Cushings and hates being groomed?

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vanessarimmer

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My elderly mare has Cushings and is on 1mg Pracend daily. Before she started on the Pracend she had recurrent bouts of laminitis which we managed to get her through fortunately. Just recently she has started being really grumpy when groomed, pulling faces and lifting a back leg. I have had her 14 years and she has never done this before so I know something is bothering her. There doesn't seem to be a particular spot but she just hates being brushed. I just wondered if anyone else has had any experience like this?
 
Not sure if this is helpful but my old man also has cushings and one of the things I've noticed is that he's become increasingly itchy and prone to skin infections. He's a perfect gentleman but sometimes he's quite grumpy when he's groomed and tells me if he doesn't want a rug on. Cushings affects his ability to regulate his temperature so he can easily overheat. the prascend has helped to keep his winter coat growth to an acceptable level but I do keep him clipped and use rugs to keep him warm according to the weather, also it allows me to see what is happening with his skin. His skin is very dry and scurfy and the vet advised me to bathe him using a gentle shampoo when the weather is good enough and to keep him as clean as I can which seems to keep him more comfortable. I'm also using Scratch plus to see if I can prevent him from rubbing himself raw this summer.
 
She isn't itchy but funnily enough a friend's horse showed signs of itchy and scurfy skin about 6 months before he was diagnosed with Cushings. Her skin seems quite normal and she is losing her winter coat at the moment.

She has been on Pracend about 9 months.
 
It's been warmer lately, could she be overheating? my boy has had his dose upped because I noticed he was starting to drink more, might it be time to have her re-tested so ensure she's on the correct dose? Is she still in work? P is 25 now and I've had him a very long time and will do anything within reason to keep him fit and happy and the prascend has made a huge difference, he's been on it for nearly 2 years.
 
since being diagnosed with cushings(she is on prascend)my mare has been very sensitive when i groom her and this has recently got worse and seems to coincide with her losing her coat....she is also very scurfy on the parts that havent been clipped. the rest of her coat is ok and she is less sensitive on the clipped parts.... she was the same last year while her coat was changing so im hoping it will pass.....sounds like yours is the same,i am very gentle with a rubber curry comb to get the coat out and then i use a soft brush and she seems to cope with this...
 
Thanks splashgirl45 you have described almost exactly what I am experiencing. It has only started since she started losing her coat and I too have to be gentle with the rubber curry comb and only use a very soft brush to finish. It will be interesting to see if the skin sensitivity passes once her summer coat is through.
 
Thanks oldie48. She has been bloodtested twice in the last 6 months. When she started on Prascend her blood tests were normal but she kept getting laminitis. 6 months ago she was bloodtested and was borderline. My vet suggested I reduce her Prascend to half a tablet per day and blood test again in 3 months, presumably because ACTH levels go up in winter anyway. She was blood tested again in March and was still borderline and was kept on half a tablet. Then in April she got laminitis again. The first time since being on Prascend. I am convinced it happened because her dose was dropped and I have put her back on 1 tablet. She has made a quick recovery this time which I also put down to the increased dose.

How much does your horse drink in 24 hours? Mine drinks about the equivalent of 5 standard black plastic buckets per day.
 
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