cushing's info

[pwhitt]

Am new to the board and looking for some help/maybe other experiences with Cushing's disease. My 16yr old dales mare has just been confirmed with it having had persistent laminitis since May. We've had the usual box rest, bute, acp and graduated return to turnout but only managed to get up to one hour a day in pen with grazing muzzle for about three weeks before it flared up again.
She's been in heart bars shoes since July and has just started Pergolide this weekend for the Cushings.

I've read and found really useful the Laminitis Conference post and she's on deep shavings bed along with a diet as she was cresty necked and condition score 4 (on a 5point scale) at the start of all this.

It's been a miserable summer for her and I'm not too sure the autumn and winter will get any better, hope needed!!!

P

[SuzieP]

Welcome to Dalesfans! I hope you enjoy the board.......

So sorry to hear that your pony has had such a bad time over the summer. There are people on this board who have laminitic/cushings ponies and I'm sure they'll share their experiences and so on. It's a horrible condition, and has been so common this summer.

[harveydales]

Hello and welcome to Dalesfans!

I'm very sorry to hear about your poor mare. Laminitis, whether through Cushings or other causes, is a truely horrible condition. As Sue says, there are a few members here whose ponies also suffer with Cushings and I'm sure they will want to share their experiences.

One of my ponies (Quest, a WCxTB) had his first bout of Laminitis 8 years ago when he was 17. At that time he was also overweight with a condition score of probably 4. It was a LONG haul getting him back to a comfortable level, very distressing for me but Quest adjusted to all the box rest remarkabley well. He did have bone changes in his feet though - has your pony?

At the time I never imagined Quest would ever get back to a decent level of fitness and ridden work but he did. It took several months and a full year before the seedy toe (a common follow on from lami) was fully resolved but he was back competing at Affiliated Dressage 6 months after the initial attack.

Since then, Quest has had a couple of further attacks, one this year again although we weren't sure whether it was laminitis or bruising due to his dropped soles. It later turned out that it was Lami and probably caused by me worming him! He hasn't been tested for Cushings recently but a few years ago tests showed he was possibley border line.

He is now retired and barefoot - something I never imagined would be possible for him with his dropped soles, so there really is hope! I have a pair of hoof boots for when the ground is very hard and uneven but mostly he copes fine without. I also bought a rediculously expensive pair of special hoof boots for lami/cushings ponies for periods when he is really uncomfortable but haven't needed them yet.

Try not to get despondent, there really is hope. Many ponies respond extremely well to Pergolide. Quest was given a short course the second time he got lami but many ponies are on it long term. Also there seems to be a lot of succes with Agnus Castus tincture/herb. The Laminitis clinic ran a clinical trial on this some years ago and they asked whether I would like to enter Quest but I didn't at the time. So there are still several avenues for you to go down if the Pergolide doesn't help. I'm sure other members here can tell you far more about what treatments they have tried and with what levels of success.

Do keep us up to date with your pony's progress. many of us know just what you are going through and it does help to share your worries.

[pauhla]

Hi pwhitt. Get yourself signed up to the Yahoo Metabolichorse group at pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMetabolicHorse/. You will find SO much information there and an awful lot of people managing Cushings horses really succesfully. The files section has lots of info to get you started and then you can post specific questions for people to answer. There are horses on there who are living really good quality lives that the owners previously thought they would have to give up on so take heart!

[pwhitt]

Thanks for the replies, it's been really easy to get despondant about this so hearing good news about other ponies in similar conditions is really helpful.

Harveydales, Emily has no bone changes, we've so far had 2 sets of xrays and there has been no change over the summer, she does however have a stretched white line. Her soles, I'm told by vet and farrier are remarkably good as are her feet in general, hopefully that will work in her favour! As yet we've had no sign of abcesses or white line disease etc so here's hoping it stays that way lol. We are due to worm at our yard in the near future so I'll be keeping a very close eye on her, I may have to move in 24/7!!

Pauhla, I have discovered the yahoo matabolic horse group through lurking around the internet and am now boggled with all the reading and learning it really is a good site for information and knowledge. Hopefully when I get my mind in order I can be a more active member as just now I'm kinda going round in circles trying to sort Em out. Soon I'll be on straight lines again and able to function somewhere near normal.

