Those who have had horses diagnosed with cushings ..

Montyforever

Montyforever

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My mare has been showing signs that I recognise as cushings symptoms gradually getting worse in the last few months. She had a very sudden bout of acute laminitis last June and recovered okay and within 2 months of finding her unable to move in the field she was almost back to normal :)
She's been footy on and off since roughly November, but no heat in her hooves/pulse, is finding small amounts if work quite difficult (10 mins lunging walk/trot on her non footy days is the maximum) she's a bit depressed and isn't her sparky normal lets prance to the field type pony and some days gets very very irritated if I try and groom her ect.
She's suddenly started drinking double if not triple what is normal for her and has the pits then a bulge above her eyes and her backs dipped slightly. She's also struggling to keep weight on and has that pot belly look the ponies I've seen with cushings have got .. But here's the issue ..

She's only 7.

Vet has told me to keep a diary of all her symptoms and if there's no change/symptoms get worse to call them out to have a look at her and the diary will be helpful to diagnose or find out what is wrong with her.

This poor mare has had so many problems in the past year, so im crossing my fingers it's not cushings but would like to know from a owners point of view how did your ponies life change after diagnosis? And is there any successful medication?
 
It may not be cushings. At her age it is far more likely to be insulin resistance. You could try her on some cinnamon if she will eat it.

ETA if it is cushings, there is a successful treatment called prascend.
 
Cushings can be diagnosed with a simple blood test, so if I were you I would go ahead and have her tested, as with the Spring grass coming through you really want to know.

Once my mare was diagnosed with cushings (she was in her early 20s) we medicated her with pergolide, kept her in a bare-ish paddock with little grass, and fed her haylage all year round instead. Of course we made sure that she was on a high fibre and low sugar diet (standard) and we also clipped her to make her more comfortable. I would say that she was much happier once on the medication. It didn't massively change her life though - just our feed bills are we had to provide forage all year round as we couldn't let her on the grass.
 
I asked the vet about a blood test and they said in a horse as young as her it wouldn't show much even if she does have it otherwise I would have already :) he said the diary would be more helpful at the mo.
 
When my horse was (finally) diagnosed with Cushings, the response to the drug was brilliant and he became happier than he was in years. From memory, within a week the difference in the horse was noticeable and also the management of the horse was so much easier. Now 7 months on he looks better than he has for years. My story is by no means remarkable.

If Cushings is suspected, would it be possible to put him on a Peroglide trial for say 2 weeks even if the blood tests are inconclusive? I have no idea of the downside of the drugs and clearly your vet would have to do a risk assessment and balance out the pros and cons. But assuming the side effects of the drug are relatively small then it might at least be worth a discussion.

While my horse is older, we went down a lot of (quite hard work) blind alleys before the cushings test - the vet kept saying she didn't think so. I think it would be nice to rule it out as if it is cushings then it is generally agreed the drugs are pretty effective and if not there is clearly something else going on that needs addressing.

With regard to Puppy's post, I am lucky in that now the horse is on Pergolide, I can keep him out 24/7 and grass does provide a large part of his diet.
 
My horse was diagnosed with Cushings last year and is now on 1 prascend a day. She had a couple of bouts of minor lameness which turned out to be laminitis, as she was not showing may signs of cushings (vet agreed) we didnt have her blood tested for a couple of months, just changed her diet to a laminitic one and had silcon and pads put on her hooves. We did the blood test and it confirmed she had cushings. The change has been amazing, she is 19 this year, and I thought she had grown up gracefuly, I was wrong! She now acts like she is 7 all over again!

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
 
One of ours has Cushings and he's Insulin resistant, he is 12 yrs old, it happens in younger horses, that's the first port of call my vet went to when he had re-occurring lameness due to Laminitis, I would get bloods done and you can find out for sure then, our is on 1 Prascent a day and 24 Metformin and I must say he's back to his old self, he was miserable and lethargic, we were really surprised to find out it was Cushing and IR because of his age, he didn't have the long coat or any other symptoms really that you would associate with the condition but his blood tests proved otherwise.
 
I don't see why bloods "wouldn't show" due to age - high levels are high levels, surely?
My pony's cushings was diagnosed at the grand old age of 25 but I am sure she was cushinoid long before that, when I think back... she always had a wavy winter coat and fatty eye pads.

Prascend is VERY expensive and the shame of it is that it's the same drug - exactly - as pergolide. Fortunately in my case the vet is happy with me obtaining pergolide by private prescription. It has made a huge difference; she has lost the fatty pads, has regained a normal shape (good quarters, pot belly gone) and has so much more energy. She's retired due to her age anyway but it CAN be managed. Plus finding a new trimmer instead of the previous farrier has brought the concavity back to her soles. She's like a new horse, even my parents, who aren't at all horsey, were amazed when they visited last.

Good luck and push for a blood test.
 
My 21 year old got diagnosed in November after a 3 day spell of laminitis. Vet wanted blood test straight away as it was the warning sign and upon closer inspection we noticed the eye fat pads and bum fat pads. He is on 250mcg of pergolide and after an initial 5 day or so depression and not wanting to eat he is back to his normal self but probably even more cheeky and naughty! The fat pads have gone and will be muzzled 24/7 within the next couple of weeks, as he climbs out of any bare paddock he gets put in. Easier to have him muzzled and out with his best buddies than stressing about being seperate.
 
My mare was diagnosed about 18mnths ago with Cushings, my vet tested her for elevated ACTH levels despite it being September and elevated levels are expected at that time of year, she was tested about every 8 weeks after that to ensure that it was cushings and not just elevated ACTH levels, she was on 1mg pergolide a day and reduced to 0.5mg a day after April, but her test in July was back up again so back onto 1mg a day.
She will be 24 and is an absolute fruit loop, has started going back out to compete in February (hasn't been out in 16 years) and has managed to qualify for Scottish Farmer Finals next weekend on a 70.86%, she has never looked back since going on pergolide.
I'm lucky in that my vet currently continues to give me a private script to buy pergolide from Tesco which greatly lowers the cost, but Pracend can be bought online and it's only about £20 more expensive than Tesco.
 
I *think* that those that were being prescribed pergolide before prascend existed are allowed to continue it on the basis that it is working for their horse. All new scripts I think will be for prascend.

I'd prob just get her tested op :).
 
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