Life with Cushings

[Mosh]

My mare has been diagnosed with Cushings disease today.
She has been regularly tested but the results came back today with a level of 104 (??)

We only did an extra test as she has been quite poorly the last 2 weeks and we couldn't get to the bottom of it. She is now on the mend from whatever illness it was and all other blood tests have come back normal and within perfectly normal limits.
Shes 27 and still in full work (normally!) So I've been exceedingly lucky and the plan is to get back on tomorrow and carry on.
She has also had no symptoms like a long coat, excessive drinking etc etc
She is an ideal weight currently as well. Hasn't had laminitis in the last 6 odd years I've had her. Normally fit and well.

She'll start medication tomorrow with a trial until we get the right doseage for her.

So tell me what do I need to know about cushings? Any hints and tips? What not to do?
It's a bit of a minefield and I'm a bit shocked but not shocked if that makes sense.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

If she'll take the prascend, then you should just be able to carry on as normal! Fwiw 104 isn't so high. You might be surprised that a number of other little niggles clear up once she's on the prascend, that you didn't realise were related to the cushings (poor topline, gunky eyes, itchy skin, rain scald/mud fever, worm burden, stomach issues)

 

[Hepsibah]

Best advice I can give you is to start the prascend slowly. The standard dose is one pill a day but a lot of horses find it overwhelms their system a bit and it makes them a bit miserable and kills their appetite. If they have active laminitis it's totally worth putting them on a full dose in spite of side effects but if they don't, building it up is the kinder thing to do. I cut my pills in four and gave a quarter morning and evening for a few days, then half morning and evening before starting on a whole pill once a day over about a week to ten days. My mare tolerated this very well and showed improvement before I'd even reached a full pill with her!

 

[meleeka]

I’d start slowly too. It’s called a ‘veil’ if they go off their hard food and seemed depressed. If you aren’t already join the FB group for lots of info and support.

I will add that getting a diagnosis was really positive for my mare. She’s never looked better and is able to be managed the same as any other horse (apart from having medication).

 

[Mosh]

So my vet has rang me back and explained what the plan is,
We'll start her on half a tablet a day for a couple of weeks and build it up slowly.
We'll then retest in 4-6 weeks time and go from there.
Vet has explained that I won't be able to go to the Olympics or compete at FEI level (we can barely get over a 50cm cross pole so I think team GB are safe!) But she will be able to be managed normally once we've got her sorted.

Interestingly she has become increasingly itchy the last few weeks with gunky eyes. Now I probably know why!

Other than that, blood tests results are good, she has all her teeth, clean bill of health from the physio, new saddle and farrier is very happy. She is looked after better than I look after myself ?

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Just one thing, you’ll not be able to compete in any event that is run under doping rules as Prascend is not allowed, it’s not just FEI level comps.

It was the reason I retired my old show horse as if she got dope tested it would be a positive result, even for the veteran classes! Many people do carry on and just hope to not get tested, and to be fair in all the years I’ve competed I’ve been pulled for a random dope test once, at BD regionals at Somerford, not on the show horse and we were clean phew!

 

[Mosh]

Just one thing, you’ll not be able to compete in any event that is run under doping rules as Prascend is not allowed, it’s not just FEI level comps.

Ooo, they didn't explain that too me! I only tend to do riding club level and small shows which are all unaff and the odd clinic/lesson so should be okay. I hope?

 

[shortstuff99]

Ooo, they didn't explain that too me! I only tend to do riding club level and small shows which are all unaff and the odd clinic/lesson so should be okay. I hope?

Unfortunately it is banned under riding club rules too, but you are very unlikely to be tested except for at the champs.

 

[Mosh]

Unfortunately it is banned under riding club rules too, but you are very unlikely to be tested except for at the champs

Ooo bugger. I'm not a member and just tend to go to open shows if I go to a RC. All very local and fun stuff. I very rarely go out to be fair and I doubt very much I'd end up in the champs (very rarely behave well enough ?)

 

[brighteyes]

Best advice I can give you is to start the prascend slowly. The standard dose is one pill a day but a lot of horses find it overwhelms their system a bit and it makes them a bit miserable and kills their appetite. If they have active laminitis it's totally worth putting them on a full dose in spite of side effects but if they don't, building it up is the kinder thing to do. I cut my pills in four and gave a quarter morning and evening for a few days, then half morning and evening before starting on a whole pill once a day over about a week to ten days. My mare tolerated this very well and showed improvement before I'd even reached a full pill with her!

Top advice there! More available on the FB group. They cover every possible issue on there.

 

[rextherobber]

Equine PPID ( Cushings) is a good group if you're on Facebook.

