Cushings in 8 year old

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pickwickayr

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My 8 year old Welsh sec b has just been diagnosed with cushings. She has been on loan for a year and developed laminitis this summer for the first time. I am so devastated about the diagnosis and cannot find much information about cushings in s young pony. Please can you post your experiences of this?
I am worried about what her prognosis will be long term? How long can she realistically live on the drugs for? And what is the cost of the medication?
We lost another young pony very suddenly 1year ago and I really can't bare the thought of losing another 😥
 
Some years ago I took on a sec a that had been diagnosed with cushings at 10, he was on pergolide daily, he came here and started working, most days doing about 1 hour including plenty of cantering and jumping once he was fit enough, his condition improved, he put on weight, his owner had got him too lean and he had no muscle when he arrived, he was turned out 24/7 on a decent sized area in a group so they moved about a fair amount as there was very little grass, over the next 12 months I cut down the pergolide and eventually with the vets agreement I stopped it, by then I had taken over ownership.
He did not look back, my vet said that sometimes getting them working will help the condition, stop the symptoms, the problem is that often these ponies are so restricted that their metabolism slows down and however hard you try they still get laminitis, cushings is still something that is not totally understood not every laminitic has it and not every cushings pony gets laminitis although it does seem as if that is the normal progression.
I would get her stablised, get the weight off, if she is still overweight, get her back into work as and when you can and treat her as a "normal" pony as far as possible, hard work, lots of movement, a track turnout or herd so they keep on the go, obviously limit the sugar/ starch in her diet and see if you can keep her really busy and active, she should still have a useful future but will need careful monitoring.
 
I have one diagnosed as a 6yo (I believe - he's now 9). PM ihatework, she's very knowledgeable about this particular horse's history!
 
you need to contact h and f feeds - they import a feed by st hippolyt, fed in conjunction with Glandoguard it is proven to reduce the levels in the blood and their own pony is totally free of medication and managed purely by feeding alone - you really cant tell to look at him :)
 
BORODIN said:
you need to contact h and f feeds - they import a feed by st hippolyt, fed in conjunction with Glandoguard it is proven to reduce the levels in the blood and their own pony is totally free of medication and managed purely by feeding alone - you really cant tell to look at him :)
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Borodin, do you have a link to any further info on this? I'm very interested! :)
 
My mare was diagnosed age 10, she's on half a tablet a day and looks and acts like any other horse! Vet thinks that its just a case of horses being diagnosed earlier. Madam was only 50 or so over what her levels should be so not horrifically high, but me and vet agreed due to the depression/lethargy she needed to have something and she's been back to her normal self ever since! I don't spend anymore on her tablets than I would on a feed supplement (£15ish a month) tablets are much cheaper online with prescription from the vets.

I would rather make sure her quality of life NOW is as good as it can possibly be. Long term, if levels go out of control and prascend no longer keeps her happy and healthy, ill have to make a decision. I knew a horse that made it to 39 and never had a days medication in his life, but looking back I think he was alot more uncomfortable than he was letting on.
 
Please have a look at thelaminitissite, it will give you all the info (hard medical facts) you need plus a link to a fb page, where you can ask andrea any questions you have.
 
I feed my horse the St Hippolyt Equigard. Tests have confirmed he does not have cushings, but the change in him since being on the equigard has been remarkable. I know of a few people who feed it simply as best practice rather than needing it from a medical perspective and I've not come across one person who isn't happy with the results.
H&F feeds are very helpful and are working hard to get it stocked in as many feed stores as they can across the country. If you contact them they will be able to locate some stock for you. its well worth the effort to find some and you should see positive results in just a few weeks.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
 
Micky said:
Please have a look at thelaminitissite, it will give you all the info (hard medical facts) you need plus a link to a fb page, where you can ask andrea any questions you have.
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I agree. Hard medical facts which need a vet to prescribe medication for a horse with Cushings disease.

I looked at equigard. It may be a suitable feed but it is NOT a substitute for vet prescribed medicine. The mineral content is not that brilliant and I am not sure why anyone would want to supplement iron

Vit E is very important for Cushings horses but the levels in that are low.


OP
I am sorry your horse is diagnosed at only 8. I suspect mine was 6 when he succumbed however it took many years to diagnose so in a way you are lucky as you can make progress. It is not all doom and gloom. He could live a very good life with the correct treatment. Prascend is the drug and about 90p a tablet if you get a prescription and buy it online. I would guess the vet will start a sec B pony on half a tablet a day. It makes some horses depressed for a while when they start prascend so I started mine on a quarter of a tablet and built up the dose over a couple of weeks. We escaped the depression.

