Horse eating a lot more than normal?

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lucymay9701

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Hi everyone

Please can you give me some advice on my horse’s appetite. Last October she was diagnosed with borderline cushing’s – her levels weren’t very high though – they were 53.9 (reference range up to 47). Last spring she was slower than normal losing her coat and it wasn’t in the best condition. After her ACTH test I decided to try her on herbal supplements – she is now on the james hart cushy life. This year she is moulting as normal, if anything she started earlier than normal but until last year she has always been a horse who moults pretty early. Her coat is also in really good condition this year and she has plenty of energy and seems fine in herself. She had some health problems at the end of last year but is now doing great. She’s 25 and I’ve had her for 20 years.

The thing that is worrying me is her appetite. She’s always been a fussy eater and it’s always been difficult to get her to eat enough in the winter. Recently though her appetite is huge!! I’ve never known her eat so much and it’s completely out of character for her – we just can’t keep her filled up. Her weight is really good, so she’s not obese from eating extra but it’s just abnormal for her. Does anyone know if this could be due to cushings even if it’s the only symptom? Or does anyone know of any other causes? She’s not drinking anymore than normal.

She is due to have a repeat cushings test soon but I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts, as it feels like something else could be going on but I don’t know what. If her ACTH has gone higher I’m considering medication but because she’s so well in herself I’m worried about her becoming depressed and going off her food. It’s nice to see her enjoying her food but then I’m thinking if it’s just because she’s really hungry that probably isn’t nice for her to feel hungry all the time.

I’d be grateful for any thoughts!

Thank you
Lucy x
 
lucymay9701 said:
Hi everyone

Please can you give me some advice on my horse’s appetite. Last October she was diagnosed with borderline cushing’s – her levels weren’t very high though – they were 53.9 (reference range up to 47). Last spring she was slower than normal losing her coat and it wasn’t in the best condition. After her ACTH test I decided to try her on herbal supplements – she is now on the james hart cushy life. This year she is moulting as normal, if anything she started earlier than normal but until last year she has always been a horse who moults pretty early. Her coat is also in really good condition this year and she has plenty of energy and seems fine in herself. She had some health problems at the end of last year but is now doing great. She’s 25 and I’ve had her for 20 years.

The thing that is worrying me is her appetite. She’s always been a fussy eater and it’s always been difficult to get her to eat enough in the winter. Recently though her appetite is huge!! I’ve never known her eat so much and it’s completely out of character for her – we just can’t keep her filled up. Her weight is really good, so she’s not obese from eating extra but it’s just abnormal for her. Does anyone know if this could be due to cushings even if it’s the only symptom? Or does anyone know of any other causes? She’s not drinking anymore than normal.

She is due to have a repeat cushings test soon but I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts, as it feels like something else could be going on but I don’t know what. If her ACTH has gone higher I’m considering medication but because she’s so well in herself I’m worried about her becoming depressed and going off her food. It’s nice to see her enjoying her food but then I’m thinking if it’s just because she’s really hungry that probably isn’t nice for her to feel hungry all the time.

I’d be grateful for any thoughts!

Thank you
Lucy x
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The appetite on my cushings horse increased dramatically before he was treated. He was eating a whole bale of hay a day plus hard feed. A bale of hay was around 45lbs. He was only 500kg. He never put on weight yet he should have been enrolled at weightwatchers with that amount of feed. :D

fast forward to 5 months of cusings medication, his appetite is normal. He is eating half the amount hay and gaining weight.
Before he ate all hay put out for him. Now he just wanders around adlib hay and self regulates his appetite. He often wanders off and leaves it as a normal horse would.

my test result before treatment BTW was 11.

My old arab aged 27 was very similar. He was eating more that the rest put together. He was my first cushings horse and I didn't realise the significance. His coat was nice and and he still galloped up hills at the speed of sound. No lethargy problems.

My first sign of cushings was full blown laminitis. He was tested and the result was 39. I was unable to control the cushings at that late stage. There was no choice but to PTS due to the pain of laminitis.
If I was now in the position of having a 25 yo horse with possible/borderline cushings I would be at the vet's today.
 
Thanks very much for your reply. Looks like it could be cushings then even though that is her only symptom at the moment. I'm so worried about how she'll be initially after going on medication although I know some horses are fine. The vet is coming to re-check her levels soon so I'll have a chat with her about everything. She suggested re-checking before she goes on any extra grass because of the laminitis risk.

Just out of interest does anyone know if there can be any other causes for an increased appetite or is cushings the only one? I'm not having much luck doing a google search as when I type it in all I come across is ways to increase the appetite rather than causes for an increased appetite!

Thanks

Lucy x
 
An increase in appetite is fairly consistent with Cushings, even though they appear not to put on any weight. But, they are always susceptable to laminitis so best to watch for this, if her appetite has increased and spring is ......perhaps......around the corner.

We have had an awful last summer/winter and the grass is showing signs of this, so it could also be due to this. But, if she's in and on hay, I don't think it has too much of a bearing.

If you've caught it relatively early without too many other symptoms presenting themselves this is a good sign. With medication and love and care from you, I'm sure she will enjoy many more years yet, so try not too worry too much.

I've had several horses over the years with it, and most have gone on to have long lives from when symptoms were first noticed.
 
mine had no problem after going onto medication. Some people say to go onto the full dose but some horses are affected by the "pergolide Veil" and some people therefore build up the dose gradually.
I built it up over 2 weeks (perhaps I am very cautious) and I had no side effects.

I would be far more worried about cushings if I didn't catch it and treat it than I would be about giving the drug.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. It seems there are no other reasons for the increased appetite then? She is always on bare grazing in the winter and fed ad-lib so there hasn't been any difference with that. I'll definitely increase the medication slowly if she goes on it to try and avoid the problems. Also not sure she's going to like the taste of it from what I've read so hopefully she will eat it! Lucy x
 
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