exmoor X advice

[cocabana]

hi, i did put a post on a week ago about my exmoor, he has arthritis in his hips, djd in front legs and cusions, his arthritis and djd have been bad for the past 2 week, i have put him on super-fen (the same as vetri-fen) been on it 5 days, it should be in his system now, i had a look over him today like i do everyday, but noticed now hes not in as much pain, he is underweight and still tucked up, not anywere near as tucked up as he has bin though, he is a exmoor so has alway been a good doer he just had to look at food and put weight on, so him being like this is not normal, you cant see his ribs but if you run your hand over you can feel them, he is on 2 feeds a day, on a acre feild to himself as in the geldings field he has always been the top dog, now he isnt well the others were running him round to take is place
can someone please give me some advise on what they think on any part of this and i have phoned my vet and i am doing what he has said, the super-fen lasts a month so i want to see how he is after his month supply if there is not much change i will be having another hard look at what else i can try
sorry the post is so long
thanks x

 

[scotlass]

So sorry to hear about your exmoor. As you say, they're usually such good do-ers. Is there maybe something else going on with him. I've no personal experience of what you are using, so am I right in assuming it's some sort of veterinary strength product along the lines of Cortaflex? Is there maybe some sort of metabolic thing going on too, which may be bringing the arthritis to the fore? The bit that jumped out at me in your post was that the other ponies that he is usually top dog of have now relegated him to the bottom of the chain - which may indicate in their heirarchy something else is wrong other than his arthritis. Of course, his weight loss may be due to the pain he was previously in, but I know exmoors, and they're tough as nails. I think what I'm getting at is that it would probably worth getting your vet back in to do some bloods, which could also check his arthritis markers at the same time.
Good luck.

 

[muff747]

I agree with scotlass, I would have the ACTH test for Cushings again. My TBx 23 y.o. gelding has it and I regularly keep checking to make sure it is down to normal levels - this effectively stops the progression and removes the threat of laminitis. Is he on Pergolide for his Cushings? My gelding was diagnosed two years ago. His only symptoms were depression, lack of appetite and going "footy". At the time he wasn't hairy at all and not overweight in the slightest. Now my vet says he looks fantastic for his age.
Also he was always herd leader.

 

[muff747]

I agree with scotlass, I would have the ACTH test for Cushings again. My TBx 23 y.o. gelding has it and I regularly keep checking to make sure it is down to normal levels - this effectively stops the progression and removes the threat of laminitis. Is he on Pergolide for his Cushings? My gelding was diagnosed two years ago. His only symptoms were depression, lack of appetite and going "footy". At the time he wasn't hairy at all and not overweight in the slightest. Now my vet says he looks fantastic for his age.
Also he was always herd leader.

I suppose what I'm meaning is your boy has some similarities to mine in his symptoms. Mine has always had problems with his hips, hocks, arthritis, navicular etc, before he was diagnosed with Cushings. He looks great at the moment but he has gone very footy this last few weeks since the drought ended and it is raining - hence the grass is growing - hence new shoots loaded with sugar. I have learnt that this is usually the trigger for him going "off" again. What do you feed him?
Have you tried keeping him off grass totally for a few days/ a week?