Cushings disease

[Becky]

Anybody on this forum have horses with Cushings? And if so, how do you manage them?

 

[pinck43]

Yes, I do. She stays in a dry lot most of the time. This time of year I have been letting her out on the weekends. I feed her safe choice. It is hard to keep weight on her now and that is also one of the reasons she is penned up. She also gets Pergolide everyday. She is doing well, except I would like more weight on her. She will be restricted in the spring on how long she will be on pasture. dionne

 

[Becky]

Thanks for the response. How old is your mare and how much Pergolide does she get? Is she IR too?

 

[bevann]

I have 3 with Cushings.Mare is 23 and on Pergolide.She goes out on grass and has no problems other than thinner than I like.Often lethargic , but I will soon have blood work done again.Another is 19 and has very fat neck.She is on Heiro(herbal supplemt made by vet in PA. No problems, but I may soon try another herbal supplement to see if I can get rid of fat neck.Her full sister is 17 and on Heiro also.She also goes out on pasture and has no problems.When spring comes I will have to change time on grass.I am always looking for signs of founder.I also had 2 previous Cushings horses-1 was dam to 2 of these mares.All have been mares.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I had a pony with Cushings, it caused him to founder. We didn't find out he was cushings until the bloodwork came in after we lost him to complications of the founder. My friend had a miniature mare with Cushings and she gave her pergolide for many years, well managed. The mare was a driving mini and she did well. They lost her in her 30's, but her quality of life on the pergolide was good. Very expensive stuff. I have also heard that you can use Quiessence too, but know nothing about that one, just knew someone that said their vet recommended.

 

[zacharyfarms]

Hi Becky,

I have one mare 13 yo and one mare 28 yo that have Cushings. 13 is considered very young for Cushings but she also IR and it sometimes induces Cushings from the research I have done. I know that you are already a member of the Cushings Yahoo group. They are immensely helpful. The 13 year old has been diagnosed for 2 years and is totally controlled. She is on .25mg of pergolide(capsule purchased from ThrivingPets made a huge difference when I changed from bulk pergolide to capsule), 1 tsp iodized salt, 1 tsp Remission(primary ingred. magnesium/chromium), 1 tsp jiagoulan herb and 1 tsp chastetree berry powder(I had tried to use just this instead of pergolide but had to add the pergolide) daily. She is also on Triple Crown Lite (less than 10% ESC+starch)1 1/2 cups to carry these supplements and to not have to used individual minerals to balance my hay. (I feed her 3/4 Cups in AM with the supplements) and 3/4 cup at night. Until I was able to find safe hay for her I fed her Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage which is a bagged hay with a less than 10% ESC+starch but a little higher fat content then the Cushings Group likes. I tried the ODTBC (Ontario-Dehy Timothy Balanced Cubes also recommended by the group) but she didn't care for them and they were way to much trouble since the ones at the time were hard as rocks. This mare is in wonderful shape and doing very very good. The Platform Miniature Horse Feed is what threw her over the edge into Laminitis..Once I changed her to Triple Crown Lite she immediately improved. All my horses are on it now and I have been very very fortunate to find two excellent sources for safe hay for my entire group of 23 horses. The 28 year old is Cushings only and is also on all of the above supplements and hay and TCL. PM me if you want to talk and I will give you a call.

 

[Hosscrazy]

Hi Becky -

My mare Misty had Cushings disease and was IR. By the time we got a diagnosis, she foundered. It was a 2 year battle and I finally had to let her go. As a result, I became passionate about helping others with horses who have Cushings disease and/or IR. I am also a co-moderator on the Yahoo Cushings site led by D. Kellon. I highly recommend that if your horse is Cushings or is IR that you join this group. Here is the link:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/

Good luck,

Liz R.

 

[Becky]

Thanks, Judy, I appreciate the detailed information.

So you find that the capsule form of Pergolide is more effective than other forms? I was using powdered Pergolide on one horse and just switched to liquid on that one plus another. One mare was started on it last month, but so far, I can't tell it's made any difference. However, I'm going to have to pull her off of it anyway as she's getting close to foaling.

One of these mares is only 10 (diagnosed 2 years ago when on lease) and the other is 15.

Liz - thanks for your response as well. I have been a member of that group for 4 yrs I think? There is a lot of valuable information there, for sure!

 

[zacharyfarms]

Thanks, Judy, I appreciate the detailed information.
So you find that the capsule form of Pergolide is more effective than other forms? I was using powdered Pergolide on one horse and just switched to liquid on that one plus another. One mare was started on it last month, but so far, I can't tell it's made any difference. However, I'm going to have to pull her off of it anyway as she's getting close to foaling.

One of these mares is only 10 (diagnosed 2 years ago when on lease) and the other is 15.

Hi Becky,

The capsule form made a big difference on the just Cushings horse.. There is many references to the capsule vs the powder and liquid forms not being as effective. Their shelf life is limited in the liquid and powder. The biggest difference with the IR and Cushings horses was putting them on the Triple Crown Lite, changing the hay and the Remission & iodized salt all recommendations of the Cushings Group (I use the remission for the magnesium. At first I had to soak & drain the hay that I already had. I was pleasantly surprised with being able to find the right ESC+Starch hay in my area and now have all my horses on it. If I remember correctly you use a ration balancer and it is possible that it is too high in ESC+Starch. What kind do you use? Triple Crown Lite is for all general purposes a ration balancer. I do think I forgot to mention the Omega Horseshine which all of my horses are on. It is used for the recommended source of flax seed. Probably the only supplement I wouldn't do without on the farm. It sounds like a lot to do but in the grand scheme of things it really isn't that expensive for minis for the supplements aren't that expensive if purchased at the right place online. The Omega Horshine is available at Tractor Supply in the stores.

 

[Becky]

Thanks, Judy. Unfortunately, I'm likely going to be looking to rehome these mares as I'm not set up to feed individually here. All information, though, is greatly appreciated!