less common cushings symptoms

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

Got bloods back for the little pony, and it turns out she does indeed have cushings. We've started on the standard plan of action- half a prascend daily, and bloods booked again for 6 weeks.

Now, I know I'm being really impatient, and what I really need to do is just wait the 6 weeks and see if there's any improvement in her bloods and/or in her symptoms. But 6 weeks is a long time! So I was just wondering in your collective experience, how many of these symptoms might be related to the cushings:

Crib biting/windsucking
Occassional diarrhoea
Being a bit girthy
Slight footiness, (despite vets and farriers assessing her on numerous occasions and saying it's not laminitis)
a general loss of "spark"

I know a lot of those point more towards ulcers. But she's not exactly a classic candidate- she's a little native pony, on mostly just lead rein exercise, 24/7 turnout. I have had her on a gastric supplement from the vet for about 3 weeks, but I haven't noticed any change at all.

Any other less common symptoms that you didn't even realise we're connected to the cushings, and which you've found have improved on prascend?

The only reason I had her tested is because she held on to her winter coat a bit longer than my other pony, and the vet was up to do flu/tetanus anyway.

 

[Gloi]

Occassional diarrhoea
Slight footiness, (despite vets and farriers assessing her on numerous occasions and saying it's not laminitis)
a general loss of "spark"

These are ones ponies here have had, but the ones that made us get tested were skin infections, odd sweating and stopping to pee on every ride.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

My Cushings horse did have ulcer symptoms when I first got her aged 17. I thought it was because the tack that I bought with her didn't fit correctly. I didn't have her scoped but gave her Aloe Vera juice daily and of course changed her tack. If we forgot/ran out her symptoms returned within 36 hrs. I have never linked those symptoms with Cushings but because she was only on Prascend for about a year, I have wondered if she had it before we knew - she was always a wet horse, so now I am wondering if the ulcer symptoms were an early warning. She did have test results within normal range before she was eventually prescribed Prascend, after a borderline/Positive test. She was pts aged 23 when she became ataxic.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

Occassional diarrhoea
Slight footiness, (despite vets and farriers assessing her on numerous occasions and saying it's not laminitis)
a general loss of "spark"

These are ones ponies here have had, but the ones that made us get tested were skin infections, odd sweating and stopping to pee on every ride.

Interesting to hear. She's not shown any of those more classic signs at all- she doesn't drink or sweat excessively, and she's apparently never had laminitis. I guess I'll just have to wait and see......(I'm obviously hoping that everything is all part and parcel of the cushings, and that half a tiny tablet every day will magically cure all her ailments!)

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

My Cushings horse did have ulcer symptoms when I first got her aged 17. I thought it was because the tack that I bought with her didn't fit correctly. I didn't have her scoped but gave her Aloe Vera juice daily and of course changed her tack. If we forgot/ran out her symptoms returned within 36 hrs. I have never linked those symptoms with Cushings but because she was only on Prascend for about a year, I have wondered if she had it before we knew - she was always a wet horse, so now I am wondering if the ulcer symptoms were an early warning. She did have test results within normal range before she was eventually prescribed Prascend, after a borderline/Positive test. She was pts aged 23 when she became ataxic.

I sorry to hear you had a bit of a rough ride with it all. I guess the problem is that it turns out ulcers are surprisingly common, and obviously cushings is pretty common in older horses (although mine's only 13), so statistically there will be a lot of horses who present with both. I swear, I worry more about this tiny pony than I do about any of my own children!

 

[meleeka]

I think mine has hind gut ulcers. She’s managed really well with Protexin Acid Ease. I saw an improvement within 2 weeks. I thought mine was just getting old until she galloped round the field one day! Fingers crossed you see just a good improvement. Mines been on Prascend for around 6 years now and looks nowhere near her age.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

I'd suggest also checking for ulcers as my old mare who was diagnosed with Cushings also had ulcers...

Her Cushings caused slight footiness only, no coat holding etc.

Her girthiness and watery poop were caused by ulcers.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

I think mine has hind gut ulcers. She’s managed really well with Protexin Acid Ease. I saw an improvement within 2 weeks. I thought mine was just getting old until she galloped round the field one day! Fingers crossed you see just a good improvement. Mines been on Prascend for around 6 years now and looks nowhere near her age.

