Is it worth freaking out?

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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I had the vet out Thursday to do routine jabs and teeth and we chatted about stuff to be on the lookout for as my horse ages (she is 20, will be 21 in May) and the vet mentioned that they are doing free cushings blood tests at the moment, as they are collecting data for a big study. I said, yeah, I'd do the test. Because it was free. That's it. The horse, at the moment, presents none of the symptoms of cushings; she's fit, sound, working really well, shiny, peeing normally, etc. No trouble shedding out last spring. So I thought I had nothing to worry about.

Vet phoned me on Monday to say that my horse's results were "borderline" and she was as surprised as I was. She recommended doing nothing and retesting in a few months time (obviously if something changes, we'd retest sooner) .

I have since read up about all the gory details of Cushings on the internet (bad idea) and even though they can give them drugs that treat the symptoms, it still reads like a death sentence. :(

Has anyone else had "borderline" results? Is it as bad as it sounds when you read about it?
 
At least you are aware there may be a problem, we see so many posts on here about sick horses with a variety of symptoms that turn out to have Cushings, now you know she is borderline you can monitor any changes.
 
It isn't that unusual in an equine of that age, and is perfectly well manageable with currently available medication. With a borderline ACTH levels, I would be watching for symptoms, especially low grade laminitis, and putting her on chasteberry (Vitex) if and when she shows any. As I understand it Vitex controls the symptoms, whereas Prascend (pergolide for horses) manages the condition but replacing the missing dopamine.
And make sure she doesn't kick into insulin resistance by minimising the sugars and starches (cereals) in her diet.
Nothing to freak about at all.
 
ester said:
No not worth freaking out if she hasn't got any symptoms, just worth keeping an eye on and monitoring.
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Yeah. Vet said my old girl had mild Cushings (didn't test for it) but there was no point doing anything about it as it wasn't affecting her. That was fine with me, and she still made it to 35 :)
 
She doesn't get any cereals (insofar as I think I know what you mean by "cereal"). She is on Speedibeet, chaff, soya oil, and all the haylage she wants.

hnmisty, at what age was your horse diagnosed?
 
It seems that every horse over the age of 18 tested for Cushings is coming back positive! Quite a few people on my yard with older equines are now being stung for prascend even though the horses show no symptoms.
 
well I woudn't be medicating my horse if it didn't have any symptoms to relieve. I suppose there is a bit of an insurance issue here in that if you waited for symptoms you wanted relieve your horse off you would then get prascend paid for for the next year. If you test speculatively you can't

Fwiw OP I did speculatively test Frank at 19 and he was clear (no symptoms but as we were taking shoes off wanted to ensure no other complicating factors to think about.
 
9tails said:
It seems that every horse over the age of 18 tested for Cushings is coming back positive! Quite a few people on my yard with older equines are now being stung for prascend even though the horses show no symptoms.
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I'm sure I read somewhere that 1 in 10 horses over 20 have Cushings, so it is not really surprising that so many are testing positive.
 
I wouldn't freak out at all. My mare got a borderline result when she was 19 and I wasn't going to medicate as she had no symptoms, but then she started getting recurring abscesses (which is a symptom!) at about the same time so we decided to go for it. She is only on half a tablet and that seems to be keeping things under control :)
 
jrp204 said:
At least you are aware there may be a problem, we see so many posts on here about sick horses with a variety of symptoms that turn out to have Cushings, now you know she is borderline you can monitor any changes.
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MrsD123 said:
I think it is a worry, obviously, but you must look at it in one way that you have identified the need for monitoring, so you are prepared.
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Agree with both of these comments.
 
Dont freak out, its certainly not a death sentence, just a change of management in diet, turnout, exercise and drugs, perfectly manageable :) My 14yr old is 'borderline' though had lgl, sweated, fat pads and lethargy, all perky and fine now on low dose of 'pergolide'. Many horses go on for years and years and 9/10 pop off due to something else...dont worry, you are prepared and can look up any info on thelaminitissite to educate yourself.
 
Not worth freaking out at all. I have a 21 year old with Cushings, she was diagnosed nearly 8 years ago, and whilst sheis on quite a high dose of Prascend now she is still going strong and looking very well.
 
I had my 18 yr old Dales gelding tested on the 10thNovember. His came back with a borderline result of 40.5. with a note saying to retest in January as the same result 2 weeks earlier it would have been within normal ranges. The reason for testing was a wetter bed than usual, however this is now back to normal and I have put it down to a very stalky large bale of hay retaining a lot of water after soaking all day (copd). Hopefully his levels will be OK inJanuary and it was down to the seasonal rise.
Good luck with your pony
 
jgmbng said:
I had my 18 yr old Dales gelding tested on the 10thNovember. His came back with a borderline result of 40.5. with a note saying to retest in January as the same result 2 weeks earlier it would have been within normal ranges. The reason for testing was a wetter bed than usual, however this is now back to normal and I have put it down to a very stalky large bale of hay retaining a lot of water after soaking all day (copd). Hopefully his levels will be OK inJanuary and it was down to the seasonal rise.
Good luck with your pony
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The wetter bed could have been the seasonal rise too. Although my pony is now being medicated after testing, I now realise that the increase in weeing in the autumn over the past couple of years ,that I put down to moving into the winter field with more wet grass, was Cushings related.
 
Gloi said:
The wetter bed could have been the seasonal rise too. Although my pony is now being medicated after testing, I now realise that the increase in weeing in the autumn over the past couple of years ,that I put down to moving into the winter field with more wet grass, was Cushings related.
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This had crossed my mind but I am hoping it was the hay (we already have a list of expensive ailments as long as my elbow !) The bed did dry up on exactly the same day as I started a new bale and wasn't a gradual thing so my fingers are crossed :)
 
I had exactly the same!! Did test as it was free and horse is 20. Came back with 40 a few weeks ago. Vet said do nothing, he's showing no signs at all and retest in the new year. I wouldn't worry a bit.
 
It is a worry yes. As others have stated, keep an eye on the symptoms, but don't stress yourself with it as it's easy to convince yourself they're a bigger problem at the time. I agree with retesting as you cannot go by just symptoms. Medication works for some and not for others, however generally it is recommended when the ACTH results and symptoms are asking for it. Vitex hasn't been proven to help any of the symptoms at all bar occasional small differences in the horses mood and thus shouldn't be classed as an "alternative" to using Prascend - tried it on my own horse and it made no difference in the slightest however he's doing well on Prascend and his symptoms massively reduced once the right dose was found.

As for a death sentence - yes and no. No cure and the majority of horses will get laminitis if they live long enough with the condition. However. They can still live very normal and happy lives and you can forget about it. My boy is very old now, so his symptoms changing and especially mood are things that always weigh on my mind. But aside from the cost of treatment (for 2mg a day) life goes on. Modern medicine is also meaning horses are living their lives better with PPID too, whereas 30/40 years ago, they were seen as "old" and put down. Also, his first reading was around 90. I've seen others on the net talk about results in the hundreds, so it does vary!
 
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