Tearing my hair out! Please help!

[gaslightlaura]

Hi guys, Ive not posted on here in a while. But I’m currently at a total loss with my horse.

My mare is 21 she has cushings, she was on prascend and it didn’t agree with her, she didn’t eat a lot and the vet agreed after a while to take her off. She was doing great then, in summer we went showing she looked the picture of health (the only real sign I ever saw was a hairy coat in summer) I clipped her out and all was good.

Two weeks ago, she refused her hard feed. Which is unheard of for her in her usual self. She hadn’t done any droppings, so I called the vet immediately as I panicked and though Colic! The get came out, checked her temp (was slightly high at 38.5) checked her out and the vet said she seemed fine, was possibly just a virus. I asked if this could be cushings related, vet said probably not, and left her just to get better on her own (gave one injection) said call if she didn’t get better, two days and she was still the same, so vet came and took bloods. Every time the vet comes she perks up and looks for treats, so she does look ok, but I know her and she’s not. Bloods came back all good, except for a low white cell count. So the vet said it’s just the virus it will pass and sent me out some danilon. She did eat slightly better on danilon.

So I thought it might be her teeth, dentist called, he found an ulcer from a sharp edge on one tooth. Teeth all sorted. I thought I’d cracked it!!!

A week on, she’s miserable will not touch hay, can be tempted by haylage, will have a nibble. Will eat treats apples and carrots etc, I’ve tried to make her feed exciting with mint powder etc, but she’s just now keen. She’ll eat it over night sometimes, she goes out during the day and will eat grass, but this time of year there is not a lot. She is lying down a lot more than usual too, she just seems so lethargic and down. It’s breakinf my heart, over the last 2 weeks she’s dropping her weight and she looks like a different horse.

I am waiting on a call back from my get currently to discuss whether we should attempt being back on the prascend (this is similar to when she wouldn’t eat on it) so I think why don’t we atleast try?


I have no idea and if you’ve lasted reading this long thank you!! Any ideas or help would be much appreciated!!


Thanks

 

[9tails]

It takes them a while to get over a virus, but as you've also got a healing ulcer have you tried a hay replacer that you soak? Allen & Page Fast Fibre is worth a try for now until she's feeling better in her mouth.

 

[Gloi]

Did you get a count done for Cushings when they took blood to see where she is at now?

 

[gaslightlaura]

It takes them a while to get over a virus, but as you've also got a healing ulcer have you tried a hay replacer that you soak? Allen & Page Fast Fibre is worth a try for now until she's feeling better in her mouth.

She won’t touch the stuff she’s very funny with it she was on veteran vitality which is the same consistency, and she poured it all over the floor and ate the good stuff out 🙄 it makes a very slippy floor though, I fell right on my bum 😂

The dentist seemed to think she’s be fine within 2-3 days. The vet wasn’t very detailed in telling me much about the virus business. I guess she could just still be feeling under the weather.

 

[gaslightlaura]

Did you get a count done for Cushings when they took blood to see where she is at now?

I didn’t stupidly, my head is up my arse I think with the whole thing the vet just seemed so unconcerned and didnt seem to think it would even be related to cushings. I don’t think she tested for it, but I can’t be sure I will know when she calls me tomorrow.

 

[paddy555]

if you know your horse is cushings I would get onto the medication asap. Presuming you are one a day I would give 1/4 a day for a week and then 1/2 a day for the next 2 weeks, then 3/4 a day for the next 2 weeks and up to finally one a day. Once you get onto 1/2 and can feasibly break the half tablet up I would split the dose into am and pm. (ie quarter am and quarter pm) Often introducing it very slowly can get you over the cushings veil. In your case as you suspect there may be eating problems I would string out the introduction of working up to 1 a day over an even longer period.

 

[gaslightlaura]

if you know your horse is cushings I would get onto the medication asap. Presuming you are one a day I would give 1/4 a day for a week and then 1/2 a day for the next 2 weeks, then 3/4 a day for the next 2 weeks and up to finally one a day. Once you get onto 1/2 and can feasibly break the half tablet up I would split the dose into am and pm. (ie quarter am and quarter pm) Often introducing it very slowly can get you over the cushings veil. In your case as you suspect there may be eating problems I would string out the introduction of working up to 1 a day over an even longer period.

Thank you that’s my logic too. I’m hoping for a call back tomorrow so we can start again. I did try half, but never quarter. When she started vet said just pop on one a day, but it didn’t go well, so we went to half. She’s a very fussy mare! And very smart into the bargain so I feel like there’s no fooling her.

