Advice needed - cushings in a young horse? (Also in vet forum)

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Tayto

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So recently my 8 year old clydie x cob mare has been really sluggish and depressed looking. She isn't the most forward going horse anyway but she just seems so lethargic and sleepy all the time and is totally dis interested in everything. She has also been drinking lots of water and sweating a lot after light exercise so the vet suggested a test for Cushings.....

The results came back today and the vet said although you would expect the results at this time of year to be higher (around 48), hers came back at 88.

The vet wants me to start on tablets ASAP (can't remember what they are called), but I am concerned as everyone I have spoken to so far is dubious of the vets rush to put her on medication as levels at this time of year are naturally high, they suggested I wait a month or so to have her re-tested....

I don't know what it do, I don't want my girl to be ill but I also don't want to stuff her body full of drugs if she doesn't need them.

There could other explanations for all her symptoms i.e. The weather in Aberdeen is still very warm and she has a fluffy coat already so that could be why she is so sweaty and the tiredness could be something else...... A lack of some sort of vitamin or mineral?

Arghhhh don't know what to do.... Any advice or has anyone experienced something similar?
 
Hmm, I would be a bit suspicious of them testing for that first over anything else but hey, if that's what they think then fine. I actually know very little about Cushings and I probably should as my old pony has just been diagnosed this year. I don't know what the figures mean at all - what do they measure?

All I know is my pony is over 100 and this was back a couple of months ago. As he is 27 and I wouldn't say a severe case I am not prepared to spend a fortune on medication to be honest. I have read up about chaste berry thought that has shown to have some good results in helping the symptoms of Cushings. Therefore I have just started my gelding on Hormonise to see if this will help him. There are various different brands out there which I think contain this ingredient and as far as I see it works out cheaper than the medications.

When my horse (many years back) had similar symptoms to what you describe though, he was diagnosed as being anaemic and I supplemented him with Kossolian (blood salts) in his feed. That worked well for him. I am not sure whether Cushing is a bit of a bizz word/diagnosis at the moment and is being used as a bit o a blanket term for various conditions - that and I think vets are being pushed to test horses due to research that an equine hospital is wanting to do so they are wanting lots of testers/samples etc. Not a bad thing at all but some vets may be over keen to test for it!
 
Hi there,i was in same situation as you,have a new forest who was very lethargic,work intolerant so had vet check him out,bloods etc,as he was only 8 vet sceptical he would have cushings as no other symptoms,but tested anyway and it was only thing that came back in the tests,so put him on half a tablet a day of pergolide and he is tested every 6 months and his acth level has been normal ever since,that was 2 years ago,i have looked into herbal supplements but have read a quote from a leading vet on this that they cant treat it..i cant risk it getting worse or laminitis so just went with vets advice....interestingly I am experiencing same problem now with pony, as in extreme lethargy when being ridden,fine on ground and to handle but struggling to work to level I had got him too earlier in the year,had him tested and awaiting those results to see if there is something going on with his cushings...hope that's helped I was shocked as was everyone who knew my pony as he looks so fit and well,great coat etc but it happens,i think we are more clued up now on this disease,feel free to ask any questions if your still unsure....:)
 
Obviously, I'd never advise anyone to go against their vet's advice but I would maybe try to have a chat with him / her about other possibilties. I agree, most horses are a bit sluggish at this time of year, especially if they're getting their winter coat in and the weather is still warm. I'm not sure what the normal range is for ACTH levels at this time of year. Maybe it'd be worth having a chat about this. (ie how far either side of 48 is considered still OK?)

I assume it's Prascend that the vet wants to put your horse on. I've heard that, for some horses, it's like a miracle cure. Unfortunately, my pony had a dreadful reaction to it and, after persevering for months with it, the vet and I decided to take him off. He's on Vitex 4 Equids now (basically a herbal supplement made from Agnus Castus- it's made by the Laminitis Clininc) and seems to be doing well.

Sorry I can't be much more help. I'd recommend going back to your vet and explaining your concerns and asking what they think about maybe waiting and retesting. Good luck with your horse.
 
