Cushings - expériences and advice please

[linperrie]

After a pretty horrific few months where my 19 near old girlie had to have an op to remove a thickened bone from her head which has left her temporarily (hopefully) paralysed down her left side of her face, she has now been diagnosed with cushings! She only had her op 12 weeks ago and is getting acupuncture to help with the paralysis so this feels like a kick whilst down! I got the test mainly cos it was free and to rule out it being the cause of the lethargy, assuming it was a post op thing. But test came back positive and reading was 150.I am picking up meds tomo, have read up on a few sites but would like some real life experiences of what to expect and tips on what to feed. She has never suffered lami but I need to be extra careful now. She is fine apart from lethargy and fat above eyes, no other symptoms. Will she perk up a bit or a lot? All advice welcome cos feeling pretty low about it all right now! :-(

 

[JillA]

If you get the dose right Prascend will really work wonders, but be prepared for it to depress her appetite for a few days to begin with. It only lasts a few days and then back to normal. Often Insulin Resistance accompanies Cushings so a low sugar/starch (cereals) diet is important. There is a Yahoo group (ECIR) and a Facebook group full of people with experience, best to check in with them. It is completely treatable - my old girl came here at 29 for " a year or two" on the death of her owner, was diagnosed not long after and is now 35

 

[Flosii]

Soory to hear that you are having a rough time of it, hope things pick up for you.

My first pony had cushings and the first sign of that was her curly coat. Then her crest got bigger and more solid, although never had laminitous. She at first was fine and vets advised to carry on but she got to the point where she became quite grumpy and lethargic,wouldnt eat and her body was shutting down. We were offered treatment but my family and I felt that the best thing we could do for her was PTS. She had given us a good run (although very naughty all of the time) and owed us nothing, this what what we owed her.

I know this is not what you want to hear, however is my one and only experience with cushings and not something that I would wish on any pony.

 

[pippixox]

my friends pony has cushings, had for many years been on the drugs. apart from having to mix it in with food, she had no problems with the medication. she grows a slightly thick coat but never curls, and has managed to not be clipped all this summer, i think because they got her levels of the drug just right now. it is an expensive medication, but she is a happy pony. the laminitus control is much more tricky for her than the cushings, but luckily she has a bare paddock with a shetland companion.
a year ago we had an 18 yo mare arrive at our yard who had been bough cheap and was underweight. they got the vet to test her and she had cushings. within a few months of medication she had a real spring in her step, much more shiny coat and put on weight. still doing well.

 

[linperrie]

. It is completely treatable - my old girl came here at 29 for " a year or two" on the death of her owner, was diagnosed not long after and is now 35

That is what I like to hear!!! :-D

 

[TheBigPony]

My mare was diagnosed with cushings about this time last year. We found that intitially she stopped eating and was a bit depressed on the drugs so we stopped giving the tablets to her for a few days and then started giving her a lower dose and then built the dosage up slowly. Like you we didn't have any cushings symptoms but decided to get her tested because she was 18. She is on great form and full of life so fingers crossed we will continue like that for many years.

 

[Cocorules]

Longer term some tips are

Buy medication online with a prescription from your vet as that is much cheaper than buying from your vet

Be aware that rugging requirements may change as it seems to make mine warmer even though hers is controlled

Mine has never had laminitis and now struggles to keep weight on. I found it better to stick to low starch and sugar and feed more as it made her hooves worse if I tried to feed her up with conditioning cubes.

 

[The_snoopster]

I have two with it, my mare did not go through the derpession or went off her food at all and she has been brilliant on the meds she is 27 and was diagnosed last year. She is still ridden and has a really young outlook on life, although she still gets a hairy coat we clip pretty much all year around. The gelding on the otherside got extrememly depressed and completely went of lots of types of feed, he eyes up all buckets incase the dreaded tablet is in there and I ran out of ideas on how to disguise it so he now has to have it crushed in a small bucket of pony nuts (its the only way he will eat it). Sadly I think we are coming to the end of the road with him as even though the meds have bought his levels down to normal he is still getting lami even in a bare paddock with only soaked hay. Luckily for me he is a little shettie so being in a small paddock is not too much of an ordeal for him. He was 12 when he was diagnosed and is now 17, so the drugs gave me and him 5 years of relative health. We are going to see what winter brings with him, but we have decided the next bout of serious lami and we will do the right thing and let him go over rainbow bridge.

