Getting condition on cushings horse

EmmaB

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He's now on 2 tablets a day which have helped loads and he has put on weight and muscle but it's still a work in progress! I'm currently feeding 1 scoop Alfa Oil, 1 scoop pony nuts and half a scoop of oats, twice a day. This is the ONLY feed I can get him to eat, he is fussy (because of the pracend) and sometimes won't even eat that unless I give it him in small amounts!

I have tried veg oil, cod liver oil, micronised linseed and he won't go near it, I tried rowan barbarys low sugar and low starch mash which he ate for a while but won't touch it now.

If it was up him he would live on pony nuts, he scoffs them, and it's such an effort to get him to eat the chaff, he eats it begrudgingly! He gets plenty of hay day and night too.

Is there anything else I could try that he might like which is good for condition but ok with the cushings?
 

EmmaB

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Just read the chaff or no chaff thread, maybe I should cut down the Alfa oil and use sugarbeet (which he does like) and a better pellet feed?
 

_HP_

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Speedi bet is a very useful feed for a bit of conditioning...
I would definitely drop the chaff and replace it with speedi beet and keep feeding the cubes.
Is he getting a good bit and mineral supplement? This is essential for any horse but particularly one that is run down, unwell or has a condition such as Cushings.
A very good one is TENS Daily Balancer...it provides all the essentials required .
Regrading his appetite...did you introduce the increase of Prascend gradually? This seems to help with the 'veil' that some horses experience
http://www.thelaminitissite.org/articles/starting-pergolideprascend
 

JillA

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I recently did the Cafre course on equine nutrition and they mention that there is some inconclusive research which suggests that Cushings affects the mucus lining of the small intestine so that food isn't digested very effectively. Mine never gains weight but she seems to manage okay and has done for 6 years on a total hay replacer diet of unmollassed beet pulp, grass pellets and linseed. You could try yeasacc or other probiotic to beef up the bacteria in her large intestine.
 

EmmaB

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Yep he has gradually had the prascend increased and his appetite is now a lot better than it was when he first went on them so think it's finally settled down but he is still fussier now than he used to be (used to just eat anything!)

Speedi beet is what we have at the yard so this morn I've given him a big scoop of that, with the oats, pony nuts and a handful of chaff, and have put a bucket of chaff in the field for him to have when he likes. I'll go to the feed shop and see what better cubes there are to give him!

But no he doesn't have any vit/mineral supplement as I've never known if they actually work but I'll have a look at that balancer, thanks! :)
 

EmmaB

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JillA thanks that's interesting, would make sense as my boy used to easily keep him weight on not much feed but now it's taking a lot more!

I've heard other people mention grass pellets, they could be worth a try!
 

druid

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Dodson and Horrell have just released a feed specifically for horses with Cushings, my feed store had it in stock this morning so it must have been rolled out this week. Might be worth looking at?
 

TGM

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Was going to say the same as Druid. The product is Cushcare Condition and here is a link to info on it:

http://www.cushcarecondition.co.uk/

It has a calorie count of 12 MJDE/kg so will be significantly more conditioning than the pony nuts you are feeding, whilst almost certainly lower in sugar and starch. It is described as a 'crumble' in texture, so the test will be whether your boy likes it or not as it is not a cube (although looks a bit like a semi-disintegrated cube to me)!
 

EmmaB

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Ahh thanks for that, just compared the nutritional info, its almost the same in energy, oil and protein as the alfa oil. It also has a much higher oil content than the sixteen plus cubes which is the other one I was going to try. Will try it out! :)
 

LMR

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I'm feeding the ulsakind cubes from TopSpec to my EMS boy, hes also on their balancer which seems to be helping him gain weight steadly
 

Micky

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Have you tried asking andrea on the laminitis sites link facebook page for advice?
I thought mjde was the energy levels in a feed, not calories...I would drop the oats and the pony nuts and introduce micronised linseed, salt and lysine supplement.it worked for my horse who had lost a lot of weight and condition due to PPID but is now looking great after 2/3 months on above diet ( plus hay and hi fi molasses free chop) but ask andrea as she is very up to date with all things relayed to PPID
 

russianhorse

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My lad has been a nightmare to keep weight on, but towards the end of last year and now this year he is on: ready mash (the red one), fibre beet and linseed

He looks great and has a beautiful covering. Previously I had him on top spec balancer but it made no difference to him

Luckily he's not prone to lami so the diet he is on is perfect for him
 

TGM

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I thought mjde was the energy levels in a feed, not calories...[\QUOTE]Energy in scientific terms means the same as calories. In horses the difference in size means we talk in terms of Megajoules (MJDE) rather than calories (1 megajoule is equal to about 240,000 calories). Unfortunately it gets confusing in that horsey lay people confuse energy with 'fizz'. If a horse gets a high calorie/high megajoule feed it will either store that extra energy/calories as body fat or use it to become more energetic or 'fizzy'. This depends partly on the temperament on the horse and partly on the type of food fed. High sugar/starch feeds give a surge in carbohydrate levels that can make a sensitive horse very fizzy. A similar feed where the calories come from slowly absorbed fibre and oil is less likely to 'fizz' a horse up and therefore the calories are more likely to be used to maintain/increase condition.
 

Northern Hare

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My horse who has 1 Prascend / day is fed Topspec Comprehensive Balancer plus their Cool Conditioning Cubes and Alfa A Molasses Free and Kwikbeet. He is difficult to keep condition on but the yard has recently increased the amount of Kwikbeet and it has made a huge difference and he is looking much better now. The only thing is that he does end up with quite large feeds but he tends to go and attack his haynet before returning to his feedbowl.
 

splashgirl45

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I used fast fibre for my cushings horse last winter when she had lost weight and although she is a fussy madam, she seemed to love it and she got her weight back...
 

Olderrider

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Really interesting topic for me as I'm having problems feeding my old pony. She had been doing nicely on Allen & Page's fast fibre, but now is flatly refusing to eat any of their products. I tried extras, like mint etc. but no, just gives a disdainful sniff and walks away. At the moment she's eating speedi-beet and chaff, but is looking a bit pinched, although her ribs are reasonably well covered. She's 28 and minus a few teeth, so a lot of hay simply gets quidded and wasted. I keep her out 24/7 with shelter, so that at least she can eat some grass. She's on 1 x Prascend a day, never had laminitis and no sign of growing a curly coat. Is it true the Prascend could affect her appetite? She's always been inclined to have loose droppings, but this seems worse since she's been on the speedi-beet, so I'm also desperate for some ideas.
 
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