 

[Lotsoflemons]

Hi i thought i would give you some positive advice my old horse got diagnosed with cushings about 4 years before we got her she is now 28 and8n a new homes and is living a very normal and happy life depending on the horse there really is no side affects other than the first couple of months to year you will see a little change in behaviour and lose of appetite as above if medicine is given correctly usually one pill a day you will start to see a change quite soon you can still do normal things and my little pony has been out competing regularly still since her diagnosis years ago and is still going strong at local shows and events one thing i would say is your horse will probably get very fluffy! But with regular grooming and love medicine etc you will not be able to tell it has cushings at all

 

[Lotsoflemons]

To the people saying you can't ride under riding club rules this is false to a extent i regularly did pony club and competed for my local riding club in dressage and qualified for 3 High end shows in our local area there may be restrictions for things such as BD or BE etc but i have found no restrictions within riding club rules

 

[Lotsoflemons]

Ooo bugger. I'm not a member and just tend to go to open shows if I go to a RC. All very local and fun stuff. I very rarely go out to be fair and I doubt very much I'd end up in the champs (very rarely behave well enough ?)

I used to compete regularly with my cushings pony at RC open shows i did pony club alot of showing shows even ended up qualifying for Equi fest and other big named shows they all knew she had cushings and we found no problems with competing x

 

[shortstuff99]

To the people saying you can't ride under riding club rules this is false to a extent i regularly did pony club and competed for my local riding club in dressage and qualified for 3 High end shows in our local area there may be restrictions for things such as BD or BE etc but i have found no restrictions within riding club rules

There certainly is! I am an official steward for riding club and they do spot checks for banned substances following the FEI banned substance list. If you get a positive test you will face disciplinary measures.

 

[shortstuff99]

An article of it being banned under riding club here https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/drug-to-control-cushings-disease-banned-312439

I will also note that you can keep cushings perfectly controlled for a number of years, but it is a degenerative condition so it will get worse at some point.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

It is always worth reading up rules yourself as there is a lot of ignorance out there (I've had people tell me you can compete BD too on it), for local stuff the chances of being selected for dope testing is tiny but it is there, for my oldie she had done enough so it wasn't hard for me to retire her from competition.

She did super on Prascend and was pretty much symptom free until we lost her in a field accident about 6 years after her diagnosis. I was careful to keep an eye on her feet + grass due to the laminitis risk, but she never developed it and could live a pretty normal life out on grass on the medication.

 

[Mosh]

Okay. I'll have a look at the rules for RC. I doubt very much I'll go out and do much. It is really local, chilled fun stuff we do. The one I tend to go too doesn't have qualifiers or anything like that. I Have no aspirations to do anything more high level stuff. I'm not a member of BD or VHS or anything like that.

At 27, any extra time is a bonus and she owes me nothing. Take each day as it comes now and enjoy her.
I'm very careful of the laminitis risk as she is a good doer anyway and I try and keep her slim.
I'm forever grateful we got this far with nothing major happening. Touch wood!

 

[paddi22]

I wonder would anyone know here...one of my eventers was diagnosed with cushings and I switched him to low sugar low starch food, and he totally lost all his oomph and go and started looking a bit rough. I've added back oats into his diet (which I know is advised against) but he seems much better and (touch wood) I can't see any bad side effects and he's got his 5th gear back. do any hear still feed cereals? I got the impression it would be bad for insulin levels, but is that all cushings horses or just insulin sensitive cushings ones?

 

[shortstuff99]

Okay. I'll have a look at the rules for RC. I doubt very much I'll go out and do much. It is really local, chilled fun stuff we do. The one I tend to go too doesn't have qualifiers or anything like that. I Have no aspirations to do anything more high level stuff. I'm not a member of BD or VHS or anything like that.

At 27, any extra time is a bonus and she owes me nothing. Take each day as it comes now and enjoy her.
I'm very careful of the laminitis risk as she is a good doer anyway and I try and keep her slim.
I'm forever grateful we got this far with nothing major happening. Touch wood!

TBH if it is low level (not a qualifier or championship) then no-one is going to be checking as it is basically unaffiliated so I wouldn't worry.

 

[shortstuff99]

I wonder would anyone know here...one of my eventers was diagnosed with cushings and I switched him to low sugar low starch food, and he totally lost all his oomph and go and started looking a bit rough. I've added back oats into his diet (which I know is advised against) but he seems much better and (touch wood) I can't see any bad side effects and he's got his 5th gear back. do any hear still feed cereals? I got the impression it would be bad for insulin levels, but is that all cushings horses or just insulin sensitive cushings ones?

