# Cushings Disease in horses.



## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

I believe one of my older mares has developed Cushings. We were at the vet Wednesday and we drew blood for the test, should know today or early next week what the results were.

Does anyone here have a Cushings horse, and if so, what do you do to treat it besides medication? Just curious. I have not dealt with this issue before, so just looking for information. My vet has dealt with this, I am confident that she will advise me well, but as an owner I'd like owners experiences with their own horses with Cushings

Thank you in advance.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I read something on a site about Cushing's years ago, it said that all Cushingoid horses will get chronic laminitis if they live long enough. 

The odd thing about Cushing's laminitis is that it occurs "out of season" for example my old gelding became laminitic in January when there was no grass, and no traumatic injury. He always shed out as well, but it did take longer than the other horses. 

There is medication, Prascend, it replaced Pergolide a few years ago. It doesn't work as well in all horses, and it's expensive. 

Here's a good link for information: http://www.thelaminitissite.org/ppid.html


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

One of my old guys has Cushings. He's now 31 years old - it developed back when he was about 25. Truth be told, he never did turn up positive with the blood tests, but my vet suspected the problem - with chronic laminitis, poor hair coat, weird body fat placement - the usual. She put him on Pergolide and he improved immediately. Not all symptoms are gone - I still have to watch him closely on rich grass, (once in a while we have a bout of laminitis or an abscess) and his coat will never be "normal" (needs to be blanketed in winter and wet cold weather - coat stripped and kept cool in summer) but he usually does fine.

My vet gets her Pergolide from a compounding pharmacy in powder form. The amount given is tiny (1 mg in a 5cc scoop), and I mix it with applesauce and shoot it into his mouth every night before he gets his feed. The stuff costs me about $120.00 every 6 months or so. There is an approved, vet pharmacologic available now - SmartPak carries it. 

https://www.smartpakequine.com/prascend-10256p

Supposedly, the Prascend pill product is more "consistent" than the compounded stuff.

Anyway, good luck. It's not the end of the world - treatment usually brings them back to a good quality of life.


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## Stonybrook (Sep 22, 2007)

If your horse has cushings, you need to really monitor diet very carefully. Think low starch/low carbohydrate diet, restricted access to grass (especially new grass), and watch when you put your horse out to graze. The information I have read over time says the best time to put them out is in the early morning. The sun causes the sugars in grass to increase so if you put them out early in the morning there is less sugar available. A graxing muzzle would be a plus to slow how much grass your horse gets. My metabolic horse had pretty chronic problems with her feet when she got old, and she had problems shedding her hair in the summer.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

That is good info. My vet wasn't as worried about her diet, she is on a low starch feed already and our grass is less than lush or of good quality. She is only a pasture grazer, the one time I stalled her on a very cold and rainy night, she stood stock still and wouldn't touch the hay I put in her stall. She's never been stalled in her 25 years, I don't think I can start to restrict her now. I will keep an eye on her though...that's about all I can do as far as grazing goes. She runs with my herd on open ranch acreage, I hate to put a grazing muzzle on her while she's out....


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## brody (Feb 19, 2009)

You'd also hate her to suffer. Grazing muzzles aren't cruel. They are a tool to slow intake. Like a small hole hay net. I don't love them but I don't hesitate to use one for the horse or pony's sake. 

We've had a couple of horses on edge at barns I've worked it. Being proactive really ensures quality f life. All the best with your mare


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

brody said:


> You'd also hate her to suffer. Grazing muzzles aren't cruel. They are a tool to slow intake. Like a small hole hay net. I don't love them but I don't hesitate to use one for the horse or pony's sake.
> 
> We've had a couple of horses on edge at barns I've worked it. Being proactive really ensures quality f life. All the best with your mare


No, I don't want her to suffer at all. I will look into a grazing muzzle. Thank you....


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Alder said:


> One of my old guys has Cushings. He's now 31 years old - it developed back when he was about 25. Truth be told, he never did turn up positive with the blood tests, but my vet suspected the problem - with chronic laminitis, poor hair coat, weird body fat placement - the usual. She put him on Pergolide and he improved immediately. Not all symptoms are gone - I still have to watch him closely on rich grass, (once in a while we have a bout of laminitis or an abscess) and his coat will never be "normal" (needs to be blanketed in winter and wet cold weather - coat stripped and kept cool in summer) but he usually does fine.
> 
> My vet gets her Pergolide from a compounding pharmacy in powder form. The amount given is tiny (1 mg in a 5cc scoop), and I mix it with applesauce and shoot it into his mouth every night before he gets his feed. The stuff costs me about $120.00 every 6 months or so. There is an approved, vet pharmacologic available now - SmartPak carries it.
> 
> ...


