Strange behaviour in my old mare

[Missblot]

Hi
Has any one come across their mare changing in charactor through winter. I thought it might be a hormone issue, but not really sure and a non horse friend said that she may have SAD that people can get. Has anyone come across anything like this in horses.
She is nearly 30 and a complete little darl, however the minute November hits, she turns in to something that I dont recognise. I have had her 27 years, so know her completely inside out. She acts like a stallion, she is withdrawn and moody and just not her self. She's not off her food and no issues with her droppings or anything, just her charactor changes. She doesnt go at me, but other horses, even if someone rides past her field she will scream at them.
Please help
thanks

 

[Miss L Toe]

You know her so well, what is her ideal life? Does she need a Baby [give her a tiny pony? or a Donkey for a pal.

 

[Tickles]

Is this every year or just this year? Or getting worse each year?

 

[Missblot]

It has been this year, a little bit last year, but 2 years ago was awful. Had her checked by my vet, who deals with reproductive issues, AI etc and he couldnt find anything wrong with her. Tried her on regumate, didnt touch her, but dont have any problems in summer at all, which makes me think that maybe it is a seasonal thing with her.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

At that age she's almost certainly got Cushings even if she doesn't have the text book long curly coat. Cushings floods the horse's body with huge amounts of cortisol, the "flight or fight" hormone. The result of this is huge stress to most of the body and some very odd behaviours and even worse symptoms. Look at talkaboutcushings.com for some common sense advice and also you can print off a voucher to have the ACTH blood test to see if she does have Cushings. ACTH levels swing back and forth between spring and autumn so autumn is often when owners first notice odd things. My 27yr old veteran started displaying some scarily awful symptoms: very sweaty, smelly sweat, confusion, off his feed, mild ataxia, losing weight, skin infections that wouldn't clear, harsh coat. Found him one morning lying down in the middle of the field in torrential rain - all the other horses were wedged bum first into the hedge. ACTH test - should have been about 29 for autumn and his came back as 200. He's on 2mg Pergolide daily now and he's back to his normal cheeky self.

 

[Missblot]

Thanks Box of frogs, I've had a look and she is showing a couple of the signs, ie taking longer to lose her winter coat, hormone issues, slightly depressed, some odd sweat patches, eating a lot more than normal but nothing else really, shes 27 also, so going to have a chat with my vet and see what he thinks. The Pergolide that you give your old boy, what is this? Is it expensive? Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Pergolide is a human drug currently used for horses too but vets will have to stop using it soon and move onto Prascend which is exactly the same drug but mfrs have realised the huge equine market and have re-packaged it. No idea if it is more expensive but it wouldn't surprise me. You can get it much, much cheaper from an on-line vet but you will need a prescription from your own vet and of course that will cost you.

Cushings is a benign tumour on the pituitary gland in the brain that governs many things in the horse's body but most of all it governs how much cortisol the horse manufactures. With Cushings, the slow destruction of the pituitary and it's associated nerve endings means that the gland starts producing huge amounts of cortisol. Cortisol is the "flight or fight" hormone and the constant presence of too much of it causes all the problems associated with Cushings which also include confusion, ataxia, heavy stinky sweating, weight loss, loss of muscle tone, harsh coat, slow coat shedding and some other stuff I can't remember. The danger in not treating it is that the massive, permanent overload of cortisol will eventually prove fatal in one way or another. My 27 yr old veteran is now on 2mg Pergolide daily and he's back to his normal self again. Different horses need a different dose. It costs me about £1.00 a day which some may think too much but I owe my lad big time and I'm happy to pay for his quality of life. Do bear in mind that laminitis is an ever present danger once a horse has to go onto pergolide and my vets tell me that, if a Cushings horse lives long enough, it WILL eventually get laminitis. Go onto talkaboutcushings.com for good advice and for teh voucher to get £15 off the lab costs of the ACTH test. Good luck x

 

[Cocorules]

Agree cushings likely just had tests run on my 21 year old waiting for results her coat is thicker this year and her sex hormones definitely peculiar at the moment. If it is confirmed the pergolie will be worth every penny