Quick but even muscle loss?

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popularfurball

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Pony has in two weeks of no work lost her tone in back muscles and back end resulting in her looking "old".

She was a little "off colour" and then I was poorly hence no riding - even
So, she was only bein ridden three times a week - 2x hacks for up to an hour and one schooling session (just workin on obedience lol) for half an hour to an hour in walk and trot
 
She is out during the day, in at night.

She is out muzzled and has a
Handful of speedibeet with equilibra 500 in. She has 5-6kgs of hay overnight (she is only 200kg).

She is mid to late teens.
 
Here are some pics four weeks apart. She has put weight on and is very hairy.

I have intentionally put weight on her - she was very poorly last winter and isn't holding weight as easily now - hence putting her out on grass to get a little extra on her (though typically goes straight to crest and shoulders grr!!)

End of September at local Trec competition
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Monday night
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Yeah she has sensitive feet... Lami prone but not had an acute attack for two years but gets footy easily - has been off grass all summer until six weeks ago as I wanted the extra weight going into winter :)
 
To be honest, she looks fine from those pics, i'd expect some muscle deteriation in her late teens anyway, most imposrtant thing is plenty of forage if she struggles to keep weight on, the grass is losing nutrients now so i'd be more inclined to keep her off it and give plenty of hay instead (remember frosty grass can be very high in sugar, especially with this mild weather lately for lami-prones)
 
Hi,


I have had exactly the same recently - fairly dramatic weight loss and loss of top line in the space of only a few weeks. My horse is similar - lami prone so on a managed diet with very little access to grass however had been doing fine until just recently. As you say in a very short space of time he went from looking good to looking old....

Vet came out and blood tested my first thought was cushings as he is 18 - this came back negative as did his insulin resistance but the vet did say his bloods pointed towards a virus which he felt was responsible for the aged look and loss of top line. He has had plenty of TLC recently and lots of hay and no work and he is beginning to look better but it has taken time. I wouldn't be suprised if it was early signs of cushings with mine....
 
Thats what I am wondering too - despite negative tests. Just wondered if there were other causes of the loss of top line (she never had top line but dd have back muscles!!) and pot belly look.

She is depressed, not eating as much, drinking more and haired up like a yak with intermittent footyness. But I'm trying to make sure I'm not biased and Lookig for cushings!!!!

Vet is happy to prescribe prascend for her as a trial (blood tests we figure are not mch use as she gets so stressed by them and usually requires sedation)

That said because she has auto immune disease ahe could react badly (go into shock or trigger the process whee it makes her hair and skin fall off) from the prascend - but no way of knowing that first.

Sometimes I wish she wasn't a fighter - I could PTS without thinking "what if?" - but everytime we have a hiccup she comes back fighting stronger!!!
 
Hi,

Have a good look on the ECIR website. There is a document on here which suggests that even when tests come back negative there are symptoms which point to early signs of Cushings.
 
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