Prascend and colic

[Winters100]

Old lady pony started this week on medication for Cushings, and today (of course on a Sunday) we saw signs of early colic. Vet came and checked her, injected with nospa (relaxant for the gut), and now she seems fine. So I suppose this is related to the Prascend. Can anyone tell me, do I need to be hyper vigilant and expect these problems often, or it is just related to starting the medication? Honestly there are times that horse ownership is just a stress rather than a pleasure

 

[JJS]

Older horses are more prone to colic in general, but there’s no evidence to suggest PPID horses or those treated with Prascend are any more likely to come down with it. Hopefully that helps to put your mind at rest a bit ?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Prascend does have some side effects, esecially when a horse is started on it or when the dose is increased, but colic is not normally one of them.

Once she is stabilised on the right dose your mare's general health should improve.

 

[Winters100]

Thanks both, this is good to know. I don't know why but I thought I read somewhere that colic was a side effect, so very good to know that it isn't. She has been such an easy pony until now, always feeling that she wants to work, but since starting this medication she just looks sad The vet told me to keep her moving, but I don't have the heart to ride her, so I have been exercising her alongside the others. Hopefully it will improve, but I do feel sorry for her at the moment.

 

[paddy555]

https://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-447754

I suspect you are going to have the veil

is the full dose 1mg? did you start on .5mg? if so I would half the dose to .25 for a week then work up to .5 over another week or stop, give her a few days and start again on .25

Vets here often don't advise starting slowing just wham straight in at one 1mg tablet and horse gets depressed won't eat etc.
I worked the dose up over 3 weeks and no problems.

 

[paddy555]

https://www.thelaminitissite.org/articles/please-report-adverse-reactions-to-prascend

if you trawl this site you will find more info.

 

[Boulty]

I would say talk to the vet about dropping your dose by half for a week or so (that's what my vet used to advise if mine had any side effects) then if the pony seems ok increase back to the dose the vet would like her on. Many experts advise starting at a very low dose & increasing gradually to reduce the risk of side effects. Depression & loss of appetite are definitely initial side effects, unsure if colic is a known one.

Also APF sold by forage plus can help with side effects like the depression & appetite loss (wouldn't feed it all the time as blooming expensive, just initially & then if you faff with the dose in future)

 

[Winters100]

Thanks Paddy and Boulty, she is on 0.5 mg, but I just called the vet and he agrees that she can reduce to 0.25 for a week.

Really grateful for your help x

 

[Gloi]

Thanks Paddy and Boulty, she is on 0.5 mg, but I just called the vet and he agrees that she can reduce to 0.25 for a week.

Really grateful for your help x

100% do this. Check that she hasn't changed her eating habits. Often they will still eat the same hay or grass but need their hard feed adjusting if they go off their feed.

 

[Winters100]

Thanks all, we reduced to 0.25mg for a week and now up to 0.5mg again. She is much happier, and actually I have reduced her food as she is gaining weight. She has always been a poor doer and needed multiple feeds, but her appetite seems to have increased and she is doing much better. Hiding the pills is a challenge, she was accepting them in a slice of apple, but she has now become suspicious of apples. Now she gets it in a carrot, and one of my geldings who is in the next box has the job of eating a carrot before her so that she is waiting for a treat. He is very happy with this job! Thank you all for the good advice. I would like to say that I now know all that I need to know, but realistically I will probably have dozens of questions for you as I get to learn about this. Thank all you again - your advice is invaluable.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

Yes agree with others start on low dose and increase slowly. you may find the lower dose will be enough, have bloods done in 8 weeks to see. If you do find she is reactive to prascend side effects, I put mine on BOVA pergolide paste he was a different horse. He suffered with permanent veil symptoms which is why i changed

 

[Winters100]

Thanks, good information. She has a blood test booked for 6 weeks after the start of medication, and she is now on low sugar foods, so hopefully we will see some improvement!

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

Thanks all, we reduced to 0.25mg for a week and now up to 0.5mg again. She is much happier, and actually I have reduced her food as she is gaining weight. She has always been a poor doer and needed multiple feeds, but her appetite seems to have increased and she is doing much better. Hiding the pills is a challenge, she was accepting them in a slice of apple, but she has now become suspicious of apples. Now she gets it in a carrot, and one of my geldings who is in the next box has the job of eating a carrot before her so that she is waiting for a treat. He is very happy with this job! Thank you all for the good advice. I would like to say that I now know all that I need to know, but realistically I will probably have dozens of questions for you as I get to learn about this. Thank all you again - your advice is invaluable.

I have a super fussy pony. She absolutely won't eat the prascend if it's damp (ie in apple/carrot). She sometimes eats it just slightly hidden under her boring dry pelleted balancer. She's more likely to eat it in a very small handful of super delicious senior conditioning mix. I've been through phases of just dissolving and syringing- this was much easier than I was expecting, but it's becoming a PITA for a field kept pony who I now only see in the dark (I've got no lights in the field, and no yard!)

