Cushings

chunky monkey

Well-Known Member
May 2, 2007
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After vet visit today. Vet has suggested testing for cushings.
I know a few of you have cushings horses.
Any specific symptoms they display. I know they retain coat. What else.
Just wondering if they have to have any special dietary requirements.
What medication and how expensive.
 
Smell
Puffy above the eyes
Lack of muscle and top line
Fat pads and cresty necks
Lethargy
Frequent LGL progressing to full blown lammi
Metabolic issues and sudden intolerances and mood changes in reaction to feeds.

This are the ones I look for as well as the coat.

Switch to a fibre and oil diet no cereal content of more than 10%, blood test to see levels then speak to vet about medication. The diet is what I was recommended for Kia's cereal intolerance and it works well for his barefoot feet and general health.

I feed chaste berry to Kia. He doesn't have cushings as his last bloods were low but I feed about 30ml a day (15 per feed) and he has been on fibre and oil for his intolerance for years, we havent had any hoof issues and he is 25 now barefoot behind for ten years and bare in front 4/5 years now.

I wouldn't stress about it either do what you can to manage it every horse is different, for some the meds work, others they don't and then you have herbal and for some no amount of meds stop the decline.

Blood test and go from there :)
 
Yes all the symptoms Mr. C suggested, they also tend to drink and pee a lot.

Jess was diagnosed a few years ago, I manage her without drugs and a strict diet and shes doing well on it, my old pony had it too and I managed him in a similar way. I aim for combined starch and sugar of under 10%, and use oil for additional energy as needed.
I did have jess on the prasend for a little while, but as she's young I'm keen to manage without it until we really need it. Its not the cheapest but not horrific either, from my vets it was about £75 a month on 1 tab a day, but it can be brought on prescription from chemists (online etc) at a better price.
 
After vet visit today. Vet has suggested testing for cushings.
I know a few of you have cushings horses.
Any specific symptoms they display. I know they retain coat. What else.
Just wondering if they have to have any special dietary requirements.
What medication and how expensive.

When Chloe came to us the only slight sign she had Cushings was maybe drinking a little more. It was my very good vet who suggested testing her. She has been on Prascend now for the past five years and we have found her condition extremely manageable. In the early days the only real thing that plagued us was the mud fever type condition - so we trimmed her feathers back and after trying several lotions and potions (some on prescription from the vets) we have it under control by applying pig oil (not sulpher) and making sure the scabs are picked off after being softened (she comes and offers her legs up of an evening, and seems to enjoy the scratches). For us, it seems to be a very doable condition. She does not become excessively thick coated most likely due to the drug controlling it. She is hairy tho! Lol but on the whole is a very brigt eyed and bushy tailed older lady (27 this time).
 
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Raf was diagnosed in October last year, aged 9. Vet didn't suspect Cushings and only tested as an afterthought because the test was free in October. Raf's symptoms were slight weight loss - when I was on holiday in September though, which was worrying because he usually puts weight on when he has his two week summer break - his coat looked dull and although he seemed fine in himself, flying about the field etc, ridden he just felt too 'good' - he did everything asked but there was absolutely no spark there at all. He's never had problems with his feet and the vet said not to change his diet because the diet is to help the feet, not the Cushings itself. His weight loss was most pronounced on his top line, but he got a rounder belly, which I later learned is typical Cushings. The symptoms were so mild though that unless you knew him and knew what he should be like you wouldn't have guessed he was ill - in fact plenty of people told me I was worrying about nothing.

He had a bad reaction to the Prascend, even though he was only on half a tablet a day, and had to come off them and restart on a 1/4 after a couple of weeks' break, it was still several weeks before he came out of 'the veil'. He's now back on half a tablet a day and pretty much back to normal, although he has some days where he's full of life and others when he's much quieter- not sure whether that's the Cushings, the mild arthritis he was diagnosed with later (another story) or just him. The vet said the tablets were about £1 each, but I think they are actually a little bit more from the vet, although the insurance is paying at the moment so I haven't researched to find the cheapest option.

Have you had the test yet? What makes your vet think it's worth testing for? Hope you get sorted soon.
 
The "know" signs are actually the last ones usually to appear - the recurrent laminitis, the coat changes, the rocked back stance.

As above, it's usually being "off colour" or "under the weather". Being a little slower, or lazier for no apparent reason. Then the muscles start to change and muscle tone is lost quickly when not in work, this results in a pot belly type appearance.

Madam has had Cushing for five years or more. She reacted badly to the prascend (it induced laminitis - which had not been a problem previously!) but she is intolerant to a lot of things due to her auto immune disease. Her diet has always been simple because of this, and she is mooching along quite happily - although extremely hairy! She sheds her coat, but it's much longer than it used to be in winter!
 
Max was always a really really easy keeper all his life. I have no idea if that may have been a
thought to think about thru his life.
He did founder once during s life but was fine for many years after.
When he was diagnosed years later was on meds for years and all went fine
but did end up foundering again quite bad and they wanted to do hoof resection
and year at least in the stall. I could not subject him to that.
This was a horse that was never stalled in his life always in and out.
He would have hated to be stalled like that and his hooves all cut up
He would have been miserable and probably would not have survived it all.
Once they get bad founder from cushings there really is no good end to it and
you have to do whats right for your lovely friend whats the hardest
thing for you to do and let them go.
 
Thanks for replies. I'm waiting for the test results for cushings. Bloods have to be sent away for testing. Reading the list of symptoms. I can tick a few but not all of them. His initial bloods have also showed high liver enzymes so we are also sending for further tests on that.
 
Jess didn't show any 'normal' symptoms when she was diagnosed, she just became very hormonal and a bit of a neurotic mess :( In fact my then vet said he would eat his hat if it came back positive.
 
The first real sign Jim showed was autumn laminitis, though the last coupe of years there have been coat changes too & he doesn't regulate his temperature well in warm weather. He's on a high dose of prascend & is still trying to recover from a bad bout of laminitis that started last autumn, if he goes down with another bout then I think we're past the point of no return. It's terrible. he's still himself mentally but physically he's falling apart.
 
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