 

[HuntingB]

I have a 16 year old mare with very mild Cushings, no symptoms, she was only tested because it was free. She is on Chaste Tree Berry powder, 1/2 Prascend, and low sugar/starch/no molasses diet.
I'm aiming to try and get her off the Prascend til I really need it, and just stick with the Chaste powder.
Pony lives a totally normal life as an allrounder and hunter.

 

[liannexsx]

My 29 year old was tested a few weeks ago, mainly because it was free. I did have a hunch that her coat hadn't came out as well as it should have. Her count was well over 200. She's started on medication and already she is eating better, and has a shiny coat. We have trouble keeping weight on her. She's been on a lie sugar diet, veteran supplements, fully shod every 7 weeks and dental checks every 6 months. The vets attribute this management to the minimal symptoms. Medication averages at around £40/month from the vet.

 

[linperrie]

Wow thanks for all the comments there! Some great tips and feel good stories. Whenat specifically low sugar starch feeds are you all giving yours? I guess I am looking at what to change to. At the moment she is on the Dodson and Harrell 16+ (in the hope it would perk her up) Molly chop and supplements. Obviously that will need to change but thinking of starting on the meds first and then incorporate a change of feed in a few weeks so it's not happening all at once?

 

[3OldPonies]

I have one with a borderline result from the blood test. The main reason I got him tested was because he lost muscle tone over his back and quarters, he also had a previous history of laminitis and had been suffering from lethargy and what I can only describe as depression! He's now on a fairly low sugar/starch diet (still trying to get it a bit lower) and has agnus castus (chaste berry/monks pepper) in his feed every morning; and although it's taking a while to get that lost muscle back he has returned to his former cheekiness and is eating everything in sight.

Hope you too have a good luck story like so many other posters.

 

[JillA]

Mine gets unmollassed beet pulp, alfalfa nuts and grass nuts, in vast quantities as she is dentally challenged. With a vit/mineral balancer and her meds - she gets a little hors d'oevres bucket with the two halves of the Prascend tablet and the rest with her Danilon (stiff SI joint) etc then another big tub trug full later in the day. She does graze but more and more is quidding grass, hasn't managed haylage for a couple of years. So a lot of hers is about her teeth, not her Cushings/IR, but base it on unmollassed beet and go from there.

 

[splashgirl45]

my mare is 22 and was diagnosed in august 2011, is doing reallywell but is now on 3 tablets a day as her levels didnt go as low as they should....i will be getting her tested in the next couple of weeks, so fingers crossed!!!she will not even touch her feed if it has tablets in so i give hers stuffed into a carrot and this has worked for a long time as she loves carrot and the only time she gets one is with her tablets. i feed her fast fibre, formula4feet and baileys light chaff and she looks really well....

 

[MurphysMinder]

I have a 20 year old pony who was diagnosed at 12. She had several lami attacks then started displaying other symptoms, drinking excessively, fat pads etc. She has been on pergolide/prascend for the last 8 years and has never shown signs of depression or suppressed appetite. We have had to increase the dose over the years,she is now on 2.5 tablets a day but is looking good and (fingers crossed) has been laminitis free for over 12 months. She is on very limited grazing and has hay and a very small feed of happy hoof to isguise her tablets.

 

[linperrie]

Thanks everyone for the feed tips. I suspect if she doesn't eat the tablet normally I am gonna struggle as with her paralysed face she can't close her mouth and it all drops out the left side! She Hoover's it all up later but 1 little tablet could easily disappear really. I'm sure I'll find a way!