Is he on medication? My old mare was not insulin resistant, it was only the chushings that would cause lami. When her cushings was controlled on medication her lami risk was pretty low.

 

[meleeka]

I wonder would anyone know here...one of my eventers was diagnosed with cushings and I switched him to low sugar low starch food, and he totally lost all his oomph and go and started looking a bit rough. I've added back oats into his diet (which I know is advised against) but he seems much better and (touch wood) I can't see any bad side effects and he's got his 5th gear back. do any hear still feed cereals? I got the impression it would be bad for insulin levels, but is that all cushings horses or just insulin sensitive cushing
s ones?

If his levels are well controlled, he’ll be the same as any other horse, because you are controlling the symptoms of the disease. I worry far less about my cushings pony getting laminitis than I do my other non-cushings natives.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Get yourself the empty help pill capsules they are a life saver in getting the meds into them.

 

[paddi22]

Is he on medication? My old mare was not insulin resistant, it was only the chushings that would cause lami. When her cushings was controlled on medication her lami risk was pretty low.

yeah he's on one prascend a day. he never had laminitis or anything. I think I don't fully understand if the oats would be causing him an issue with his sugar levels even if hes on the pill? or is it only some horses get ithe sugar resistance issue? My dad is diabetic, so I can see how sugar affects him physically, so I guess I worry if the horse is the same!

 

[Hackback]

yeah he's on one prascend a day. he never had laminitis or anything. I think I don't fully understand if the oats would be causing him an issue with his sugar levels even if hes on the pill? or is it only some horses get ithe sugar resistance issue? My dad is diabetic, so I can see how sugar affects him physically, so I guess I worry if the horse is the same!

My vet told me I didn't need to worry about diet for my PPID horse because he's never been laminitic. He was diagnosed when he was 9 (very young) and is 15 now and still never shown any signs of insulin resistance. However if you ring a feed company for advice they will only recommend low starch/sugar/cereal free feeds, suitable for fatties - nightmare when you have a horse who needs the calories lol.

 

[paddi22]

My vet told me I didn't need to worry about diet for my PPID horse because he's never been laminitic. He was diagnosed when he was 9 (very young) and is 15 now and still never shown any signs of insulin resistance. However if you ring a feed company for advice they will only recommend low starch/sugar/cereal free feeds, suitable for fatties - nightmare when you have a horse who needs the calories lol.

ah thanks so much, that makes sense. yep the low sugar starch feed just didn't work for him at all and wasn't keeping condition on him at all.

 

[suestowford]

I have a pony with Cushings, he was diagnosed 5 years ago, and has had to have an increase in his meds already as the disease was progressing a bit. But he is really WELL and happy so I just wince when I buy the next box of Prascend and tell myself he is worth it He would probably be dead without Prascend, by now.
I give him the pills either in a hollowed out bit of carrot, or in a sugar-free Polo mint. Half a pill will wedge in the middle of one of those very nicely. I have to restrict his time out at grass, and make sure what I am feeding is low sugar/starch, I was doing that anyway as he is a small pony with a history of laminitis.
He got 'the veil' but we just had to push through it. He was laminitic at the time (which was why he got tested) so I had to keep on. It didn't last long, but he looked awful during that couple of weeks, and I did wonder if I was doing the right thing. Once the dose is right, and the pony's system has adjusted to it, I hope yours is as full of bounce as mine is

 

[NinjaPony]

Mine has Cushings and is on half a tablet a day, as he’s only 11.2hh. He looks great, levels are normal, coat is short and glossy and he is full of beans. He’s a laminitis risk anyway so I just manage accordingly. I’d recommend feeding a really decent vit and min supplement if you don’t already, the only thing I’ve noticed is that his immune system is definitely not as good as it used to be. Cuts take longer to heal and he’s had a couple of minor eye infections. So I tend to treat even the smallest cut as soon as I see it, and protect him from the worst of the weather. Otherwise, he looks really really well and you’d never know anything was wrong.

 

[Mosh]

Thanks everyone for their help and experiences.

Got back on her last night with instructions to strictly walk for a few days, so went in the arena sideways at a trot ?
She looks well anyway and the reason we tested as she couldn't fight off an illness but it makes sense now! I watch her like a hawk for laminitis and injuries. Will stock up my first aid kit.

Started her tablets last night and she took the tablet like a treat and i don't think she'll be doing that again! Will get her some sugar free polo's.

Her current feed is 5% and sugar is 2.5% for her mash so falls In nicely.
Her chaff is 5% sugar but generally only fed over winter and in small amounts so should be okay all in all.