I lost a 6 yr old show-bred Shire mare to what we worked out afterwards must have been Cushings. It never occurred to the vet to test for Cushings in such a young horse, she was intermittently lame and had skin lesions after about 3 months of bute she foundered (without at diagnosis even of laminitis at that stage) and had to be pts. So if I were you, I'd be glad that the vet had the wit to test for Cushings and get her on the medication asap.
 
Tayto...may i suggest that you look up PPID/EMS group on facebook and you will get all the info you need to know! My horse was exactly the same as yours back last august ( classic signs ) and then came down with laminitis ( low grade) in may, tested positive, started on prascend in june and am now bringing him back into work and hes a different horse. You will have to completely overhaul your feed, hay and turnout regime but it is quite manageable....
I would not leave it as your horse will not imrpove. Chaste berry works for some but only a short period..I cannot recommend enough that you start on the Prascend....
 
I have been doing lots of internet research about cushings and found a lot of articles and arguments about false positive tests. Everyone at the yard argued with me that it is more than likely that it is a false positive and I would be silly to put her on treatment without a re-test however I found this statement on a vet's surgery website:

"The traditional disadvantage of this test was the high number of “false-positive” (normal horses with positive test results) that were found, especially in Autumn. Fortunately this problem has been solved by the development of different normal values for different times of the year, and this test is now considered extremely accurate".

On top of medication - how do you manage your horse?

Currently my mare is on 500g of top spec lite balancer a day and is turned out 24/7. From 1st November she will be stabled overnight with 1 x net of hayalge. She will be turned out for approx 8 hours a day with access to ad lib haylage and I know she will stand at the hay bale the WHOLE time she is out - she is such a food monster!

Is haylage going to be a problem for her?

This is the only option at the livery yard I am on.....
 
Sorry to hear this...what a shock in such a young horse.

I have a 24 year old cushingoid pony. We tried her on Prascend and it was dreadful. It just didn't agree with her and after persevering for several months we gave up and put her on Hilton Herbs Cush X instead.

I have to say she is like a different pony now! I don't suppose it will work for every pony and it may be that yours will need Prascend eventually but it might be worth trying something else initially. The other thing I found that really helps give my pony her sparkle back is Global Herbs Restore.
 
My 8 year old pony got cushings and the pedal bone rotated in one foot.

Ad lib rye haylage and 4 mini feeds a day

He's on the restore from global herbs as well

Prascend helps him no end.

He does not have any grass now. That has saved him. He is clipped just during the winter. He can get a yeast skin infection which we have special shampoo from the vets for. It just looks like scurf lots of it, but it is to do with his cushings.

We don't let the wee man get upset or depressed, so lots of outings and fun things to do and plenty of attention which he loves

Hope you can sort out your horse asap
 
I have to agree with pearlsasinger. My mare had 6 attacks of laminitis in 6 years, each requiring months of box rest. Her ACTH tests kept coming back borderline. Finally a vet had the sense to put her on Prascend and she hasn't had laminitis since. When I look back with the benefit of hindsight it was obvious that she had cushings as she drank a lot too and I wish she had been put on Prascend years ago. Get your horse started ASAP - don't wait until you have laminitis to deal with too.
 
Agree with all the others. Get her started on the Prascend ASAP and you will end up with a horse that needs to be managed, but can have a happy, healthy & useful life. My lammi prone cushingsoid pony does have haylage, but I go for 2nd or 3rd cut and get it analysed to check sugar levels.
 
If you look at the Liphook veterinary hospital website it has a page which shows the normal levels for the time of year. Talk to your vet if you are unsure. Chaste berry is not clinically proven to help so personally if a horse has cushings I would use the prascend which is.
 
My 6 y/o was diagnosed with Cushings. Not so much was known about it then and I lost her two years later to pedal bone rotation/laminitis.

How about asking your vet for their rationale and discussing the possibility of anything else?
 
|Re feeds, if you can, take her off haylage and put her onto soaked hay ( or get your hay anaylsed for sugar content) or you can use the blue horsehage ( i think) ...top spec chop lite or hi fi molasses free chop, dengie vits n mins or tens supplement or spillers lite, add salt, micronised linseed, magnesium oxide and if shes on restricted or no grass, vit e tablets ( from chemist). Please check out the facebook page for PPID/EMS group for more helpful and experienced support and questions answered :) And start the Prascend!!!!!
 
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