 

[Anniecarer]

I lost my 27 girl last year, but she was diagnosed with cushings about 3 years before (she died from twisted gut, so not cushings related). When first diagnosed she was on 3 tablets a day, lost her appetite and was a bit miserable. I was told to monitor by how much she drinks, as the 3 large buckets a night was much more than usual - and thirst is a sign, along with a very wet bed. Once she had stabilised, I was then told to cut down gradually and watch her closely (monitoring amount she drank). She ended up on one tablet a day, where her appetite picked up and she perked up. I was told she could go down to one tablet every other day - but she died before I had chance.
She went off her usual food when we started, and I had to try different types until we found something she liked. She was on Baileys for a while, but ended up on Allen & Paige Veteran (the one you soak as her teeth were bad from the cushings) which she absolutely loved - and began to put weight on.
The tablet started off being in an apple or carrott but she sussed that so ended up in her feed - the soaked feed hid the flavour.
The coat never came out totally properly but got a lot better after the medication was right, and she never once got laminitis. I rode her regularly right up to her death, and her death was said to be caused by the fatty lumps that all old horses get in the gut twisting, so not a cushings specific issue.

 

[HappyHooves]

linperrie, you could try crushing the tablet in apple sauce and syringing it in maybe?
have a look at this which, if you scroll through gives a good report of the use of Chaste Berry ( as well as some very interesting things on Insulin resistance!) http://www.naturallyanimals.co.uk/blog/

 

[linperrie]

Thanks happy hooves for the suggestion, although I fed her the tablet yesterday in a feed scoop and a handful of feed which worked fine as I could catch anything she dropped in the scoop. So we'll see how she perks up soon!

 

[Nudibranch]

Sorry to hear your girl has Cushings but lots of ideas on here which will help. My oldie lived with it happily for many years. I actually think she probably had it from about 6-7 but she lived to 30. Pergolide (Prascend) was a miracle drug for her, it gave her a new lease of life and a meaningful old age. Sadly eventually age or the disease caught up with her and she was pts last December.

I would agree re. getting rid of the 16+, it's high in sugar. As others have said, anything low sugar is good; a laminitic type management worked well for mine. So restricted grazing in summer. A hoof-friendly balancer mixed in with Speedibeet or Fast Fibre (although none of my horses ever much liked FF!) is a good base for vits and mins; soaked hay in winter. I clipped mine, leaving just head and legs on and rugged her as she was much more comfortable. The first time I clipped her, it was a lovely sunny day and I let her out for an hour naked - she did a lap of the field in canter for the first time in years! You could almost see the relief on her face.

Also, make sure you have a good farrier or trimmer who understands their needs. I switched mine and the new one made a huge difference to her soundness.

 

[Micky]

Don't worry for starters, its just a case of changing your management of your horse!
Firstly, don't crush the prascend tablet, rather dilute in a small amount of water and syringe into her mouth...
Secondly, you have to rethink your feeds, Dengie Hi fi molasses free or topspec lite chop, spillers lite balancer ( for vits and mins, in correct levels), magnesium oxide, salt, vitamin e tablets (if she is on restricted grazing) and micronised linseed ( for important omegas). Soaked hay for at least 6 hours. The sugar levels need to be reduced as much as possible!
Turnout, you have to watch for the seasonal rises ( spring and autumn grass spurge) and restrict her grazing to reduce the risk of a laminitis attack). I strip graze mine through the summer and he now has a muzzle ( modified as he has big lips and tongue!) and is grazing the longer grass..
You will find loads of info on thelaminitissite. Dont be put off by the laminitis bit, it has loads of info about PPID ( cushings) and EMS etc, very very useful!! She may well become a little depressed when first having her meds but she might not, each horse is different.. Not sure what your vet has recommended but mine was started on half a tab a day for a week and then a full tablet, and he didn't have the 'veil' as they call it...Once she is her perky self, there is no reason not to carry on riding her, as long as she not footy...Good luck and check out the facebook website, andrea jones and karen roberts have lots of experience on there.

 

[natmac84]

Thanks everyone for the feed tips. I suspect if she doesn't eat the tablet normally I am gonna struggle as with her paralysed face she can't close her mouth and it all drops out the left side! She Hoover's it all up later but 1 little tablet could easily disappear really. I'm sure I'll find a way!

hey - my mare wont eat her metaformin - so i brought a pestle and bowl and we crush them into a powder and pour into feed - maybe worth a try x