Cushings

[welshstar]

As i've noticed a fair few amount of cushings horsies on here, i'm quite intrigued with a few things about other peoples neds.

My horse was diagnosed with cushings age 16/17- just before christmas- he is now coming up to 20. He has the woolly coat all year round, suffers from laminitus (however hasn't had it this year *touch wood!!!*) and is noticable more tired than before. He is still very rideable, flys around SJ courses but struggles with effort for dressage tests. We clip him all year round aswell.

So i was just wondering- just to really put things into perspective as i've very little experience with cushings:

How old was your horse when diagnosed and how long did he cope comfortably until enough was enough for him?
and what symptoms did he suffer with?
what sort of level of work is/was he in during having cushings?
Just really hoping for a not horrible cushings scenario and to share what i'm going through with other horse cushings sufferers!

 

[the watcher]

I had a pony with cushings many years ago before it was so widely known, in fact, in spite of what are now all the obvious symptoms my vet failed to diagnose it (although I suspected it)

She had the long curly coat all year round from the age of about 18 (was clipped all year), one incidence of lami at about 21, but stayed sound and fit until she was 23 when she started to deteriorate rapidly. She was PTS then, the vet merely commenting that she appeared to be going 'downhill'.

With the widely available treatment and diagnosis that there is today (there was only one treatment then and it was horrifically expensive) I would expect her to have lived until 30 if I had her now, with careful management.

 

[Persephone]

My pony was 6 when she was diagnosed. She was pts at 8 due to uncontrollable laminitis. She could not cope with any grass despite being on Pergolide and Founderguard. She had no cushings symptoms apart from unexplained laminitis. I put her down due to a poor quality of life.

Jo x

 

[brighteyes]

Ours was diagnosed late summer 2006, more as a casual observation post scrutiny at Leahurst for an entirely unrelated (or not!) issue.

That I was very particular about her weight, coat, teeth and feet didn't conceal the likelihood in the eyes of the expert, that she was suffering from Cushing's. At 26 then, she looked a picture of health , in spite of recently suffering a bout of strangles, followed by a secondary infection.

I wasn't given any advice at that point, but had been on here re the guttural pouch infection and got so much help and support, I had no hesitation asking about Cushing's, too!

I'm glad I did because I don't think she'd be here now if I hadn't.

Cushing's hadn't occurred to me, although I had been confounded by laminitis attacks at bizarre times of the year and despite my constant preventative management.

She is only 12 hands and in between mild and quickly resolved laminitis attacks, she is bouncing with energy and won some small jumping classes last summer.

I (like the_watcher) had an old pony whose symptoms didn't ring any bells for my vet ; he went slowly downhill and was PTS due to advanced (and untreated) Cushing's IMO. In fact, my own vets again failed to spot the underlying cause for this pony's problems and it was that initial diagnosis by the Leahurst vet that set me off on a personal quest for answers.

In their defence, they have been mighty cooperative with me and my requests for drugs to treat my pony, in spite of it not being they who came up with the idea!

She's on Pergolide and a variety of supplements and a diet based on insulin resistance. Her coat isn't curly or particularly thick and she doesn't drink much.

 

[Eaglestone]

My boy was diagnosed with Cushings in October 2005 at the age of 24, when he went down with Laminitis, which he had never had before.

Looking back, in hindsight and with my whole deal of knowledge now, he had started to shed his coat later and later each year, he stared into space alot, his coat had started to go curly over his withers, and the dips above his eyes had disappeared. Although he has started to drink nearly a bucket of water a night now, his thirst did not increase.

He was put on Pergolide and since then his coat is now straight and shiney, but it is so very thick, about 4 inches long! .. so he gets clipped to ensure we can keep his coat free from skin complaints, as he is a sweet itch sufferer and gets sore bits here and there still. He does not stare into space is so alert again now. His Laminitis (touch a TREE!) is under control and the dips above his eyes came back!

After 10 months (5 months on box rest) I was allowed to start riding him again, and he will now happily hack out slowing for up to 2 hours. Mind you this last couple of hacks he has been back to his old self and jogging along

I am very strict with his grazing and the maximum he gets is up to an hour, and even then I panic, as he had a mild bout of Laminitis in July .... during the day his is out in the field with a field shelter, with a paddock with just wood chippings.

You like me have been one of the lucky ones, and you are so fortunate that you can do so much with him, it is inspirational to hear and nice stories are an inspriation to us all

 

[Eaglestone]

This is how my old boys coat went curly and this picture was May 2006

[/image]

The day after, when he had been clipped looking so much better

On 20th August 2007

He has lost a bit more weight recently but I am trying hard to keep it on

 

[Flame_]

I work with a carriage driving pair and a spare. Originally just had brother and sister pair and about four years ago when i'd not been working here long the gelding started getting laminitis despite being lean, fit and only 13. Took a bit of convincing the vets but got him tested for cushings and he was "strongly borderline" which they reckoned meant he had it but he hadn't had it very long(if that makes sense, been on the Baileys!). He's on pergolide and he still gets laminitis although not too often and not too severely. He's never really had a curly coat, thirst or bad fat stores but he is generally a bit of a weak pony who no longer seems to stand up to demanding work. He's also getting stranger (stressy, box-walking etc) every year, he's 17.