 

[Cortez]

If your horse needs medication and won't eat it, then I would suggest mixing it in something like applesauce and syringing it down. She is an old horse and there could be any number of things causing her to stop eating, from internal growths to fungal infections, etc.

 

[paddy555]

Thank you that’s my logic too. I’m hoping for a call back tomorrow so we can start again. I did try half, but never quarter. When she started vet said just pop on one a day, but it didn’t go well, so we went to half. She’s a very fussy mare! And very smart into the bargain so I feel like there’s no fooling her.

vet's often advise straight onto 1 and it doesn't work always. Good luck, hope she gets on well.

 

[gaslightlaura]

If your horse needs medication and won't eat it, then I would suggest mixing it in something like applesauce and syringing it down. She is an old horse and there could be any number of things causing her to stop eating, from internal growths to fungal infections, etc.

The problem wasn’t she wouldn’t eat it, it’s that she wouldn’t eat when she was on it. I can give her the tablet in a treat, but she lost her appetite big time. Thank you though, that’s always good for if she decided she isn’t eating it 😂 which you just never know with horses.

 

[gaslightlaura]

vet's often advise straight onto 1 and it doesn't work always. Good luck, hope she gets on well.

Thank you

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi guys, Ive not posted on here in a while. But I’m currently at a total loss with my horse.

My mare is 21 she has cushings, she was on prascend and it didn’t agree with her, she didn’t eat a lot and the vet agreed after a while to take her off. She was doing great then, in summer we went showing she looked the picture of health (the only real sign I ever saw was a hairy coat in summer) I clipped her out and all was good.

Two weeks ago, she refused her hard feed. Which is unheard of for her in her usual self. She hadn’t done any droppings, so I called the vet immediately as I panicked and though Colic! The get came out, checked her temp (was slightly high at 38.5) checked her out and the vet said she seemed fine, was possibly just a virus. I asked if this could be cushings related, vet said probably not, and left her just to get better on her own (gave one injection) said call if she didn’t get better, two days and she was still the same, so vet came and took bloods. Every time the vet comes she perks up and looks for treats, so she does look ok, but I know her and she’s not. Bloods came back all good, except for a low white cell count. So the vet said it’s just the virus it will pass and sent me out some danilon. She did eat slightly better on danilon.

So I thought it might be her teeth, dentist called, he found an ulcer from a sharp edge on one tooth. Teeth all sorted. I thought I’d cracked it!!!

A week on, she’s miserable will not touch hay, can be tempted by haylage, will have a nibble. Will eat treats apples and carrots etc, I’ve tried to make her feed exciting with mint powder etc, but she’s just now keen. She’ll eat it over night sometimes, she goes out during the day and will eat grass, but this time of year there is not a lot. She is lying down a lot more than usual too, she just seems so lethargic and down. It’s breakinf my heart, over the last 2 weeks she’s dropping her weight and she looks like a different horse.

I am waiting on a call back from my get currently to discuss whether we should attempt being back on the prascend (this is similar to when she wouldn’t eat on it) so I think why don’t we atleast try?


I have no idea and if you’ve lasted reading this long thank you!! Any ideas or help would be much appreciated!!


Thanks

so sorry your in this predicament have you tried feeding her the prascend separate to the feed in apple puree or any of these ideas https://h0rseservices.weebly.com/veterinarymedicines.html My donkey went off feed too maybe you could syringe the crushed pill in

 

[gaslightlaura]

so sorry your in this predicament have you tried feeding her the prascend separate to the feed in apple puree or any of these ideas https://h0rseservices.weebly.com/veterinarymedicines.html My donkey went off feed too maybe you could syringe the crushed pill in

Thank you I will have a read now xx

 

[ester]

Is she off the danilon now? Has she struggled since the dentist came?

fwiw I do agree that some need to start prascend much more slowly. But my own oldie (then 24) stopped eating this time last year, would pick at grass a bit but that was all, vet thought teeth as he has some pretty large caries, dentist confirmed he'd had them for so long that he felt it unlikely that they would have generated such an acute reaction. He had two weeks of danilon and has been fine for the last 12 months. He struggles more with chaff than he does hay- so gets soaked grass nuts as a carrier now and hay loose rather than in a floor net.

If he hadn't improved he would have gone in for an xray, the working theory is that he likely has some arthritis in his jaw and he had done something to aggravate it by bashing it etc - this is also born out by the fact that he does struggle after the dentist because of the strain of using the gag- he bites against it so we have to be very careful that he has lots of rests and tended to bute before/after.

