can a 7yr old have CUSHING'S DISEASE

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tikino

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my 7 yr old welsh section a is a know laminitic pony and has laminitis a few times before but good management has ment he has not had it for a few years. he is looking terrible at the moment and had the coat of a cushing,s pony until i clipped him today. do you think he is too young for cushing's disease or not
 
No he's not too young. Seven wouldn't normally be an age where you might suspect cushings but if a lot of the signals and pre-dispositions are there, its very possible he could have it young. I have heard of a two year old that was diagnosed with cushings after much persistence from the owner.

If not cushings, Equine Metabolic Syndrome might be worth looking into as well.
 
Thanks for your input Angel_Eaglestone. i am going to speak to my vet on monday regarding him as i want to get him checked out. he seems to be quite bright within him self although he pee's for scotland and he always has adrink whem i put him out in the field in the mornings even although he drinks out his automatic drinker at regular times. That article made intresting reading. he is a few pictures of him before clipping today.

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and after
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SORRY FOR PICTURE OVERLOAD
 
Oh my he is/was a hairy chap .... and absolutely adorable.

I don't want this to sound rude, but are you sure he is only 7? Is it possible that he may be older?

The drinking alot sounds like the signs of Diabetes in humans, which is something that can happen to EMS/Cushings horses.

I am no expert though, so you must ask your Vet and hope that they are well informed on these sort of conditions, as I was lucky and my Vet was 100% been there, seen it and done it, so her prompt action meant that I was the lucky one.

Please keep us updated and will be thinking of you, as they are such a worry, aren't they and we love them dearly.
 
he is defenitaly 7 years old born on 5th june 2001 at 11.45pm i bred him and his mother rejected hima and tried to kill him as a result he was a bottle fed foal so he is now with his all his days as a compaion with the odd kid ride him on the lead rein as he is a little bugger under saddle so i know for a fact he is 7yrs old
 
That is one thick coated hairy pony - he must be feeling fab after clipping!

I thought exactly the same as Angel Eaglestone when I saw the pics, assumed you had bought him and been lied to, so apologies too.

I would definitely suspect something hormonal going on - I have several older ponies with cushings and one suspect EMD pony. All fine with extra TLC though and strict anti-laminitis management. The drinking and peeing are big hints too.
 
My mare with cushings does not have a curly coat, just a thick one that grows very fast. But to me he looks like a "classic" cushings pony, and the drinking rings alarm bells too. The youngest cushings pony I know of was diagnosed age 8 but I would certainly ask for blood tests in your situation. If your vet is not very helpful, do try another vet. Im really sorry but like the others have said he looks lots older than his age
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You may find that vitex/Agnus Castus could help him but discus this with your vet.

What a worry for you. I have one that I now think has Cushings rather than EMS - he is drinking loads over night recently.
 
Hi,
I am doing research on Cushing's disease for my 3rd year vet medicine research project!
Love your pictures btw!!! he is SO CUTE!
Hirsutism is (possibly and probably) what he is suffering from, the coat is thick and long, is does NOT have to be curly, but is often. Recurrent laminitis, excessive drinking and urination, abnormal fat deposition resulting in things such as a cresty neck, and deposition around the eyes can occur, easily contracts secondary infections etc, diabetes can occur due to insulin resistance/hyperglycaemia (too much glucose in the system!)
loads of factors.
Also ponies can be predisposed to cushings as they carry weight more readily etc (many reasons, wont list)

Horses have been documented younger than 7 and contracted Cushing's, hirsutism ONLY occurs in Cushing's disease, so if that is (in your vets opinion) what your pony has, then that is 95% diagnostic! But there are treatments that will minimise clinical signs, and make him feel much better abotu himself (and hence you feel better!) pergolide is the most common treatment!

Check with your vet or PM me if you want to chat about it! Im not a qualified vet but will help with as much as I know and have learnt from this research!

He is super cute btw!
 
hi guys spoke to the vet regarding my lad and they said the cushings blood tests are best done in march as they have got to be frozen etc. i was not 100% happy with this
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so spoke to another vet who is also a friend and she said she would recommend doing a few lots test as could indicate abnormalities. he is gettig them done next wednesday due to the fact that my shifts at crap this week and don't fit in with her days on. Will keep you posted
 
Hi, yes one test requires the blood sample to be put on ice, but that is only one! there are a number of tests that can be done!

Dexamethasone suppression test is the "gold standard" but there is a minor risk of exacerbation of laminitis, but the chance of the positive diagnosis being correct is very high with this test, and the risk is minimal!
TRH stimulation test is also another one that can be done.
Both of these require multiple sampling so require 2 visits from the vets.

The ACTH stimulation test is another test which only requires 1 visit but is the one that requires freezing, and is not (always) as accurate as the dynamic tests above.
High glucose or insulin resistance can also be tested for, but this is not 100% diagnostic of cushings!

If he does have cushing's you will probably ahve caught it early if hirsutism isthe only clinical sign, so treating with pergolide now will save him from a number of symptoms that come with it! so you will be doing good!

Keep us posted! glad the vet is coming to sort it! :-)
 
Ye, all the tests do have a high chance of false negatives and positives (depending on the test)
Dex Supress is the one that has the highest specificity and sensitivity (so fewest falses) as in it is about 90%+ accurate!
Hirsutism is generally the clinical sign that is diagnostic of Cushing's as it is the ONLY known to occur in Cushingoid horses, so prescriptions of pergolide are often given due to thsi clinical sign, or older horses with numbers of other symptoms!
 
my horse's are me baby's lol(don't like kids) so he will get the best treatment that money can buy. he is insured so don't need to worry to much as he has £5000 worth of vet fee's per claim so we will see where we go from here. thanks for your help its been so good to have someone with your knowledge to assist me with this. p.s you will become an exellent vet
 
No worries, feel free to PM if you want, Im glad to know he is insured etc, but can I just check with you, is it done on a year to year basis? as if it is Cushing's many insurance companys will then not renew including treatment of cushing's Petplan equine are the only ones I know that do, but others might do but I have not found them!

And thank you for the complement! I may refer back to this post in a few months when I am panicing for exams!
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