Anyway, we were offered their half-brother who also matches them both and has driven with them both before.

Hes been a gem for the two years we've had him and he goes great with the mare, leaving the original gelding as a not very reliable spare. However the newest lad went lame on christmas eve eve with what seemed to be an abcess at the time but then it didn't improve or worsen and its took three different vets over the course of the last week to work their way round to figuring out he's actually lame in both front feet with bl**dy laminitis!

So unsurprisingly - as they are all related - it seems the cycle may be starting again. This pony is the same age as the mare, 16.

I'm not expecting another super 13.1 grey welsh Bish driving pony to pop up out of the blue but if anyone's got one my boss and I may be very interested!

 

[smirnoff_ice]

Hi there, sorry to hear your horse has cushings, but glad he's reasonably ok with it.

Murphy was diagnosed with it in May 2005, when he was 14. He had absolutley NO symptoms other than the laminitis and the bulgy eyes. He never had problems shedding his coat. He was put on pergolide for the cushings, and all of the usual lami treatment (ACP, bute, boxrest, heartbars, etc., also spent 4 weeks at a hydrotherapy spa, which worked wonders). It took about 5 months to get him sound. After that, he was fine for a little while (started hacking again), but then it came back again and again. His pedal bone rotated further, despite having the heartbars. The vet told us that we might be able to get him through each bout of lami, but it would always come back.

He wasnt the type of horse who coped well with boxrest and he would have had no quality of life if we'd kept him going. We decided to wait until he got the lami again (he was only very mildly footy at the time), which was probably selfish of us, but i couldnt have had him put to sleep when he looked so well. That was the friday. In the end, he only lasted until the monday (15th of May 2006). He couldnt walk at all, so he was put to sleep in his field. We had him cremated and still have his ashes.
Although it was cushing's-related lami, i never felt like he had cushings. Apart from the pergolide, he was treated purely as a laminitic. I'd often forget he even had the cushings.

Anyway, that's us.

I wish i'd have spoken to our horse dentist while Murph was ill - he also has a cushings horse (he's about 42 years old now!) and he swears by giving him homeopathic forms of arsenic!

It's not legal, but he gets hold of it. Every few weeks, he puts the horse on a detox using this. The horse hasnt had lami since, nor any other cushings symptoms.

Good luck with your boy. There's a yahoo forum you could join, which is specifically made for owners of cushings horses - lots of experienced people on there.

Lou.

 

[FlipFlop5]

My Boy was 20 when he was diagnosed with it. He never had had the best of coats, but it got to the point where he didnt loose any of it. He got laminitus ,which he had never had before and we were already watching his grazing and a friend and vet recommened trying him on pergaloide. He soon picked up and had a further 3 years out competing, still loving it and I have great memories of him trying his heart out. He's now 27, and is still going strong, jumping out of the field whenever he can. His grazing is really restricted in the summer but touch wood he hasn't been lame since

 

[catembi]

My old mare was 26 when she first got the Cushings coat. She was 35 today!! So far, the only other symptoms are drinking/weeing a lot & always hungry. She's 14.2, TBx by Shelleys Boy. She was in work & winning sj comps til she did a tendon aged 29. Nowadays she hacks out now & then & is a handful, altho she gets tired easily.

She hasn't been treated for it cos the vet said that as she's managing, it's best not to interfere. No lami (touch wood...) yet & she's perfectly happy in herself. She's still got all her teeth, lives out & fully rugged & eats the same as my ISH who's in full work, so holds her weight pretty well.

 

[MurphysMinder]

My pony was only 14 when diagnosed. Although she never had the curly coat she never totally shed her winter coat, had frequent bouts of laminitis and started developing fatty deposits on crest and over her eyes. She was also drinking and weeing a lot. She has been on a low dose of pergolide for 2 years and (touching wood) is absolutely fine. Has had no laminitis over the 2 years although she is kept on restricted grazing, with a grazing muzzle if necessary. She looks far healthier than she did 2 years ago and seems to have far more energy. However she is not really in work as she is sadly outgrown , being 11.2 and my daughter is 19, and also has a locking stifle , she is just ridden occasional in walk and trot by my niece.
Good luck with managing it in your horse, hopefully you will find he is fine once the Cushings is being controlled.

 

[Happytohack]

My Icelandic was diagnosed 2 years ago when he was 18. During the two previous winters he had laminitis, the last bout being very severe. Obviously, he has always had an incredible coat being born in Iceland, but it became very curly on his tummy. Since being diagnosed, he has been on Pergolide and has not had another bout of laminitis. He is out in the day all year round and always in at night (he is a sweetitch sufferer as well). If it has been at all frosty, he stays in. We never fertilise our fields and our grazing is pretty poor as we have two huge horses who can munch for England. His pedal bones have rotated and he has stick on Imprint shoes, he cannot be ridden but is really well and full of beans. At one time the outlook was pretty bleak for Cushings horses, but with the right treatment, feed and grazing management, they can do pretty well.