Emily has coped amazingly well with her box rest, just plays up if I'm around but not with her. Considering she's supposed to have sore feet she can give the stable door a good high hard kick and manages a fair impression of a levade too. I swear there's Lippizaner in there somewhere, lol!

Thanks for the support guys I'll keep you updated as to how she goes on

[knight]

I haven't been on alot lately & just saw your thread. Best of lucky with Emily, sounds like she's doing well and has good chances of continuing to do well & return to activity. My 10 year old shetland X Topaz' cushings was found the same way, as she had persistant laminitis too. She's had some ups & downs but with controlled diet and being on pergolide she is doing remarkably this past year. This despite a good bit of rotation in both front coffin bones. For her diet, including herbal blends for cushings & insulin resistance, has made so much difference. So Enily sounds like she has a good chance of doing well and your being so diligent in her care will make a big difference. Topaz is doing so fell, finally, that I'm thinking that they day may come that I can driver her again, so there's always hope.

[pwhitt]

Just a quick update to say Emily seemed to be finally losing some of hte heat in her feet, then she was reshod last week and here we go again heat's back.She also had some blood in the right foot when she was trimmed so I guess it's not over yet. Good news is that her pulses although i am able to feel them aren't as bad as they have been so hopefully things are actually getting better.
We've got the vet out on Thursday so maybe, and it's a big maybe she can have some time out of her stable in the near future.
Thanks Knight for an idea of timescale son this 'thing' I've been getting a stupid about the time she's been laid up to know that Topaz has been around a year for you to start thinking of working her again gives me something to work on with Em. The things some ponies do for time off, lo!!

[harveydales]

Good to hear Emily is improving. I think the slight set back after shoeing is to be expected. I found the same with Quest until the whole foot had completely grown out. Emily's feet should settle soon again and it will get easier every time. Usually the blood you are seeing at shoeing is signs of old bruising so fingers crossed your vet says she is ready for some time out of the stable. I know it's not easy though.

[Debbie]

Hi and welcome to Dalesfans !!

I'm really sorry to hear about your struggles with Em and lami. Its a horrid thing to happen to a pony There's so many triggers to set them off, you can drive yourself round the bend trying to be sure they're safe.

I'm glad you've heard from some of the other members who've been tackling lami in their ponies. You're right...its the light at the end of the tunnel.

LOL...I'm sure Em really didn't mean for this as an out of work tactic, but you're not alone. Looking forward to hearing more about you and the beautiful Emily

[pwhitt]

Yippee!!!! The vet was out today and is really pleased with the front feet, pulses down and not sensitive to hoof testers so she can go out!!!!! I don't know who's more pleased me or Emily.

I am also to start working her just 5mins building up each day and only in walk at first but it's a start. The hope is that this will help the back legs, she's got bone spavin in the right hock so poor girl is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Still we might make another breed show yet!!!.
Thanks for the hugs even virtual one's work.

[Debbie]

That's wonderful news!!!

[harveydales]

Brilliant news! Is today her first time out then? Do please let us know how it goes.

Fantastic that you can start giving her a little exersise. I can still remember the wonderful feeling that first time I rode Quest out at walk for just 5 minutes after all that box rest. I was expecting him to be a right pain but he was good as gold.

[pwhitt]

It's day two of turnout today, only in a bare pen but she loves it, even had a little kick about when i put her out today!! So far so good with the feet, the heat is settling down and the pulses are low, here's hoping.
Have ridden her for about 5mins yesterday and today, she was so good, not a peep just a relaxed walk about the menage. She really is a mini marvel (only 13.2)

[harveydales]

Wonderful! What a star to be so quiet and sensible for you! You must be soooooo happy to see her enjoying herself in the pen at long last.

[pwhitt]

Just a quick update to say we wormed at out yard on Sat, so far so good, pulses still feel low and the feet are less warm. I don't know if it's a good sign or not but bringing her in tonight she had a proper strop, bucking, barging and running around me on the end of her lead rope !!! It made me laugh even though i did pretend to tell her off!! Then she had a five minute ride in the rain for her trouble lol