Cushings symptoms

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Maisy

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I have a 10 year old pony (shetland x I think....11.3hh). She has always been a typical stocky shape, but I manage her weight with a grazing muzzle in the summer and have never had a problem in the winter.

She has never suffered with laminitis.

In the last 2 or 3 months I have noticed a drop in weight, so just gave her more hay and a bit more feed (fast fibre and happy hoof). Gradually I have noticed she is drinking more and its dawned on me that she is eating as much as my 15h older horse and not gaining any weight.

She has lost weight off her neck and now has a very pronounced line between her neck and shoulder, that she didn't have before.

The indentation above her eye is also filled.

She doesn't look poor, but she doesn't seem 'herself' though she is always fairly quiet...I assume she was beaten at some point when she was very young (I have had her nearly 6 years).

One of the other mares she lives with has become very protective of her recently too.

Do all these symptoms sound like cushings? Could she have all these symptoms without having suffered laminitis?

I am going to get the vet out to do a blood test after the Christmas/New Year period, but I wondered if I am missing something?

TIA :-/
 
Teeth were done in June, no problems, and she is eating fine. I worm count, and she is all clear (no epg seen) and she was wormed with equest pramox in November. Also we poo pick religiously....
 
sounds like it could be cushings from your description. they dont always have all of the symptoms so sounds like a good idea to get tested as soon as you can...good luck
 
Lami is the last in a long line of cushings symptoms - although sadly sometimes the first thing the owners actually spot!

Yes - get her tested. The filling of the indentation above the eye is a very good indicator or both EMS and Cushings. If you can try to reduce any sugar in her feed in the meantime - it will help with both.
 
Shay said:
Lami is the last in a long line of cushings symptoms - although sadly sometimes the first thing the owners actually spot!

Yes - get her tested. The filling of the indentation above the eye is a very good indicator or both EMS and Cushings. If you can try to reduce any sugar in her feed in the meantime - it will help with both.
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She is fed on fast fibre and happy hoof, so I think thats as low sugar as I can get isn't it? No carrots or apples etc.

I don't soak her hay, which I guess would reduce sugars, but tbh, I'm concerned about her weight, so wouldn't want her to lose any more??

I tried reading up about EMS, but that seems to result in the gaining of weight, rather than loss doesn't it? (I'm asking not telling!!!)

Thanks for your replies....poor little pony.....am I right in thinking that with management and medication she can live a 'normal' life? :-( (if it is cushings)
 
Maisy said:
She is fed on fast fibre and happy hoof, so I think thats as low sugar as I can get isn't it? No carrots or apples etc.

I don't soak her hay, which I guess would reduce sugars, but tbh, I'm concerned about her weight, so wouldn't want her to lose any more??

I tried reading up about EMS, but that seems to result in the gaining of weight, rather than loss doesn't it? (I'm asking not telling!!!)

Thanks for your replies....poor little pony.....am I right in thinking that with management and medication she can live a 'normal' life? :-( (if it is cushings)
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hi, yes she can lead a normall life, my boy has cushings and is insulin resistant. he doing very well on prascend. 2 a day... he gets laminitis, i have to be very carefull with him, hes back in ridden work.. he gets happy hoof and hi fibre cubes..6kg of soaked haylage over night.. and is muzzled summer and winter.. have yours tested, its worth doing, this time of year is the worsed for them...
 
be aware that not all cushings horses come back with a positive ACTH test result. My 14yo came back with a negative result. I retested at a different lab and it was an even more negative result!

His physical sypmtoms suggested cushings. They were, too quiet, poor performance and lethargy. Drank slightly more water, A constant struggle to keep weight on. Muscle loss and wastage over the top line. Ribs always showing and pot bellied.

He was trialled on Prascend for 6 weeks with positve results so we conclude cushings. After prascend he has put weight back on and muscle has improved.
 
Does sound like it could be Cushings. With good management they can do very well, although weight maintenance can be tricky. I'm not sure Happy Hoof is the best option, I may be wrong but I have a feeling it is higher in sugar than you are led to believe from the packaging. For my Cushings mare, who was very old and lost weight easily, I used unmolassed sugar beet and you can safely add oil as well. Micronised linseed is also safe and excellent for condition. May be worth adding magnesium too, I found it really helped with overall hoof quality and I believe it also plays a role in insulin regulation.

Some people have had bad experiences with Prascend/pergolide but in my case we found it nothing but helpful. It made a huge difference to her appearance, health and state of mind. In fact I hadn't seen her break into a canter for years until she started pergolide! Your vet will be able to help you find the lowest effective dose, which will reduce the risk of side effects.
 
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May I ask a question?
Horse's get diabetes don't they, does that fall under the cushings catagory? Your pony drinking more and loosing weight fits into that too doesn't she? Might also be worth having her kidney function checked too?
 
I am taking the pony to the clinic tomorrow to get a blood sample taken....I guess when they look at her, they will run whatever tests they think they need to ascertain what the problem is.....
 
I had my pony tested and her ACTH levels were slightly above normal, so considering that, and the clinical signs she is showing, the vet thinks it is cushings. She has been prescribed prascend (0.5 tablet daily), so we'll see how she goes. I am told she will be worse for a couple of weeks before she gets better??

I rang D&H yesterday to check what I should be feeding her, and I think I confused the poor woman on the phone, who couldn't understand that she wasn't obese at 300kg, because at 11.3, her chart said she should be 200kg!!! My poor pony would look emaciated at that weight, since she is a shetland x fell type, and so is very stocky!!!

Anyway, I am planning on feeding her Alfa A lite, fast fibre and a complete balancer, with a little sugar beet.....is there any glaring reason why that isn't a suitable diet!?

Also, does the fact that she has cushings mean that she is more likely to get laminitis? (Probably very daft question!).....even when she is medicated? I am always very careful with her, and watch her weight, but is she likely to come down with laminitis without being overweight (if you see what I mean!?).

Is there anything else I need to know?!

Thanks!
 
The best advice is to feed her as a laminitic - change the sugar beet to speedibeet or fast fibre to cut out the sugar content. Our pony got lami. in the middle of winter (danger time for cushings) and she wasn't overweight. She is fed hay, Mollichop Calmer (it's chopped hay and straw with added magnesium which is good for feet) and Lo-cal balancer. I also add Brewers Yeast and micronised linseed.

I was told to feed no less than 2% of her bodyweight in hay & feed, this will maintain the weight. If your pony is underweight you should feed 2% of the weight you want him to be. Weigh all feed dry as, obviously, soaked hay and speedibeet weigh considerably more when soaked!

If your pony is losing weight on a maintenance diet, I would increase the hay.

Good luck!
 
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