Ive just googled the protexin acid ease, and it's very similar to the supplement the vet's already given us, which doesn't seem to be helping much. Sigh.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I sorry to hear you had a bit of a rough ride with it all. I guess the problem is that it turns out ulcers are surprisingly common, and obviously cushings is pretty common in older horses (although mine's only 13), so statistically there will be a lot of horses who present with both. I swear, I worry more about this tiny pony than I do about any of my own children!

I believe, from what I have learned since, that my 6 yr old Shire had Cushings which resulted in laminitis and pts. It is almost 20 years ago, when I, certainly, knew nothing about Cushings and my farrier has always blamed the vet for mishandling the case and completely ignoring some symptoms but sadly, because she was so big, I doubt that the outcome could have been much different. I don't know if the profession knew much about Cushings at the time.

We do get so emotionally involved in these animals don't we?

 

[rextherobber]

Mine does really well on Keyflow Pink Mash, (was/is not symptomatic at all apart from having an unusually thick coat for a TB, so sorry, can't help with the symptoms bit!)

 

[Hackback]

The first major symptom (in hindsight) mine showed was saddle issues as he kept changing shape. It was due to muscle loss caused by the Cushings but I didn't know at the time because he was otherwise well and the muscle loss wasn't dramatic. The main symptom, which manifested about a year after the saddle issues started, was the loss of spark. He still did everything he was asked, but there was no exuberance, no silly spooking etc. The vet took routine bloods, expecting a virus, and only did the Cushings test because it was free at the time. My horse was only 9. He went straight on the Prascend and after a very shaky start with 'the Veil' when I thought I was going to lose him, he's doing well - now age 14 - and you wouldn't know he has Cushings to look at him. He did suffer a really nasty skin infection a couple of years ago and eventually I put him on a Vit E supplement to boost his immune system and he's been ok since, touch wood. One odd thing is that he hardly sweated pre-diagnosis, but now sweats like a normal horse. He's always peed 'ad-lib' since I got him as a 4 year old but he's never drunk excessively.

He was also diagnosed with ulcers the year before his Cushings diagnosis. He was treated with Peptizole which worked. I've also had Acid Ease but didn't think it made any difference. Nowadays I just try to make sure he never has an empty tummy, as well as feeding Ulsakind cubes (other brands are available!) which claim to do a similar thing to the Acid Ease, ie forming a protective mucous layer over the gastric lining.

 

[Theskebaldmare]

Got bloods back for the little pony, and it turns out she does indeed have cushings. We've started on the standard plan of action- half a prascend daily, and bloods booked again for 6 weeks.

Now, I know I'm being really impatient, and what I really need to do is just wait the 6 weeks and see if there's any improvement in her bloods and/or in her symptoms. But 6 weeks is a long time! So I was just wondering in your collective experience, how many of these symptoms might be related to the cushings:

Crib biting/windsucking
Occassional diarrhoea
Being a bit girthy
Slight footiness, (despite vets and farriers assessing her on numerous occasions and saying it's not laminitis)
a general loss of "spark"

I know a lot of those point more towards ulcers. But she's not exactly a classic candidate- she's a little native pony, on mostly just lead rein exercise, 24/7 turnout. I have had her on a gastric supplement from the vet for about 3 weeks, but I haven't noticed any change at all.

Any other less common symptoms that you didn't even realise we're connected to the cushings, and which you've found have improved on prascend?

The only reason I had her tested is because she held on to her winter coat a bit longer than my other pony, and the vet was up to do flu/tetanus anyway.

we have 2 horses with Cushings and sometimes with Cushings they can get a curly coat

 

[Gloi]

Got bloods back for the little pony, and it turns out she does indeed have cushings. We've started on the standard plan of action- half a prascend daily, and bloods booked again for 6 weeks.

Now, I know I'm being really impatient, and what I really need to do is just wait the 6 weeks and see if there's any improvement in her bloods and/or in her symptoms. But 6 weeks is a long time! .

I noticed a change in the excessive urination within 2 weeks of starting Prascend.
*****

 

[zandp]

do you know about the veil and building up to the full dose slowly ? i'd start on a quarter and see if she tolerates that and then go up to half, and I'd feed 1/4 each end of the day rather than the full dose in one go.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

do you know about the veil and building up to the full dose slowly ? i'd start on a quarter and see if she tolerates that and then go up to half, and I'd feed 1/4 each end of the day rather than the full dose in one go.

No, I don't know this at all. Vet just said start with a "loading dose" of half a tablet a day, then retest and possibly reduce after 6 weeks. Half a tablet did seem like quite a lot- she's only tiny (230ish kg) How on earth do you even cut one of those buggers into quarters?!!