Thanks! My vets have their own pharmacy and compound all of their own meds. I do love that Since this mare is very small, the Prascend (we have already discussed the treatment for her) will be given in a half dose daily, so the cost will be less for me to treat her with it will be less than it would be for one of my larger horses. 

I need to research low starch feeds more. I have on a lower starch feed right now, but it isn't billed as "low starch" per se. I have my minis on Safe Choice Special Care, but my little mare hated it when I tried switching her over to it, and she refused eating it after the second meal. I will need to find something she likes!


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

I wrote a long response yesterday and it disappeared when I hit send.  Well, you've gotten a lot of good advice.

I have a pony with Cushings and he is a metabolic nightmare. Your horse sounds normal, with age-related Cushings - so you are lucky. Some horses and ponies with Cushings don't need as much management as others; our clinic had an older pony boarded with Cushings and she was still able to graze safely, in careful conditions. My guy has recently had a laminitic flare from eating frozen dead grass under a foot of snow and 4F. So...it depends.

Definitely re-test your horse after a few months of Prascend to make sure it is bringing her ACTH back into the normal range. Keep an eye on her feet (definitely discuss with your farrier so he/she knows to be on alert to any changes), and reduce starch if you can. My pony eats SafeChoice Senior. He likes Special Care as well, but we can't always get it and he needs the higher fat content. Triple Crown Senior is low in starch as well. 

Good luck!


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

I just have begun switching her to TC Senior, so am glad that is a good one. Thanks for more good information.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

My Cushings guy has been on Safechoice Senior for about the last 15 years. My vet recommends it for Cushings horses. Low carbs more fat. Lately, the old guy has been having trouble holding weight - along with everything else, his teeth are near gone. So I've been slowly introducing soy oil. Seems to be working for weight gain, and no laminitis trigger. Beet pulp (no molasses) is helpful, too.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I have a friend that is worried that her horse might get Cushing's. So she buys special feds and all sorts of holistic additives. The horse never looked worse. No shine to his coat. From her reaction to the possibility of Cushing's, I equate it to the latest gluten intolerance people claim to have acquired.

Did I miss the part where the blood test came back positive for Cushing's?


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

cranbrook said:


> I have a friend that is worried that her horse might get Cushing's. So she buys special feds and all sorts of holistic additives. The horse never looked worse. No shine to his coat. From her reaction to the possibility of Cushing's, I equate it to the latest gluten intolerance people claim to have acquired.
> 
> Did I miss the part where the blood test came back positive for Cushing's?


The blood test has not come back yet, but my vet and I both see this mare completely different now than she was 2 years ago. After making sure she does not have parasites or other issues that would cause the condition she is currently in, we both called it probable Cushings. 

I am not new to horses and this mare has been with me for a long time, I know what she looked like up until two years ago. I know symptoms of different illness and disease in equine, and this looks very much like multiple symptoms all related to a Cushings horse. Coarse, very long coat that isn't shedding out in the spring or summer. Curly hairs, fat deposits in odd locations, issues with recurring laminitis, etc. The blood test for Cushings doesn't always come back positive on a positive Cushings horse. The test is known to throw false negatives, but testing at a later date or time of year will show a positive. It isn't one hundred percent correct, so symptoms have to be treated as possibly positive at times when there is much evidence of that particular disease. 

I don't feed bunches of wacko supplements or feed and I don't worry a horse MIGHT develop anything ever. I see a change in a mare that is elderly, has never looked like this, and is very symptomatic of an illness I have extensively researched since she has been going through the changes present, and Cushings is what all of the research I have done has pointed to. I did not look specifically for one particular disease, but rather what the symptoms she is exhibiting might most likely be her issue.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

Yup, like I said, my guy never showed a positive on the blood test, but if I hadn't had him on Pergolide, I'd have had to put him down for the chronic laminitis a long time ago. He's manageable on the pergolide, but not without. As it is now with his advanced age, he is starting to show neurological symptoms and electrolyte imbalance problems when he has a bad day, so that will probably be the trigger for euthanasia in the end.