Ps for a while I was dissolving it in a capful of apple cider vinegar and adding that to a token feed, and she did eat that, but I don't think she was getting the full dose that way.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

Thanks, good information. She has a blood test booked for 6 weeks after the start of medication, and she is now on low sugar foods, so hopefully we will see some improvement!

Great good luck. If you need any help with feeds give me a shout think I tried most on the market.

 

[Shilasdair]

I think colic is a side effect of Pergolide (Prascend) - see this site.

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/equine-vet/in...shings-disease#panel-treatment-and-management

 

[paddy555]

Hiding the pills is a challenge,

ah yes

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

Have a look here too lot's of info
https://www.careaboutcushings.co.uk/prascend

Not sure prascend causes colic, any horse can get it just from a slight change of routine, perhaps keeping horse in of its raining for example. My horse had his first bout of colic when he was 40, I think they can be more serceptable to things when they get older, vet thought at the time it was from season changing winter to spring but of gassy colic from the grass.

 

[Winters100]

I have a super fussy pony. She absolutely won't eat the prascend if it's damp (ie in apple/carrot). She sometimes eats it just slightly hidden under her boring dry pelleted balancer. She's more likely to eat it in a very small handful of super delicious senior conditioning mix. I've been through phases of just dissolving and syringing- this was much easier than I was expecting, but it's becoming a PITA for a field kept pony who I now only see in the dark (I've got no lights in the field, and no yard!)

Ps for a while I was dissolving it in a capful of apple cider vinegar and adding that to a token feed, and she did eat that, but I don't think she was getting the full dose that way.

Thanks for this tip - I had not thought that it might be to do with eating it in something wet, and truthfully would probably have never realised that this was the problem. The last few days she has happily eaten it in a handful of very delicious senior muesli. I suppose that she is not allowed such food as I am guessing that it is packed with sugar, but a small handful does seem to solve the problem

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

Thanks for this tip - I had not thought that it might be to do with eating it in something wet, and truthfully would probably have never realised that this was the problem. The last few days she has happily eaten it in a handful of very delicious senior muesli. I suppose that she is not allowed such food as I am guessing that it is packed with sugar, but a small handful does seem to solve the problem

Yes putting pill in feed is a sure way to turn them off the feed. Before putting mine on BOVA pergolide paste i was dissolving pill in syringe with a small amount of blackcurrant fruit shoot. He ate it for ages in a piece of hollowed out carrot before that but then stopped.

 

[southerncomfort]

Mine was supposed to be retested 4 weeks after starting prascend but firstly, I read that it can take at least 6 weeks to take full effect, and secondly I've had to halve the dose as she went on hunger strike.

Although having said that, half a tablet might actually be enough for her considering her ACTH was only 74.

May regret saying this but so far my girl is eating it in her feed with no problem at all! I'm sure she can taste it but she's never been allowed a bucket feed before so she's making the most of it (no one tell her it's just soaked Lo Cal!).

 

[paddy555]

Thanks for this tip - I had not thought that it might be to do with eating it in something wet, and truthfully would probably have never realised that this was the problem. The last few days she has happily eaten it in a handful of very delicious senior muesli. I suppose that she is not allowed such food as I am guessing that it is packed with sugar, but a small handful does seem to solve the problem

that is what I did except I used horse coarse mix which was obviously very tasty. I only used about half an egg cup full, even less and gave it in my hand. It didn't cause problems with such a small amount and the prascend went down every time. It just became his twice daily ritual that he looked forward to.

We soon gave up on the carrots and apples failure.

 

[MuffettMischief]

A very interesting post on Cushings On Facebook recently from a local vet. Doesn’t help with your original potential colic query but there are lots of owners commenting on there and getting replies so may be worth an ask!

 

[Winters100]

As an update we have retested and her levels are now normal on 0.5 tablet per day. She takes tablet happily in a handful of muesli (thank you Not So Brave Anymore). Looks and apparently feels great Thank you everyone for your help.

 

[splashgirl45]

View attachment 80893View attachment 80894View attachment 80895 A very interesting post on Cushings On Facebook recently from a local vet. Doesn’t help with your original potential colic query but there are lots of owners commenting on there and getting replies so may be worth an ask!

i know this is a vet but there are many of us with cushings sufferers who have been on prascend and have lived a normal life and have never had laminitis. my mare was kept in the same grazing and exercise routine and i always fed her low calorie feeds and hay and didnt change that. if they are kept without the medication and stabled and on very restricted grazing , that IMO is not a good quality of life. i would prefer mine to have a shorter more natural life with medication rather than keep them restricted and save money