Early stage cushings - advice

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Cocorules

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My pony has been diagnosed with early stage cushings acth 38 and vet has said no pergolide yet as it could make the level too low and to blood test again in 2 months. She does not have lami and is the right weight now though got very thin in the summer. Do you have any care advice?
 
My girl got diagnosed with incredibly high end Cushings last Christmas - we started riding her again last week, after 15 months off :D
As far as care goes, we treat Kelly (and always have done) as a strict lami pony (obviously Cushings and lami tend to go hand in hand and its so hard to get rid of so I guess prevention is the key) - so soaked hay, sugar free polos, she has a Happy Hoof feed in a morning and she has a supplement called Cushy Life - which is meant to help horses in early stage Cushings without the meds. It has Vitex Agnus Castus in, which is a supplement meant to support Cushings ponies - it has certainly helped Kel, her coat is nowhere near as long or curly now and I know of one or two people who have managed their horses in a similar condition to yours with this supplement.
Kelly has limited turn out - she isn't a horse that needs it really so she barely gets any when the weather is bad, but if she does go out, she has a grazing muzzle and she's only out for an hour.
She's been having remedial shoeing - I believe that we owe our fab farrier everything :)
We felt devastated when Kelly was diagnosed - Cushings has a reputation for such bad prognosis, but we have found she is still our same old naughty Kel, just that she has to have a tablet once a day!
I hope your girl doesn't get any worse and she can stay off the meds and be managed without them x
K x
 
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No prob. As I said it has helped Kelly, her coat is fab now and people always comment that you would never know she had Cushings from just looking at her.
Feel free to PM me anytime if you have any questions I can try and help - its a horrible disease but it can be controlled :)
K x
 
My old boy was diagnosed with cushings when he was 17- he had the longer coat and came down with lami. We didn't put him on the pergolide straight away as we were able to manage him without it. We treated him like a lami (no haylage/ sugary food, off springgrass etc) and clipped him off in the winter. As the cushings progressed, he had to be clipped at the start of the summer too. He managed fine like this and was still out competeting and doing xc's.
I think he was about 19 when he went downhill in the winter (apparently the time to watch them in the autumn- unlike the spring with normal lami) so we put him on a low dose of the pergolide and he picked up again and was back to his old perky self. He carried on playing around the xc's, hacking, showing etc. His coat growth was more rapid than when he first got it but was a lot better quality since he was on the tablets.
A couple of winters later, he had a have a big operation to remove sarcoids but he managed to pull through that without the cushings affecting him.

However, sadly last christmas he went downhill. His breathing deteriorated and he started getting foot absesses. When he was going down in the field, we decided to call it a day. He was sadly pts in Feb.

However, if I could go back and do it again- I would not hesitate to put him on the pergolide again. It really gave him another burst of life for a few more years when it was really needed. He coped fine with his routine to a point :) Good luck with your pony.
 
My shettie was diagnosed 2 years ago has having mild lami and was tested for cushings which came back positive and he is on a small dose of pergolide per day, he has never looked better. We made him his own small paddock, and he looks forward to his small haynet and bucket everyday. Cushings whilst cvan be serious has not been the end of world for my pony, just the beginning of a new lifestyle
 
Lami style management as others have said. Low sugar, high fibre, restricted grass. Cushinaze is another supplement you could try, it worked well for mine until she reached the pergolide stage. Also prebiotics are worth a try to keep things ticking over.

Clipping and rugging makes them more comfortable if they are very hairy, they'll sweat up easily so better to take it all off. Mine has a non-standard "rug clip" so neck, head and legs stay on - the first time it was done, she literally galloped across her paddock with joy; she hadn't even broken into a trot for about 5 years! Also find a good farrier/trimmer who understands Cushings and laminitis. Mine has been invaluable.
 
I'm another who used a agnus castus based supplement with success - I used NAF Cushinaze. There are several similar supplements to choose from. Another is Vitex. I used Cushinaze because the tack shop I use stocked it. In the end it was arthritis & worn out teeth that led to Bobby being pts rather than the cushings. He was on the supplements for nearly 2 years. I did clip him to help keep him comfortable.
 
i also have a mare with a load of health issues including lami and cushings and we also use cushy life it has been her saving grace before she was on it we were considering having her put down now she is doing things the vets said she could never even attempt again i highly recommend it
 
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