A pony at our yard...

[dollylanedales]

My Shetland Prince has had Laminitis for many years. He has the most amazing thick coat in winter, and has recently started to lose weight (but he is 20 ish). Last year he kept his thick coat during the summer and was sweating terribly. Coat went all curly. I really thought he had cushings. Anyway, this year his coat is still thicker than the other ponies summer coat, but it is not curly, and even in the hottest weather we had, he was not sweating .....oh, and his coat colour has changed from a very dark bay to a copper colour this summer. Vet and farrier both said they did not think he had cushings, but I am still not convinced. Prince's eyes do not bulge, but he is always hungry ....but there again, all mine are.

Just had a thought, my friends eyes started bulging, and she was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. Thats what cushings is, so maybe the pony you are looking after also has a thyroid problem?

[hannahjsheldon]

Hmmmm, interesting thoughts. Thanks.

From what I have read and also in my experience, although the curly coat is a classic symptom, it's not always present. I knew 2 horses that had severe laminitis from cushings and their coats weren't affected.

[jakesmum]

my mare had cushings with very descreet symptoms ie they don`t all have hairy fluffy coats. She seemed just very depressed then within days developed a soft swelling midline just behind the girth. Some ponies loose weight but have very bulging stomachs.
The most obvious symptom was the depression. We had blood done on ice. You can have the dex suppression test but there is a risk of steriod induced laminitis with that. My pony went on to develope laminitis as a result of the cushings. We had plastic shoes everything but she never came sound and was PTS. Age is not always a factor she was 12yrs and registered so we knew her age was correct

[lancslass]

i think really you need to ask a vet hannah.
windsuckers in general are more difficult to get weight on. also, the lots of drinking could also be possibly the fact that the pony is having a lot of "dry" feed............hay, fibre nuts, even happy hoof. is the speedibeet fed to him quite wet?
mine all drink more when they are on hay rather than haylage as it doesn't have the same water content.
most ponies do go quite wooley in winter if left unrugged.
im only seeing a positive side to the problem.
as i said before, if it was me i would seek veterinary advise so that the correct diagnosis can be made and relevant treatment and diet
sorry , can't be any more help.

[hannahjsheldon]

Thanks guys! Thanks Karen for looking on the positive side! Yes, I agree about the wind-sucking. Yes, he does have dry hay, although his speedi-beet is fed very wet. Oh, and he is quite heavily rugged in winter.

I just really wanted to know if I should advise them to get the vet out. Obviously I am not trying to self-diagnose, but I wouldn't want them to ignore it if it could be something quite serious.

I did recommend that she got them insured, which I am hoping she has done. They do seem to have pots of cash, but that's not really the point! I don't think people realise how expensive these vets bills can be!

[lancslass]

i would be like you hannah and not want them to ignore it..............i would gently advise them in a round about manner to ask a vet to look over him.

is he an old pony hannah? is he also a fine bred pony?

[khristyne]

Get the vet without delay! If the pony is giving the lad so much fun, it must be worth it! Have to say it does sound fishy to me.

There are lots of treatments for cushings nowadays that are very effective, if you get the right one. The first step is blood tests.

[hannahjsheldon]

Thanks guys! I think the pony is about 11, although, that's what they said!!!! Hmmmm... He is a finer type anyway.

They get back on Tuesday, so I will have a gentle word. I need to get the vet to look at something on Rocky anyway, so maybe I should suggest that we could share a visit!!

[jakesmum]

good idea re vets and shared costs it could be so many things but needs to be investigated
Try not to worry re cushings however its a horrible disease. My pony was tried with lots of treatments some medications cost as much as a mortgage but still did not work. Also tried homeopathic stuff as well as I was clutching at straws

[bevbob]

Im glad you posted this Hannah, Im looking after my friends pony who has lami at the mo while she is on holiday. She asked me to get the vet down as he is going from bad to worse.
I got the vet and he agreed he wasnt as good as he had been. Hes been stabled since early June and had heartbars put on.
Vet has now taken bloods and he has some classic symptoms like eating all the time but not putting extra weight on (hes quite porky), drinking loads and weeing loads, fat pads in eye sockets but no curly coat. His coat is normal.
Ill let you know what the blood samples come back as.

[hannahjsheldon]

Thanks! I had a friend whose pony had cushings about 13 years ago. It was at a time when the vets didn't really know much about it! They tried all sorts of things, and just seeing the way that pony went was heartbraking!!

My friend's welsh d had cushings. He was PTS about 18 months ago now. She was at Uni at the time and her dad was looking after the horse. Anyway, he was constantly hobbling lame, but the dad insisted he was happy and fine because he always had his ears forward!!!! AAGGHHH Some people!

Also, at the new yard we moved to last year, one of the liveries developed laminitis. His mum had cushings. ANyway, he was diagnosed with cushings in September and was sooooo bad with uncontrollable laminitis that he was PTS in November. She tried the medication etc... but it just didn't seem to work.

Having seen all these cases, it makes me worry. What would I do if it were my horse? They can't cure Cushings but they can sometimes alleviate the symptoms. My friend and I made a pact if it happened to our horses we would not allow them to suffer! But, some horses react well to the medication. It's all baffling!

[akehurstannabel]

Holly was diagnosed with cushings at 6. I had her from 5 months so I know this was her real age. She had no symptoms except bizarre acute attacks of laminitis. She was on pergolide and founderguard ( although founderguard is only for dietary induced laminitis it protected against anyone feeding her grain she wasn't supposed to have) Unfortunately even with meticulous care she came down with acute laminitis again and was put down just over a fortnight ago. Her cushings and insulin resistance meant that she could not even manage 3 hours on a starvation paddock. Apparently in younger horses with cushings they only tend to have a life expectancy of roughly two years after diagnosis. Holly made two and a half years. The cushings and laminitis didn't kill her, it was a quality of life issue. Jo x

[hannahjsheldon]

The quality of life issue is a big thing! I am really sorry to hear about Holly. It is so sad and such an evil disease!

Bevbob - Any news on the pony you are looking after?

[bevbob]

Yes! the owner is Bex who comes on here occasionally and shes on now, Ill get her to tell you as Im not sure lol, but its not cushings.

[bex]

bloods came back and apparently he has high insulin which could indicate a hormone problem resulting in him not shaking off the lammi. got back from hols yesterday and had to ring for a more thorough explination (as this message was sent through my mum) but not been able to get through yet so will be rining again tomoz.