cushings questions

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horse1978

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hi all

my 16 year old quarter horse has just been confirmed as having cushings on wednesday of this week the vet has sent me a prescription for the medication for her but what i want to know is where do you all find is the cheapest place to get the meds ?
chemists or online ?

also what do you feed your horses on who have this as she has only one sign of cushings she has lost weight,top line and a bit of muscle on her back end ?

do you still ride your horses ?

would this make there life expectancey any less than normal ?

any other advice you can give will be great as i have not had experince of this before
thanks
 
horse1978 said:
hi all

my 16 year old quarter horse has just been confirmed as having cushings on wednesday of this week the vet has sent me a prescription for the medication for her but what i want to know is where do you all find is the cheapest place to get the meds ?
chemists or online ?

also what do you feed your horses on who have this as she has only one sign of cushings she has lost weight,top line and a bit of muscle on her back end ?

16 plus mix.
do you still ride your horses ?

Not often but he is 32 so not cushings related

would this make there life expectancey any less than normal ?

As above 32 isn't bad going
any other advice you can give will be great as i have not had experince of this before

Keep an eye on them if the get footy you my wish to rebalance meds or shoe to reduce pressurethanks
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Comments as above
 
i have been getting prascend online from viovet.co.uk, works out just under £1 per tablet...when i include how much i pay form the prescription....
mine was diagnosed in august 2010,
i still ride my cushings horse and she is kept pretty much as normal although she hardly gets any feed, just a handful of happy hoof to put her supplements in....i feed mainly hay now as i feel that haylage is too rich for her...i dont have a problem with keeping weight on, the opposite really as you can see....not sure about life expectancy but feel that quality of life is more important than length and try my best to keep her happy.

 
My mare was diagnosed with cushings last Christmas after her first bout of laminitis. It is being well controlled by one prascend a day. Unfortunately though she has had two more bouts of lami since, despite her levels being within normal range.

However, apart from the laminitis, she has come back from a major shoulder injury after 3 years off and felt better to ride than ever. She looks stunning and obviously feels really well in herself. So long as I can keep her weight down and therefore the laminitis at bay, I see no reason why the cushings itself should hold her back in any way.
 
My 26 year old was diagnosed in April.

He is on 2.5mg Prascend a day. Initially the vet's were charging me £1.50 per tablet. I asked for a px so I could buy it online instead and they called me back and offered £1.06 per tablet instead. So it's worth haggling with your vet.

It's important to keep starch and sugar to a minimum (under 10% in a bucket feed) as the Cushings will often make them insulin resistant too.

My boy gets daily turnout at grass, ad lib haylage at night and a bucket feed of:
Fast Fibre
Speedibeet
Pro Balance + http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-BALAN...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item4165dfb281
yea-sacc http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YEA-SACC-...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item416ddbc96d
linseed
vitamin E
j-herb http://shop.forageplus.com/epages/es137718.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es137718/Products/J12 (he has poor teeth - which is why he is on so much feed :o)

The Pro Balance + has added lysine for protein synthesis and balanced zinc and copper for his insulin control and immune system. The linseed has methionine - for protein synthesis too and the omega oils for general health.
The J-herb is recommended for Cushing's horses as a source of nitric oxide (where there is no inflammation present).
It's important to provide adequate vitamin E to a Cushing's horse if they are on restricted grazing, as they may not get enough and they need it for the lacklustre immune system.

This Yahoo group has masses of info and articles.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/

Exercise is really beneficial. When she feels happy - go for it! The metabolic benefits of exercise really helps a Cushing's horse.

The Cushings itself doesn't kill a horse. But it is a progressive condition and the symptoms and risk of laminitis can mean their life expectancy is reduced. As well as medication - your management of her is key and will dictate how she manages :).
 
I have two with cushings, firstly you may have to contend with your horse going off his feed and being depressed when he first starts the tablets. I of mine to this day has become a very fussy feeder with buckets but still happily munches on his hay. Dont worry this usually subsides after a few weeks, my mare never went through it at all so it can be hit and miss.
I treat both of mine as laminitics so maybe check on the 16+ feed before you feed as some veteran feeds have a high sugar and protein level, fibre has become the basis of both of mine with supplements that compliment what they could be lacking in.
My mare is 23 and has cushings and does the same ammount of work before cushings, whilst she is feeling up for it I will just continue untill she lets me know she needs to stop or slow down. The good thing about cushings is there is lots of help and support out there for owners, lots of research as been done and I found google my new best friend.
If you are on facebook there is a cushings facebook page, where lots of people go for advice and just generally chatter about any problems new or old they come across. There is currently a debate going on in there for herbal v pracend, personally I would always stick with prascend as it given both of mine a whole new lease on life.
good luck :)
 
Mine has only recently been diagnosed but she has probably had it for quite sometimes, however she has only just come back to me. After 10years of a little hacking due to back injuries andgenerally not being 100% she did her first dressage this weekend! She is so happy and full of life, even more so since being treated.
Again I agree with quality over quantity of life which is why I moved heaven and earth to be able to have her living with me (in my back garden!)
Feed wise I notice that she is a little right so I have added Speedi beet, linseed oil and a little timothy haylage with her hay, but she still only gets 1hr grass per day
 
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