YellowPoppy
New User
After a break from horse ownership I took on a share horse in January, a 15yo TB advertised as a ploddy hack (which I think he was previously).
He'd been rugged and turned away for the winter as his owner didn't have time for him- he was eye wateringly thin with a lot of muscle wastage.
Operation TLC began- I treat him as my own without much input from his owner and did all the usual worm count (clear)/EDT (no issues)/careful feed regime based on ad-lib forage. I took progress photos weekly and six weeks later there was no visible difference whatsoever. He seemed to be randomly fizzing up on the small amounts of calm and condition I was feeding (and then micronised linseed that we tried afterwards) so when the grass came through we knocked the feed on the head and hoped the arrival of Dr. Green would work it's magic, on top of his hay.
Anyway, we are three months down the line and his erratic behaviour has become a real problem. One minute he is sweet as a nut but then if the slightest thing stresses him even a little he turns into, well, a bit of a dangerous lunatic. Total Jekell and Hyde, like two different horses.
Despite a very healthy appetite, ad-lib hay, and a field full of spring grass he is still very ribby and a bit pot bellied (worms ruled out). His topline looks much better covered but he is still underweight and his muscles are still looking wasted over his topline and over his quarters. He's only very recently been brought back into light work so hasn't had the exercise to build muscle, granted, but even still, the muscle wastage doesn't look normal to me for a horse out 24x7.
It has all been bothering me for some time- something is obviously not right but I'm not sure his owner sees it. By all accounts he was a lovely quiet horse who you could stick anyone on previously and now he can be unmanageable on the ground- a stressy mess.
I commented to his owner a few weeks ago that it looked like he was growing a thicker coat rather than shedding his winter one for summer. He came in sweaty on his neck and around his chest the other day but I put it down to him and his field mates probably having a gallop about before I got there. Today he came in the same, and the sweaty patches were really curly and fluffy. The penny dropped and immediately I thought cushings.
His summer coat is totally through on his back and quarters, and his belly- shiny and healthy looking. His neck, chest, and behind his front legs seem to be fluffier than they were even a month ago, and super curly where he has been sweating. I sponged his sweaty bits down today and the hair went crazy-curly once wet. Perhaps he is just slow to lose his winter coat but alarm bells are ringing.
I'm now adding up everything in my mind... he has always drank a lot- not SO much that I'd be worried about it as a single symptom but yep, he definitely drinks more than any of my own horses have in the past.
I feel well and truly convinced that he has cushings but am I right? I have always thought that it made horses lethargic but after a google it seems it can cause some horses to become more stressed and excitable?
I'm planning to speak to his owner tomorrow about my suspicions but just wanted to sound it out here first. I'm not an inexperienced horse owner but after a significant break from it I am rusty, and cushings isn't something I have had experience of in my own horses.
Any thoughts welcome, thanks for reading.
He'd been rugged and turned away for the winter as his owner didn't have time for him- he was eye wateringly thin with a lot of muscle wastage.
Operation TLC began- I treat him as my own without much input from his owner and did all the usual worm count (clear)/EDT (no issues)/careful feed regime based on ad-lib forage. I took progress photos weekly and six weeks later there was no visible difference whatsoever. He seemed to be randomly fizzing up on the small amounts of calm and condition I was feeding (and then micronised linseed that we tried afterwards) so when the grass came through we knocked the feed on the head and hoped the arrival of Dr. Green would work it's magic, on top of his hay.
Anyway, we are three months down the line and his erratic behaviour has become a real problem. One minute he is sweet as a nut but then if the slightest thing stresses him even a little he turns into, well, a bit of a dangerous lunatic. Total Jekell and Hyde, like two different horses.
Despite a very healthy appetite, ad-lib hay, and a field full of spring grass he is still very ribby and a bit pot bellied (worms ruled out). His topline looks much better covered but he is still underweight and his muscles are still looking wasted over his topline and over his quarters. He's only very recently been brought back into light work so hasn't had the exercise to build muscle, granted, but even still, the muscle wastage doesn't look normal to me for a horse out 24x7.
It has all been bothering me for some time- something is obviously not right but I'm not sure his owner sees it. By all accounts he was a lovely quiet horse who you could stick anyone on previously and now he can be unmanageable on the ground- a stressy mess.
I commented to his owner a few weeks ago that it looked like he was growing a thicker coat rather than shedding his winter one for summer. He came in sweaty on his neck and around his chest the other day but I put it down to him and his field mates probably having a gallop about before I got there. Today he came in the same, and the sweaty patches were really curly and fluffy. The penny dropped and immediately I thought cushings.
His summer coat is totally through on his back and quarters, and his belly- shiny and healthy looking. His neck, chest, and behind his front legs seem to be fluffier than they were even a month ago, and super curly where he has been sweating. I sponged his sweaty bits down today and the hair went crazy-curly once wet. Perhaps he is just slow to lose his winter coat but alarm bells are ringing.
I'm now adding up everything in my mind... he has always drank a lot- not SO much that I'd be worried about it as a single symptom but yep, he definitely drinks more than any of my own horses have in the past.
I feel well and truly convinced that he has cushings but am I right? I have always thought that it made horses lethargic but after a google it seems it can cause some horses to become more stressed and excitable?
I'm planning to speak to his owner tomorrow about my suspicions but just wanted to sound it out here first. I'm not an inexperienced horse owner but after a significant break from it I am rusty, and cushings isn't something I have had experience of in my own horses.
Any thoughts welcome, thanks for reading.
