Cushings

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Bananarama

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Ok so basically Im wondering if my pony could be showing early signs of cushings. He is a 20 year old shetland cross. I noticed he had a curly section in his coat, very much like those of cushing sufferers only in one place on both sides.
This is where it is, but you cant atually see it in the picture.
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what do you reckon?
 
It very difficult to say, but cushing is a condition primarely of older horses so its not impossible. Chusings horses are prone to lammi, so I'd have the vet out just in case as can give meds for chushings! Hope he's OK doh! x
 
I can't see the curly patch too well as you've said but i'd keep an eye on him, how much is he moulting? Does he seem a bit more lethargic? Does he drink more water? etc. With the coat being the point of you noticing it, i'd keep an eye on how much he moults
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if its exactly the same both sides and its vertical up from the stifle then it sounds like the long whorls that all horses have,in which case the longer winter coat would look curly. If he isnt swaeting then i wouldnt panic.
 
My sec A gets a curly bit where you have indicated but she def. does not have cushings. I should know as we have a 17 yr old pony who was diagnosed with it at 12 but we believe he has had signs of it all his life. Other signs to look for include raised fat pads above the eyes, excessive drinking/peeing due to diabetes, lammi going into Autumn/Winter as daylight reduces,reoccurent infections due to lower immune system. Hopefully yours hasnt got it it is a truly awful condition. Your vet can perform a blood test to rule out.Good luck!
 
The others signs, apart from age and a curly coat, to look out for are:-

An attack of Laminitis, even if not overweight, your pony does not look overweight in you picture, he looks lovely
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To avoid an additional risk you should consider keeping him off frosted grass, and control his grazing at all times.
Check his digital pulses regularly and whether he is pottering about as both these can be signs of Laminitis.
This is the worst part of Cushings, and is a horrible condition
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Check to see if the 'dips' above the eyes are still prominent, as in Cushings ponies these 'dips' can disappear, until it is under control.

Drinking excess water.

They may become hot and sweaty, however when my old boy went down with it, I was convinced the sweating was due to pain because of the Laminitis he was suffering from.

The inability to shed the coat, or will shed the coat later each year, which would also result into sweaty patches, as they are hairy.

At later stages they change shape and can get a redistribution of fat pads and can look pot bellied.

I hope this helps a bit? But not all Cushings ponies have all the above conditions!

Basically keep and eye on him!
 
The curly bits havnt always been there, and its not the whorls as he has them as well. I will try to get a proper picture of it tommorow. I will see how he moults, last year he started in febuary but no moulting as of yet. He is drinking a fair bit, but I put it down to having hay and beeing thirsty as it tends to be a seasonaly thing. He hasnt had lami and no definatly not lethargic. Thanks for everyones replys
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I have an Icelandic who tested positive for Cushings over 2 years ago. The first signs were unexplained bouts of laminitis (in the winter) and the inability to shed his coat - he had a curly coat along his tummy and I had to clip him every other week, summer and winter. TBH your pony does not look like he has Cushings. But if you are worried and to be on the safe side, keep him off frosty grass and treat him as if he were a laminitic. The tests for Cushings can be inconclusive unless they are a strong positive (like my pony), also the Dex test can actually cause a pony to get lamintis, so think very carefully before having him tested. It is not true that Cushings is a disease of old horses - it has been diagnosed in horses as young as 8. My own chap is now 20 and Pergolide has controlled his symptoms well and has enabled him to live a happy life.
 
There are lots of us on here!

Our pony typically didn't show all the signs, but the worst - autumn laminitis. Baffled us no end til a vet said probably Cushing's as all ponies over 20 probably have it to some degree. I'd begin to guard against it now, and it may never manifest itself. It's all sound management for any pony, regardless of age. Pay careful attantion to teeth and feet and worming. Feed carefully, but good quality food with extra vit E and magnesium oxide. Visit Yahoo Groups 'Themetabolichorse' - there's tons of very helpful stuff on there.

He looks very well and the curly coat is unmistakeable - and not apparent on the photo! Think twice as said already about a dex suppression test as it can trigger laminitis. My vet prescribed Pergolide on suspicion alone. It did the trick.
 
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