Those with horses with Cushings & Arthritis

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Soup Dragon

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how do you cope?

My pony was diagnosed with cushings 6 months ago (has her follow up blood test next week) and also has arthritis in her hindquarters.

I'm struggling with how to keep her warm enough so that she does not get too stiff without her overheating due to the cushings. She has COPD, so her breathing is laboured when she is too hot.

I suspect that her levels are still too high and that the Prascend dosage will be increased.
She is also on glucosamine; msm and green lipped mussel for her arthritis, which does seem to help as long as she doesn't get too cold.

She is kept out as much as possible - stabled if the weather is really rough but does not get any exercise apart from the field due to DDFT injury.

Apart from all of the above she is very happy in herself but I am struggling as she has been very low maintenance for the past 20 years (just always had to keep her weight down).
 
My old lady has cushings and can be very stiff through her sacrum. Danilon keeps her comfortable, she varies beween 1/2 and 1/3 sachet a day - if yours is more comfortable perhaps she will move around more and keep herself warmer?
I seem to recall that glucosamine is contra indicated with laminitis subjects (as in Cushings) so I have always been wary of it with my old girl.
 
I don't really know if I am coping tbh, though my girl seems happy enough. She has cushings, arthritis and is showing symptoms of SI pain so is having that looked into by vet and physio. I haven't had trouble keeping mine warm tbh - she is an Arab but I find she's quite tough and I don't think she is necessarily stiffer in cold weather. She lives out as much as possible, even when it is icy cold in winter she seems to be better out!
 
my cushings mare is on 1 danilon a day for various problems and this keeps her very comfortable(this morning she really had a good time in the wind!!!!) i also keep her clipped and rug when necessary so this stops her getting hot and sweaty....i am still hacking mine about 4 times a week , she is 22....
 
My pony was always the first one on the yard to feel the cold and she had her arthritis diagnosis first so I had to rug her more. Although her ACTH levels have returned to normal with the prascend tablets she is taking longer to shed her winter coat so now she is rugged far less than she was previously. She seems far more comfortable for it. All you can do is be prepared to adjust but the balance for mine seems to be less rugging as she just gets hot when previously she would be cold. She is out 24/7 with a field shelter.
 
I have a 22 year old Shetland mare who has Cushing's and is insulin resistant and has arthritis in her stifle. I have tried lots of supplements but didn't really find one that did any good. I use brod pod magnets on her legs permanently and she has been able to come off her sachet of bute now. She is on one prascend daily which I seryinge into her mouth with yogurt, she likes that. She sometimes has to have metfomin for her insulin.To keep her temperature right I blanket clip her and use a light weight rug just to keep her back warm in the winter. This seems to work well for her. We have had many ups and downs but she seems to be very happy now. :-)
 
I forgot to add that she lives out permanently with a field shelter and a friend to keep her company.
 
I've found mine grow less coat now that he's on prascend but as he's still in light work i do a low trace clip in winter, in the past he retained his coat a bit, so I clipped him throughout but this year he's lost his winter coat naturally. i use Bute and adjust it according to how he feels. As he is 25 I'm less concerned about the long term effects of using Bute than i am about keeping him comfortable. I am trying to ensure he gets a little regular work and he's always out during the day as it helps his arthritis. Before the start of last winter I had steroid injections in his hocks, which worked brilliantly. I do have him checked over by the vet on a regular basis. He costs me a fortune but Hey, you can't take it with you! Oh, and he's got lots of different weight rugs.
 
Thanks for all your replies - I feel I can cope a bit better now.

The arthritis has been there for a few years but the cushings and her becoming lame has hit me pretty hard. With her in work it was a lot easier to manage weight and the arthritis.

I did have her blanket clipped (for the first time in 20 years!) and rugged in March to help her and that seemed to work.

She is 25 and as long as she's happy I want to do the best for her.

Glad I joined this forum as the people at the yard I'm at do not have any experience of any of this.
 
Soup Dragon said:
how do you cope?

My pony was diagnosed with cushings 6 months ago (has her follow up blood test next week) and also has arthritis in her hindquarters.

I'm struggling with how to keep her warm enough so that she does not get too stiff without her overheating due to the cushings. She has COPD, so her breathing is laboured when she is too hot.

I suspect that her levels are still too high and that the Prascend dosage will be increased.
She is also on glucosamine; msm and green lipped mussel for her arthritis, which does seem to help as long as she doesn't get too cold.

She is kept out as much as possible - stabled if the weather is really rough but does not get any exercise apart from the field due to DDFT injury.

Apart from all of the above she is very happy in herself but I am struggling as she has been very low maintenance for the past 20 years (just always had to keep her weight down).
Click to expand...


Never dealt with Cushings first hand but try here might be of some use.

Have dealt with a lot of Arthritic horses and ponies


http://horse-care-and-advice.weebly.com/a.html





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