Frankly he made a remarkable recovery really, so I just wanted to throw that out there as a possibility.

 

[gaslightlaura]

Is she off the danilon now? Has she struggled since the dentist came?

fwiw I do agree that some need to start prascend much more slowly. But my own oldie (then 24) stopped eating this time last year, would pick at grass a bit but that was all, vet thought teeth as he has some pretty large caries, dentist confirmed he'd had them for so long that he felt it unlikely that they would have generated such an acute reaction. He had two weeks of danilon and has been fine for the last 12 months. He struggles more with chaff than he does hay- so gets soaked grass nuts as a carrier now and hay loose rather than in a floor net.

If he hadn't improved he would have gone in for an xray, the working theory is that he likely has some arthritis in his jaw and he had done something to aggravate it by bashing it etc - this is also born out by the fact that he does struggle after the dentist because of the strain of using the gag- he bites against it so we have to be very careful that he has lots of rests and tended to bute before/after.

Frankly he made a remarkable recovery really, so I just wanted to throw that out there as a possibility.

She’s off the danilon now, she had it for 2-3 days after the dentist left as he did say she’d be sore but didn’t think for any longer than that (1 week ago) she doesn’t seem to be struggling when she’s eating haylage. Just not interested in it most of the day but will pick. She’ll happily eat apples and carrots.

How long does your horse struggle for after the dentist? That’s really interesting about his jaw, something I’ve not thought of. Thank you!

 

[ester]

So he has only been done once since then when not on regular bute anyway and dentist was even more careful with him than normal so ok after a couple of days- now on bute for other old age creakiness!

Frank doesn't obviously struggle, he quids chaff but not hay at all, but was just picking like yours when it happened. I was all prepared to take him for xray but he improved fairly quickly on the bute and then it seemed to resolve itself. The theory may well be wrong but as it hasn't flared again we've not needed to do any further investigation currently.

They are sent to worry us!

 

[splashgirl45]

i found that my cushings horse suddenly stopped eating anything other than grass and as it was winter she lost weight very quickly, i got samples of feed to try and managed to find something she would eat and changed the hay and she would then eat it. i didnt put the prascend into her feed but gave her prascend in a hollowed out carrot before she went into her box so she couldnt pick at hay or her feed and spit it out. this method worked for 4 years....

 

[southerncomfort]

I had almost exactly the same with my old pony. She did very badly on Prascend so I took her off it. She then came down with a nasty virus which floored her. She was very poorly and her ACTH level was through the roof.

We tried Prascend again but this time she also had another drug called Periactin alongside which acted as an appetite stimulant. We also started her on the tiniest amount of Prascend possible and gradually increased it. This worked brilliantly and we weaned her off the Periactin after 10 days and we never had another problem with Prascend.

 

[gaslightlaura]

I had almost exactly the same with my old pony. She did very badly on Prascend so I took her off it. She then came down with a nasty virus which floored her. She was very poorly and her ACTH level was through the roof.

We tried Prascend again but this time she also had another drug called Periactin alongside which acted as an appetite stimulant. We also started her on the tiniest amount of Prascend possible and gradually increased it. This worked brilliantly and we weaned her off the Periactin after 10 days and we never had another problem with Prascend.

Can I ask how long your pony had the virus and what the symptoms were? That’s interesting, I’ve never heard of that before. Spoke to my vet today and she’s not keen on putting her on the prascend again while she’s feeling poorly. I’m so fed up. Vets been today after she wouldn’t get up this morning. Took more bloods, waiting to hear back. She perked up after a buscopan and ate some hay, she’s now down again.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The buscopan tends to support the theory that she is in pain. Perhaps it is now time to consider her quality of life.

 

[gaslightlaura]

The buscopan tends to support the theory that she is in pain. Perhaps it is now time to consider her quality of life.

Vet been back again and took stomach fluid. I’d like to get to the bottom of her pain for now. I will see what comes back, she was so bright and bubbly just two weeks ago. I wish she could just tell me what’s going on.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

My gelding had a virus last month, my boyfriend actually said 'he looks like he wants to go Aimee!' as in horsey heaven when he saw him, and hes only 9 so highly unlike him. He was dragging to the field, off his food, not eating much, looked depressed, stood in the corner of his stable. It was awful. Vet took bloods but the day he came out he started to look better and results showed he had a slight virus but vet thinks that was on the recovery of it.

Hes now back to his complete normal self about 4 weeks later.