Any people with any experience of Cushings? (Also in Vet)

karenjj

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My mare had laminitis for the first time this year and she's 17. She was tested for Cushings and it came back negative. She's been sound for about a month now and then yesterday was hopping lame in one foot. Vet came today and it was an abscess, the 2nd one she's had in 3 months. He said, blood tests are not reliable and he's sure she has Cushings based on fatty deposits under her eyes? She has a longer coat than last year but it's not curly or anything like the pictures when you google Cushings. How many of you have experience of Cushings and is there always a curly coat? Help and advice please?
 
I have two horses with suspected Cushings. They have both had laminitis. One is 27 and the other 24. They are each on a daily dose of Pergalide 250 microgram and that is working well. After an incident of Laminitis a horse is prone to abcesse's and one just has to accept that fact.

The real issue is to keep the weight of your horse well down so that you can see it's ribs and haunches. This has to be done very gradually. Also keep the horse on restricted grazing and feed well soaked old hay when in the stable. (soak for at least one hour). Ride the horse out as much as possible at a gentle pace. Also ensure that your horse is wormed for encysted small red worms.

Many horses that have Cushings don't have a curly coat.

Of course your horse may have got Laminitis for a variety of different reasons such as an infection, stress, concushion of the feet on the ground, sugar intolerance, emerging encystead small red worms etc. Weight contributes to it so keep the weight well down as per above.
 
I had a mare with cushing's & she didn't have a curly coat, just a long coat that didn't shed in Spring. She also had the fat deposits above her eyes where there are usually hollows.
 
Fluffy .. not nessicarly curlyy
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V.dipped back and beer belly
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Lami type walk lol
Hope this helps
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i work with a horse that suffers from cushings and he had a real rough time with it last year, he doesnt have a curly coat, just very long and thick, he is clipped all year round now, he had laminitis from cushings, he got it bad and we wernt sure if we would have him much longer, but hes still here
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he is on minimum dose of pergalide and is back in ridden work and is doing very well!! he is only 14.
 
my New Forest gelding was diagnosed with cushing's aged 30years,following a period of lethargy during the summer.He had been tested the previous October at his routine health check as he was sweaty when at rest and had a thick but not curly coat.He tested negative on that occasion.Shortly after his diagnosis he got laminitis and spent weeks on box rest.He had a dropped pedal bone in his off-fore as a result but came sound after lengthy treatment with danilon,ACP,pergolide and frog supports.He had remedial farriery at Liphook which my regular farrier was able to continue.He is now 32years and still hacked out several times a week.He has never shown any of the real classic signs of cushing's except he doesn't moult,(year round clipping,deep joy!)
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