Cushing vs EMS

[chaps89]

Managed my EMS mare for 6 years and it was hard work and I said never again.
I’m currently looking for a small pony companion on a livery basis and a lady has been in touch about her pony. It all sounds ideal apart from the pony has Cushings and is laminitis prone but controlled by prascend and currently looks super.
How different is it managing a cushings pony vs EMS? Are they more/less/the same prone to laminitis? Anything else I should think about?

 

[brighteyes]

You'll be lucky to avoid laminitis developing eventually. Prascend is a not inconsiderable expense and you need to test etc,and can be a pain to administer.

 

[Apizz2019]

Managed my EMS mare for 6 years and it was hard work and I said never again.
I’m currently looking for a small pony companion on a livery basis and a lady has been in touch about her pony. It all sounds ideal apart from the pony has Cushings and is laminitis prone but controlled by prascend and currently looks super.
How different is it managing a cushings pony vs EMS? Are they more/less/the same prone to laminitis? Anything else I should think about?

We had a cushings pony and we had no issues at all. He was medicated at the right dose and was treated no differently to any other pony on the yard.

Unfortunately, he had been ragged around a lot over the years and came to us on loan in poor condition. I also suspect that he'd had cushings for some time which previous moaners hadn't noticed or couldn't be bothered to investigate further.

His suspensories gave up on him and it was a very quick demise, sadly.

The vet and I suspect he had dsld but cushings does also affect connective tissues, so im not 100% sure it was dsld, or maybe it was and Cushings helped it along it's way.

The only thing you need to consider is that cushings is a progressive condition and medication only slows the progression. Also, it is a life limiting condition and many don't have endless years ahead of them, with or without medication. But then again, they could break a leg in the field tomorrow.

It's a risk but I'd not pass up a good pony if it had a manageable medical condition.

 

[Casey76]

The management of cushings and EMS are very similar. Low sugar and starch diet, little to no grass etc.

With cushings there is an increased risk of infections, (thrush, rain rot, goopy eyes etc), significant risk of laminitis, especially if the sugar and starch isn’t kept low.

Prascend (pergolide) can help to retard the progression of the hypertrophy and dopamine cycle, but it isn’t a cure. Chastetree berry can help with late shed, but it does not treat the underlying cause, and can interact with Prascend and make it less efficacious.

 

[spookypony]

The Spooky Pony has Cushing's (c. 18--20yo, diagnosed in 2016), and the Ballerina Mare has Cushing's AND EMS (15yo, diagnosed in 2018). They both live on a track system in summer (with free-choice haylage), and on grass ("standing hay")(with no extra hay/haylage) in winter (I overseeded the field with a more horse-nutrition-friendly mix). The SP is retired now (check ligament a few years ago), but the BM is fully in work, schooling and building up to bigger distances for Endurance. They are both still managing very well on the minimum dose of Prascend, which gets hoovered up in a clump of Alfa-Beet with no issues. At the moment, even though she's on free-choice haylage and whatever she can nibble round the track, the BM's weight is perfect, and she's fit and strong. She's actually getting a little extra feed for her needs: I use Coolstance Copra, which is great for protein, and very, very, very low starch. They both still show some of the more subtle symptoms (tbf, we tested the BM before she showed much in the way of any symptoms): the SP is prone to lice and mites, his feet would shoot forward, given half a chance, and his belly fluff comes off rather late these days; the BM is prone to thrush, and will get fat and cresty if she looks at a blade of (summer) grass sideways.

I would say it depends largely on how much control you have over the management, especially the grazing. For these two, building a system that allows them 24/7 turnout while controlling the sugar seems to be key.

 

[chaps89]

Thanks everyone. I had a feeling it might be a similar regime to keeping an EMS one.
Pony would be here on livery so the cost of tablets and tests etc would continue to be covered by the owner.
I have a good doer who goes on grass during the day with a muzzle and a bald patch with straw overnight. I can’t soak hay and due to how the field is configured I can’t do a track or strip graze really. So I can manage a prone to being porky one but not a metabolic one I think.
Plus the stress, oh the stress! I haven’t missed the watching like a hawk, soaking hay etc and I really don’t want to go back to that.
bother, it was sounding a really good option other than that, back to the drawing board.