Most vets trust the symptoms and treat. As horses live longer, it's going to become more common.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Blood test was positive. Ordered Prascend today.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

aoconnor1 said:


> Blood test was positive. Ordered Prascend today.


What was the #? Do you have the quantitative results? Just curious more than anything.

Prascend is a miracle drug for Cushings, but there are some side effects. The most well-known is that it can decrease appetite and horses appear dull or depressed. It should pass as they adjust to the drug. Some vets suggest building them up slowly on the meds, especially if their ACTH numbers aren't extreme and they aren't terribly symptomatic.

For my pony, we had no choice but to force him to eat the pill and just kept hay and water in front of him. But if your horse isn't laminitic or acting very ill; it might be worth slowly building up over a week or two so they may not notice the change.

Good luck!


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Rosie's numbers were extremely high. I will get the exact number from my vet in the morning. Rose is also exhibiting multiple symptoms:-(. We are starting her hard on Prascend, then lowering the dose in 30 days. She is starting another Laminitic episode as well...sigh. I hope to get this under control for her, she is a very good little mare. 

She lived 18 years alone on a dry lot with a small pond, zero interaction with humans after she turned 5. I moved into the house next to where her owner lived, discovered her emaciated and with the longest hooves I've ever seen on an equine. She was given to me by previous owner when I offered to have my farrier trim those nasty hooves one time. I took her! She's been great for years, which is why I knew there was something more going on the past year and a half. She hasn't been right, but it's a relief to have a positive diagnosis we can treat.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

I just pulled my vet records from when my pony was diagnosed, and the vet had us split the dose 1/2 in the morning, and 1/2 in the evening for a week in an effort to lessen the appetite suppression. He's just a small guy, so the dosage is 1/2 tablet per day. So for a week he got 1/4 tablet AM and PM and then after a week got just 1/2 tablet once/day. Ask your vet if you can try that just in case.

If your horse isn't thin, maybe you don't have to worry about it. My little guy was teeny and he really needed to eat. This is him the day we picked him up: https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net...=8f530fef5e837c6f2c4186d5770ceee1&oe=555E52EF

This is him last summer, looking a little more normal although he will never be a robust type pony: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd...._=1435815744_7da3ed6efc8acca5012976af2f89fe7d

Anyway, hope your girl adapts to the medication well and starts to feel better!


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

offthegrid, thanks for the good info. I will talk to my vet more tomorrow, yesterday was just a quick text that numbers were very high and to get the meds ordered. Tomorrow will be a long conversation and plan for treatment.

I really appreciate the help from those who've experienced this first hand, it is invaluable.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

How is your mare doing? Hopefully things are improving!


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

offthegrid said:


> How is your mare doing? Hopefully things are improving!


I just got the meds today! Will start her tomorrow. 

I did start her on Horseshoers Secret to give her the Threonine, Methionine, and (brain fart) the other one she needed. Also got her switched to Triple CrownSenior. She actually perked up by the end of the week on just that much and started blowing her coat. Not sure it's actually from that, it could be our temps we've been having, but either way she is a little better. I will see how she's doing in a couple of weeks on the Prascend.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Update....What a huge difference! My little mare is doing fantastic. Back to being sassy and bossy, head up, coat laid back down and shedding normally, bright eyed and silly again. She has a ways to go to be on top of it again, but she is progressing so well. She is getting one Prascend daily, will be cutting that to half a pill daily in another week. Appetite has remained good, she eats every bite of her feed and any hay I put out.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

aoconnor1 said:


> Update....What a huge difference! My little mare is doing fantastic. Back to being sassy and bossy, head up, coat laid back down and shedding normally, bright eyed and silly again. She has a ways to go to be on top of it again, but she is progressing so well. She is getting one Prascend daily, will be cutting that to half a pill daily in another week. Appetite has remained good, she eats every bite of her feed and any hay I put out.


That's great news!! Keeping them eating while on the meds is a challenge a lot of people struggle with, so you are lucky she's doing so well! Glad she's feeling better too!! :nanner:


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

offthegrid said:


> That's great news!! Keeping them eating while on the meds is a challenge a lot of people struggle with, so you are lucky she's doing so well! Glad she's feeling better too!! :nanner:


I brought that up with my vet before we got the Prascend. She said the meds were a necessity, and we were going to have to deal with it! Lol! Thankfully it wasn't an issue.

I'm thankfull the meds have worked so quickly. What a change!


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