of minerals in 100 g of chaff than in 400 g of chaff.
  • Make sure the horse likes everything in the rest of the feed - do a taste test of individual ingredients if necessary.
  • Mix the minerals into dry feed before wetting it, to make sure they are well distributed and don't form clumps of yucky tasting minerals when you dampen the feed.  
  • Try mixing the minerals into something else, preferably nice-tasting and/or with a strong flavour, first, such as linseed, salt, dried herbs (e.g. mint) or stevia, before adding to the feed. Other possibilities include grated carrot or apple, sugar free apple sauce, low sugar/starch nuts made into a mash with warm water. 
  • Try top dressing the bucket with something that the horse will eat - mix the minerals well into the feed, then sprinkle a bit of nice tasting/smelling feed on top of the mixed feed. TLS uses HiFi Molasses Free - this smells of mint and fenugreek and most horses seem to find it appetizing.  Or try grating some carrot or apple on top of the feed - a small amount does not add much sugar to the feed - see Who said "stop the carrots"?
  • Try mixing the feed using a fruit tea such as raspberry, mint, cinnamon, apple - find out what your horse likes first.
  • Give him plenty of time to eat his bucket feed, ideally with nothing else available for a couple of hours.  Or feed when he is hungry, e.g. first thing in the morning.
  • You could try sprinkling the minerals onto damp hay, ideally mixed with the daily salt (again, this may not be suitable for medicines when the full dose needs to be given).

A few more tips:
  • Make sure you and your horse remain calm - try to make taking the medicine a fun event, not a stressful one.
  • Try introducing a bit of competition - feeding other horses nearby may encourage your horse to eat up. 

More information:
Equine Metabolic Syndrome and insulin dysregulation
Management Strategies for EMS/Insulin Resistance
Diet
10 Comments
JC FitzGerald
5/24/2019 05:04:22 pm

CAUTION: Stevia has caused hives in several horses of my friends! Do not recommend.

Reply
Emma
7/11/2020 08:42:00 am

I mash my pony’s up using a pestle and mortar and it does a great job - makes it really fine. I then mix it into some chaff and add water. She eats the lot and licks the bucket clean - and she is a suspicious pony who won’t take a wormer syringe so this works well for us.

Reply
East Durham link
6/17/2021 02:42:51 pm

I crush mine with a mortar and pestle, adding a small amount of Stevia and some fresh mint leaves. I then add water and a tiny bit of guar gum to thicken it so that it doesn't drip out of my horse's mouth when I use the syringe.

Reply
Jess
10/24/2021 05:43:59 am

My horse is a super picky eater and he eats the tablets in his feed no problem. He has his 30 metformin tablets, khonkes cell vital, and a bit of salt in Timothy chaff twice a day.
To test we put just like 5 in his first feed to see if he would eat it or not (so we didn’t waste 30 in one dose) then 15 for the next meal and as he happily crunched all those up like candy we went to 30 per meal.

Reply
Jeanne
1/9/2022 05:00:53 pm

Are tablets the only available form of this drug? My pony takes them crushed in her feed but a paste would be much easier.

Reply
The Laminitis Site
1/10/2022 05:38:33 pm

Depending on which country you live in,
Metformin may be available as powder for horses - e.g.
https://www.vetmedi.co.uk/product-page/metformin-powder-600g

Or as paste - e.g.
https://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/items/metformin-oral-paste.html

Reply
Margery B Schafer
3/5/2022 02:24:05 pm

My vet recently suggested giving Metformin to my 27 yr old horse with PPID. He was tested a few years ago for insulin resistance and he is not IR. He has been on 1.5 prascend tablets for 8 months - up from one tablet. His ACTH test just came back at 164.

Reply
Teri L Grogan
10/14/2022 12:49:22 pm

You can give the 500 mg in their low fat no sugar grain made by Purina there is also out now a Timothy hay cubes with no sugar you can soak them and add the pill.

Reply
Katie Kauffman
1/7/2023 04:24:38 am

My horse is very picky, but I found the winning combo. I grind her pills in a coffee grinder or food processor. I grind the whole bottle then use a kitchen scale to measure out the dosage and put it in Dixie cups so it’s ready to go. At feeding time, I mix in 2 tsp baby food carrots then add 3 drops of peppermint extract and mix all that in a cup of low sugar grain (purina wellsolve l/s). She eats it with no problem now.

Reply
The Tailored Collective link
8/20/2023 08:10:05 am

Grateful for sharing thiss

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Articles

    ​Track systems
    ​
    ​My horse won't eat his feed
    Giving Metformin
    ​How much does pain affect insulin levels?
    Does being overweight increase the risk of EMS?

    Archives

    April 2021
    September 2020
    December 2017
    July 2016
    March 2016
    January 2015
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Laminitis/EMS/PPID? Start here
Need help/support? Join FoTLS
Donate to help laminitic horses
Disclaimer: The information, suggestions and links (hereafter referred to as “information”) contained in this website are provided for information purposes only and should not be relied upon nor replace professional veterinary advice.  Information is non-veterinary, is based as far as possible on current research, does not constitute advice or diagnosis, and should be discussed in full with all relevant vets and hoofcare or other professionals.  No responsibility is taken for the accuracy or suitability of information contained in this website, and no liability accepted for damages of any kind arising from use, reference to or reliance on any information contained in this website.  If you suspect your horse has laminitis or is ill, please consult your vet. 
The Laminitis Site is a charitable company registered in England & Wales No. 8530292, recognized by HMRC as a charity for Gift Aid.  
The Laminitis Site France is an association registered in Charente, France No. W163004578.
Please consider making a donation to support the work of The Laminitis Site.
For more information and membership of the TLS support/discussion group, join Friends of The Laminitis Site.
The Laminitis Site's Privacy Policy.