Looking for ideas/health question- is this Cushings?

[romewhip]

There's a pony staying for a little while in the barn. I'm not even sure if she's a mini or a Shetland, she looks more mini than Shetland but she's big for a mini. She's said to be about 8 years old, her teeth look appropriate for that age.

She came in thin, with a big belly. She has a lot of long hair on her belly, and a bit on her flanks, and it's a different texture than regular winter coat. Granted it's summer and she shouldn't have any extra coat. She also has a very heavy mane that's broken her crest over, she breathes a little too fast, and she walks off in the rear. Not quite as exaggerated as stringhalt, but not normal either. Possible luxating patella? She's also got several fungus looking patches.

The owner is going through some troubles right now, and has been having a hard time keeping up with what's going on. She's known the barn owner for a long time, and may not be paying for the stay. The barn owner trimmer her very long feet, which helped but didn't stop the odd gait in the back. I bathed her, clipped the long stuff off in hopes of making her more comfortable, and thinned out a lot of her mane, then put fungicide on her spots. She's been wormed as well, nothing major came out.

Of course there's no vet involved, the owner doesn't have the funds. Does this sound like Cushings? I know a major clue is the excess hair around the belly and potbelly appearance. She's having trouble holding weight despite eating plenty, teeth don't look bad. Is there anything else if could be?

 

[disneyhorse]

If she hasn't been cared for, her body could just be unhealthy overall. I bought back a pony a couple years ago that was underweight and had very very long coat which was unusual for her... Her body was just out of whack.

 

[chandab]

Not unheard of, but 8 years old is quite young for Cushing's to start. Disneyhorse posted while I was typing, so I won't repeat what she has said; as that is pretty much what I was going to write.

she isn't however too young for IR (insulin resistance), similar to Type II diabetes in people; not all IR horses are fat, so its entirely possible. IR is controlled by diet. [strict low carb diet, reducing sugars and starches in the diet, limiting grazing (or none at all, growing grass is pretty high in sugar), no treats.]

In all likelihood her condition is caused by lack of proper care, and once she is on a steady diet she'll improve, although it might be next spring shed before you really see it in her coat (its hard to see changes in the winter coat, and with fall coming on, you'll see her winter coat before you see a nice summer coat).

 

[romewhip]

Sadly I don't know how long she's going to be staying. She's on nothing but water, mineral block, and good hay. She's not showing the signs I usually associate with insulin resistance but she's definitely not allowed any sweet feed or green grass. I'd love for her owner to leave her at the barn for a while, we'd be able to do a lot for her just with regular care. I also think she's too young for Cushing's normally, I've just never seen this odd coat that was on her belly and sides. It's fuzzy, like dog hair, not like the usual horse flat coat. She's a sweet pony, for sure, and seems more comfortable now.

 

[happy appy]

I have had a few rescues come in that looked like what you are describing. I did a panacur for 5 days then followed that 2 weeks later with a tape worm dewormer. Lots of good hay and water with a mineral block available and in a couple months they looked great. I also clipped the hair off them. If nothing good is going in then nothing good is showing on the outside. Good food goes a long way.

 

[shorthorsemom]

When I asked my vet about cushings possibility on one of my boys she said he was a bit young... he is about 7 years old. Probably need a good worming and some decent care, thats where I would start, worming, dental, bath, decent nutrition and clean up the feet.

Potbelly is prob due to just hay diet. She should be on some sort of supplement like enrich 32 or triple crown lite or something similar. bad nutrition and bad foot care sounds like to me.