Cushings in elderly poor doer TB feed question

[UKa]

My girl has been diagnosed with Cushings. I have been feeding her on Alfa A Oil and Calm and condition as well as some linseed and ad lib hay/ grass.She has been on a low starch low sugar diet for a long time since she tied up on me years ago. I hear conflicting views on feeding alfalfa to cushings horses. Dengie seem to say it is very safe and recommend it whereas others say to cut it out. Any ideas/ experiences?

Also, do you let your cushing's horse on grass or not and how much?

Thanks so much to take in...

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

You have to be savvy with grass but everything else really depends on the horse.

My horse doesn't react to alfalfa but I've known people's horses who are daft on just a handful.

My boy is on senior fibre, veteran vitality, linseed, beet pulp and a turmeric/glucosamine/msm mixture during winter as well as lots of good quality hay.

In summer he goes out to a well kept pasture (topped regularly) and switches to senior balancer, linseed and halleys chaff with the mixture and some beetpulp if required. He is 24 barefoot and has got normal levels so no PPID but I feed chaste berry as a just in case.

My old man isnt a good doer but he does very well on the above! This is him at present

Coming out of winter.

 

[UKa]

Hi Black Beastie, but I was wondering about health issues related to Alfalfa for cushing's horses not whether it sends them loopy... She has been fed on this for many years now and never had a problem but she has raised levels at 97 so need to adjust her diet possibly if there is a problem with Alfalfa...

 

[splashgirl45]

mine has had cushings for 4 years and is currently on 4 prascend a day...I feed formula4feet,baileys light chaff and fast fibre...I turn out as normal but keep an eye on her weight. I am a great believer in quality rather than quantity of life so let her have as normal a lfe as poss while being cautious with the quality of grazing. as mine is 24 I want her to enjoy her last years and if she gets laminitis I will PTS.

 

[ihatework]

mine has had cushings for 4 years and is currently on 4 prascend a day...I feed formula4feet,baileys light chaff and fast fibre...I turn out as normal but keep an eye on her weight. I am a great believer in quality rather than quantity of life so let her have as normal a lfe as poss while being cautious with the quality of grazing. as mine is 24 I want her to enjoy her last years and if she gets laminitis I will PTS.

This is my attitude exactly.
My retired boy lives out 24/7, and whilst isn't on lush pasture, I certainly don't restrict his grazing. He is a good doer in general so I don't give hard feed.
He hovers around 40 on 1mg prascend (from 350 at diagnosis). In the spring and autumn grass flush I double his dose to 2mg.
Yes he is at risk of laminitis due to my passive management, and yes he probably won't make old bones, but he will be a horse in his retirement and have the quality of life he deserves, even if it is shortened.

OP - if your horse is happy on Alfa then I'd leave them on it. The C&C is more likely to cause a problem than the Alfa

 

[UKa]

Hi, ihatewiork, why do you suggest the calm and condition is no good? Thought it was supposed to be low in starch and sugar am I wrong? I will call a few feed companies today for their advice. Thinking of getting a bag of speedibeet to tie us over until I know what to feed. She will now be kept on a fairly sparse paddock as opposed to grazing we have saved up and supplemented with hay... See how we go thanks for all your thoughts everyone x

 

[JillA]

My 36 year old Cushingoid arab mare with no molars lives on unmollassed beet pulp (Equibeet, much more cost effective than the quick soak varieties)/grass pellets porridge with micronized linseed and salt/balancer/turmeric/pepper etc for her stiffness plus her Prascend. She will never be more than condition score 1 or 2 but she has energy enough to canter up her paddock when the need arises lol. She quids grass and haylage all the time, I do think she might get some nutrition out of it in the way hay tea used to be made with hay steeped in hot water. I know beet pulp has had bad press recently, it might be high in iron but for her, I think it depends on the horse, and so long as she feels well enough I know she has quality of life. I'd rather feed those sort of "straights" than compound mixes which might or might not contain stuff you would be better avoiding.
I don't think I would worry about grass so long as you can control her metabolism with Prascend