 

[Chinchilla]

No, I don't know this at all. Vet just said start with a "loading dose" of half a tablet a day, then retest and possibly reduce after 6 weeks. Half a tablet did seem like quite a lot- she's only tiny (230ish kg) How on earth do you even cut one of those buggers into quarters?!!

buy a pill cutter

 

[planete]

Lots of info here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/12994389809/

 

[splashgirl45]

mine held her coat slightly and was very well behaved to ride,(unusual) no spooking etc but i felt she was depressed which as why i asked for the test. she didnt wee excessively or drink more.i didnt have any problem with the veil and started mine on 1 tablet daily. when she was 13 she started cribbing . she was diagnosed with cushings when she was 20 and within about 2 months of starting prascend she stopped cribbing and never did it again. i lost her at 25.

 

[TwyfordM]

Mine gets skin issues, rain scald. Sweating in thick coat ends up scabby so I have to clip.
Definitely hard to get a topline on. Even as a youngster

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

mine held her coat slightly and was very well behaved to ride,(unusual) no spooking etc but i felt she was depressed which as why i asked for the test. she didnt wee excessively or drink more.i didnt have any problem with the veil and started mine on 1 tablet daily. when she was 13 she started cribbing . she was diagnosed with cushings when she was 20 and within about 2 months of starting prascend she stopped cribbing and never did it again. i lost her at 25.

Mine's only recently started the cribbing, and it could be stress (or ulcer) related, but I'm desperately hoping that it's just part of the cushings, and the prascend magically sorts it out- Your story gives me hope!

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

buy a pill cutter

D'oh!

 

[splashgirl45]

Mine's only recently started the cribbing, and it could be stress (or ulcer) related, but I'm desperately hoping that it's just part of the cushings, and the prascend magically sorts it out- Your story gives me hope!

i thought it was stress with my mare but in hindsight i thought that cribbing was the first symptom of cushings as she had never cribbed in her previous home and i'd had her for 2 years at the same yard, with the same routine and if it had been the stress of changing homes it should have kicked in much sooner....i googled it and looked at the cushings sites and couldnt find any evidence that any other horses had shown cribbing as a symptom, but i am pretty sure it was for mine. they are all different and it will be interesting to see if yours stops cribbing as well..hope so...

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

It was due to muscle loss caused by the Cushings

Mine gets skin issues, rain scald. Sweating in thick coat ends up scabby so I have to clip.
Definitely hard to get a topline on. Even as a youngster

She does have a very noticeable lack of top line, to the extent that you can see her spine (or rather, the spinal processes?) very clearly. I'd assumed this was because she'd been a very successful showing pony before she came to me and that she'd just lost a lot of that condition seeing as she now just does gentle hacking and no schooling. I'm guessing it's not easy to rebuild that top line without serious work?

Also yes, she did have two small but incredibly stubborn patches of rain scald last year.

 

[TwyfordM]

She does have a very noticeable lack of top line, to the extent that you can see her spine (or rather, the spinal processes?) very clearly. I'd assumed this was because she'd been a very successful showing pony before she came to me and that she'd just lost a lot of that condition seeing as she now just does gentle hacking and no schooling. I'm guessing it's not easy to rebuild that top line without serious work?

Also yes, she did have two small but incredibly stubborn patches of rain scald last year.

Honestly I did a ton of work with her and even with weight on and work she always had noticeable dips in muscle along her back so makes the spine look like it's standing out. She could be fit as a fiddle, in full work and still look weak, very frustrating but made sense after diagnosis. She also always has a slight crest even if underweight and a dip between withers and neck.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

Honestly I did a ton of work with her and even with weight on and work she always had noticeable dips in muscle along her back so makes the spine look like it's standing out. She could be fit as a fiddle, in full work and still look weak, very frustrating but made sense after diagnosis. She also always has a slight crest even if underweight and a dip between withers and neck.

Yes, exactly the same- very cresty neck (this actually flops over horribly now she's not in proper work), bony withers,and then fat pads behind her shoulders. Hhhm. I'm not in the least bit concerned about how she looks, but I am conscious of how a good topline helps a horse hold themselves properly, and protects (to an extent) against kissing spines for example. Hopefully if the prascend gets her feeling more sprightly again then at least we'll have a better chance of getting a bit of condition back on her.