Nutritional support can do wonders, obviously being careful with grass and checking out any hard feed. I supplement with a good quality supplement (equimins) and I give 5000IU per day of vit E oil. That is for a 500kg horse. The Vit e has made so much difference to his muscular development.
Exercise is very important but I don't know if that is possible with a small pony. Mine is on a grass track with company and that helps grass restriction and movement. I also make sure he has enough protein. I use alfalfa pellets, micronised linseed and copra especially in winter. Not sure from your post if this is a very fat pony struggling to keep weight off or one needing hard feed support.
 
A friend suspected her pony had cushings at 7, she had had ems which was brought under control through a strict diet and levels then tested normal. Pony still lame behind and xrays showed rotated pedal bones, and pony couldnt tolerate any grass what so ever. My friend had her pony pts because she was miserable being completely cut off from her friends.
 
we started feeding equigard a month ago and have been SO pleased with the results.

our old semi retired boy(tested negative for cushings but we just felt wasnt *right*) has lost his belly, lost his long coat, gained a bit of topline and energy and looks fab.
 
If your horse is tested Positive for cushings ( PPID) then medicine is the only way to go, you have to be very careful what you feed, hence the link to the website as mentioned previously.
 
paddy555 said:
I agree. Hard medical facts which need a vet to prescribe medication for a horse with Cushings disease.

I looked at equigard. It may be a suitable feed but it is NOT a substitute for vet prescribed medicine. The mineral content is not that brilliant and I am not sure why anyone would want to supplement iron

Vit E is very important for Cushings horses but the levels in that are low.


OP
I am sorry your horse is diagnosed at only 8. I suspect mine was 6 when he succumbed however it took many years to diagnose so in a way you are lucky as you can make progress. It is not all doom and gloom. He could live a very good life with the correct treatment. Prascend is the drug and about 90p a tablet if you get a prescription and buy it online. I would guess the vet will start a sec B pony on half a tablet a day. It makes some horses depressed for a while when they start prascend so I started mine on a quarter of a tablet and built up the dose over a couple of weeks. We escaped the depression.

Nutritional support can do wonders, obviously being careful with grass and checking out any hard feed. I supplement with a good quality supplement (equimins) and I give 5000IU per day of vit E oil. That is for a 500kg horse. The Vit e has made so much difference to his muscular development.
Exercise is very important but I don't know if that is possible with a small pony. Mine is on a grass track with company and that helps grass restriction and movement. I also make sure he has enough protein. I use alfalfa pellets, micronised linseed and copra especially in winter. Not sure from your post if this is a very fat pony struggling to keep weight off or one needing hard feed support.
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Equigard alone is not recommended for a horse with cushings - it needs to be fed in conjunction with Glandogard!
Im not a feed expert I just know of a few horses - (one of them being on the para team) that are managing the condition using the st hippolyt range because as im sure you know peroglide is a banned substance
There is also a vit e/selenium supplement in the range
I was only advising it may be worth speaking to h and f or st hippolyt
as a possible 'other' option to look at :)
 
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sadly those horses in the para team and the like will not carry on for very long without pergolide, as it is the only proven substance to help and improve ( though not cure) PPID...You can carry on with all normal activities you desire on your horse/pony once you have the PPID under control with correct dosage of prascend ( pills) diet and management..it is not the end of the world or the fun you can have with your four legged friend, it will make him/her feel a whole lot better once all sorted :)
 
Look at feed by all means but please never, ever try to substitute pergolide (Prascend). It is a horrible disease and having been the unfortunate owner of three PPID horses over the years you really need to treat it properly. Not using pergolide because it is banned in competition is highly inappropriate imo. Far better to retire if it means proper treatment.
Anyway - op, if it's any consolation, one of mine was more than likely affected from about 7 or 8. It was back in the days before we knew it even existed, but she did go on to the age of 30! In her later years she had pergolide and what a difference it made.
 
my vet has a horse who was diagnosed at 7 years old. My own horse was 9/nearly 10 when he was diagnosed.

With proper management and medication they can live a pretty much normal life. I buy my prascend from animed for 99p a tablet - works out much cheaper than buying from my vets.

Cushings isn't a death sentance or the end of the world it just makes life a little bit more difficult. I hope your pony is okay - Prascend is like a magic tablet it's worked wonders on so many Cushings horses on my yard.

x
 
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