Feeding elderly cushings for weight gain...

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

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I know this is always a tricky one but does anyone have experience of feeding for weight gain with Cushings oldies? Mine is 25 and has suddenly gone downhill weight-wise. I know it's been a harsh winter but she's had ad-lib hay and her pals are looking ok, if slightly slim. In the space of a few weeks the remainder of her topline has gone and her spine has become really prominent. She used to have a really fat back - virtually table top! Vet cannot find anything specific other than what we already know which is that she's an old Cushings. He suggested she try haylege a while ago and she did seem fine with it (I was reluctant mind you), but it didn't help her gain weight.

She's 10.2hh, lives in the "lami paddock" and has ad-lib hay 24/7. She has a handful of HiFi Lite once a day with a sprinkle of 16+. They're all wormed using Equest and Equest Pramox, and see the dentist twice a year. She's never really had to have much work done with her teeth to be honest. I use a Smart coat rake to keep her coat thinned, and I don't think she is overheating. The problem is I can't think what to give her which won't trigger off an episode of laminitis. I would say she's not massively sensitive compared to some but I don't want to risk it. I'm wondering about adding a bit of unmollassed sugar beet? Does anyone know if oil is risky to Cushings ponies?

ETS - other than weight loss, she is fine in herself and quite perky now spring is here.
 
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Have you heard of the yahoo group 'metabolic horse' company? Jackie Taylor is a godsend and is brilliant with her advice regarding do's & don't with these tricky little creatures! My girl is ir/ems so i sympathise with feeding problems. Alfa beet is supposed to be good at promoting condition, safely and also the top spec range such as their fibre plus&cool and condition cubes. - they also have fact files and suitable feeding regimes on line. there are some issues regarding using oil, so ask jackie!
 
My Cushings horse is allowed Corn Oil and I only got weight back on him when his Pergolide was increased from 1mg a day to 1 1/2 mg a day and I stopped killing his hay by soaking it too much and gave him the Corn Oil ... basically, after a scare that he had Laminitis again, in July 2008, my Vet said he was looking more like a Cushings horse, as he was so ribby, she told me to increase his dosage.

He never ate much hay anyway, so I came to the conclusion that the little he got needed to be a bit nutritious ... I also upped his feed of High Fibre Nuts and Happy Hoof, as he teeth are not so good ....

Now I am having the opposite problem, as his weight is too good, so I cannot win .....

But unfortunatley each horse copes differently with this condition and we have to find the fine balance between eating enough and risking the horrid 'L' word :(

Good luck and keep us posted please.
 
My old girl had it and linseed was the best thing to give her for weight gain charnwood mill do 25kg asck for around £25 which is chaepest way to buy it.
Good luck x
 
I used to use big tub trugs of Happy Hoof as a hay replacer for my old Cushings pony. Even if you have the dentist out regularly, it is likely with any old horse that the teeth are slightly compromised and it is harder for them to munch through their hay, so try giving a tub of Happy Hoof alongside her hay.

As said above, Speedibeet (or other unmollassed beet) is a very useful feed for underweight Cushings/laminitics as it has as many calories as a lot of conditioning feeds (dry weight) but is low in sugar and starch and is recommended by the Laminitis Trust. Nice and easy to eat for an oldie too.

I would drop the 16+ though as that is cereal based.
 
Look for low starch and sugar but high fibre feeds. There are several available. Agree with the others - unmollassed sugar beet is good. Allen and page fast fibre is another good choice, its also soaked before feeding. As TGM says i would drop the 16+.

You could also supplement with brewers yeast, which will help the gut digest fibre better. As horses get old their digestion is less efficient.
 
I had a mare with Cushings- it's such a nasty thing, it really is.
I found Spillers v helpful (or you could try contacting whatever feed company you use...), Spillers suggested that I fed their Conditioning Fibre Chaff with Slow Release Energy Cubes (low starch high oil) (which is what my other horses have anyway), and she did much better on this diet when she started to lose weight... her digestion would never have coped with haylage! she had adlib good quality hay, she also had pink powder and Linseed added too. My girl had probs with hooks on her teeth as well which she had to have power rasped every year. Best of luck with your mare.
 
Hi
I had the same problem before I realised my 30yr old had Cushings but his teeth were so poor that I had to take him off hay. I have been giving him soaked feeds by a company called Simple System. Their feeds are completey grain and mollases free. They are also very helpful with specific problems and have a help line. Details as follows. simplesystem.co.uk Helpline 01728604008.

They do spcialise in metabolic problems and their feeds are not more expensive that most horse feeds. They have a country wide delivery system and all their regional suppliers can give help and advice.
good luck
 
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