Effect of Severe Weather on Cushings/EMS cases

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iestynlad

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Interesting to read these posts re: alternative medications for Cushings. I have made notes in the event of Pergolide disappearing off the face of the earth. As if the costs aren't high enough with ponies having to live on a hay diet, constant blood tests and then the medication. I am absolutely stony! but my boys are still alive.

I have just had the worst winter of my entire life and would like to know if anyone else with Cushings/Equine Metabolic Syndrome victims has the same experiences.

I will repeat this as a separate post in case there are some out there who do not see it via the Cushings string.

My EMS guy went down with severe laminitis at the start of the very cold weather. He has had lami before loads of times and is taking Metformin which has always helped. There could have been no dietary reason for the lami - he is not at grass at all - lives on a pen. He finally (after a nasty bout of colic on Xmas Day!) has turned a corner and lived into another year!

My Cushings guy went down with very mild lami mid December (also very cold weather here) and off his food. So clearly some kind of metabolic/digestive disturbance and not linked to diet (very restricted on grass, also lives on a pen).

The vet agrees with me that the only cause for them both was the severe cold killing off the microflora in the gut.

My Cushings guy started to refuse his Pergolide and starting drinking and weeing buckets. I have just managed to get him to take it again by using AlphaBeet (looks grim when soaked but he can't get enough of it! and easier than a blow pipe!) Also I got them a probiotic paste (pretty good deal at £10 per syringe for a 6 day course for one pony) and he will take this in the Alfa Beet. Happy to report that he is also now looking a bit breezier.

Burning question: What do I do next winter if it turns really cold?
Anyone had the same problems?
 
My cushings pony had an awful winter last year, really struggled keeping lami in check.

This winter he has been a picture of health, no idea why as he has been managed exactly the same way, also been a lot colder this year.
 
Learning Curve: did you keep the pony in at night this winter? I had not been doing as he lives on a big wood chip pen (with little brother also a laminitic) with free access to stable in which haynet is. He is heavily rugged. I like them to live out as much as poss for mobility and also to save costs, as much as poss without compromising their wellbeing, on bedding as the cushings one can be very wet.
 
iestynlad said:
I have just had the worst winter of my entire life
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It really does sound as if you've been through the mill. I only have mild lami to contend with which to me is bad enough, so I just want to congratulate you for coping with such a basin full of problems. :)
 
Cheers LC: think I will source some straw for their beds next winter. I just cannot afford shavings any longer with all the other costs involved in caring for 2 special needs cases: Cushings and EMS. I know they eat it but when it gets a bit manky they stop and it is the warmest bedding. Also even dust free shavings are giving me breathing problems.
Lets both pray for a mild winter for the rest of their lives!!
 
Sorry to hear you have had a tough winter.

I too have a Cushinoid, i have had a great winter with him - last year was a stinker - he too went down with a mild Laminitis attack while stabled, i too had trouble administering Pergolide to him - tried every food possible - human and horse food, blow piped down neck, syringed.. this turned out to be too stressful for him, so i done some internet research - mainly American sites and came across a few case studies for herbal options, i made the decision to not attempt the Pergolide anymore and i put him on Cushylife, Echinacea and Milk Thistle and have not looked back - this winter he has been amazing - shiny, healthy coat, glistening eyes and generally a much happier pony and full of life. For me this is the best thing i could have done, but what works for mine may not work for others.

I hope you find a solution. Good luck. Its very frustrating.
 
I have made a note of the Cushylife and will certainly try if the Pergolide gets too hard to administer or if it becomes unavailable. I am really glad you got through this winter okay. Sometimes it feels like you are the only person in the world with a Cushingoid (and I have an EMS too). What have they both done to deserve that! I look at my neighbours horses - they don't get checked from one end of the week to the other, I have never seen a farrier there and the field is never poopicked - nothing ever seems to go wrong. I hardly take the bubble wrap off my two and this happens to them!
Do you still ride your Cushings pony/horse? I am interested in workload recommendations. I also have to box out for hacks so need to take the extra travel time into account.
 
"The vet agrees with me that the only cause for them both was the severe cold killing off the microflora in the gut."

if thats true you need a new vet ;)
 
iestynlad said:
I have made a note of the Cushylife and will certainly try if the Pergolide gets too hard to administer or if it becomes unavailable. I am really glad you got through this winter okay. Sometimes it feels like you are the only person in the world with a Cushingoid (and I have an EMS too). What have they both done to deserve that! I look at my neighbours horses - they don't get checked from one end of the week to the other, I have never seen a farrier there and the field is never poopicked - nothing ever seems to go wrong. I hardly take the bubble wrap off my two and this happens to them!
Do you still ride your Cushings pony/horse? I am interested in workload recommendations. I also have to box out for hacks so need to take the extra travel time into account.
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Its very frustrating isnt it? seems the more you try and look after them the worse you seem to suffer. I had x-rays done on mine back in September and he had rotation of the pedal bones, he is sound in walk and trot, i tend to take things easy with him, stroll around woods in summer and little bit of walk and trot in school. I can pretty much tell how far i can push him. He seems to enjoy going out more so tend to focus on that.
 
Bensababy: Thanks for this. Yes I will probably do same until I see how he goes. When he was x rayed in June he did not have any rotation at all. Very mild lami both occasions.

I am interested to know what quantities of Milk Thistle, Echinacea and Cushylife you gave yours (and size/type of your equine). I have found the website for these supplements.

Many thanks. Hope it is ever forwards now with yours.
 
Schoolmaster:
what do you think the cause could be? Seriously I am at my wit's end. Please bear in mind one has Cushings and one has EMS but no change in management and no access to grass. No stress and only lami approved feed. So what can trigger lami and colic in this case? The only changes were the weather and the shorter daylight hours (both these factors mentioned by other people in this string).
If I can pin the cause down and do something about it I am a happy woman.
 
iestynlad said:
Bensababy: Thanks for this. Yes I will probably do same until I see how he goes. When he was x rayed in June he did not have any rotation at all. Very mild lami both occasions.

I am interested to know what quantities of Milk Thistle, Echinacea and Cushylife you gave yours (and size/type of your equine). I have found the website for these supplements.

Many thanks. Hope it is ever forwards now with yours.
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Cushings shouldnt stop you from riding them, i only take it easy with mine due to the rotation, otherwise he would be in normal work.

i cant remember exact amounts - i write them down at yard. But he has 3 drops of Echinacea Monday - Friday (break of a weekend) for 3 weeks then has a week off, Milk Thistle is about 25gm roughly (dont quote me on that) and Cushylife i believe the recommended dose is 15ml/20ml per day for ponies - its says on the label how much to feed. I have a 13.1hh New Forest Pony - nearly 18 years old.

I hope whatever you do you have some success with. Just remember though what may work for my pony may not neccessarily work for yours. Good luck.
 
Bensababy: thank you for this. I am intending to give it a try after the next bloods. He is not a lot bigger than your boy Welsh X TB 14hh and 21 this year. All the best.
 
My horse has been diagnosed recently as a Cushing's sufferer, with EMS laminitis, which may or may not be Cushing's related. She is only 8years old. At the moment she is on box rest and is being x-rayed next week to see where to go next. She started Peroglide and ate the first tablet.....Parascend (sp) is the next drug apparently - none in stock when i collected. I am also putting her on Cushinaze and Slimline - (NAF), but read your comments with interest on the other supplements and their efficacy. Thank you. I would just love to be able to ride her again, even at walk and trot but at this stage that's an unknown to me!
 
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