cushings

[pinck43]

Those of you with horses that have cushings. What meds does your vet have them on and what feed are you feeding them? Do they get pasture time? Thanks, dionne

 

[SilverDollar]

I have one big horse with Cushing's and a Welsh pony (12hh) that's positive as well. My big guy is 31 and is not on any meds. We tried Pergolide but he did not do well on it and is fine without it. He does graze on my lawn--not a whole lot of grass--and is mostly fed orchard grass hay and a mix of pellets (timothy, bermuda, and Nutrena Sr.).

My pony is also insulin resistant as well as Cushing's and is on Pergolide. She is 27 and has done very well on it. She is on 1mg (worked up to that dose) and NEVER is allowed to graze on any kind of pasture. (I test my hay and she gets orchard grass hay that is less than 8% NSC. She also has done okay with the WellSolve Low Starch--just a little bit to mix with her supplements.)

For a great source of information please see the Yahoo Cushing's group. There are many, many awesome people in that group that can provide a wealth of information. (Liz, aka Hosscrazy on LB, is a moderator of the group.)

 

[Hosscrazy]

Each case is different, depending on the needs of your horse. I had my Cushings/IR mare on a low NSC diet - Mountain Sunrise timothy pellets, soaked/rinsed beet pulp, APF and pergolide.

I also moderate the Yahoo Cushings/IR forum which I HIGHLY recommend that you join. It is moderated by Dr. Eleanor Kellon. Without a doubt, this is the best place to have people help you with your Cushings horse.

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

Best wishes,

Liz R.

 

[Keri]

My older unreg. got diagnosed this year. I have him on grass hay, limited pasture and soaked beet pulp. No meds. Someone who had cushing's horses told me about a mineral block. Its called Futurity Precise (hoof & health). You can get it in pellets too. Anyways, she says its just awesome for them. So I bought it this week to try it out. She said it'll balance everything for them. So I figured its worth a try. My guy is around 15-16 years old. She said Oat hay is awesome for them too. But I already loaded the barn with grass. So we'll finish that off first and see how he does.

 

[Hosscrazy]

She said Oat hay is awesome for them too

Please be careful with oat hay - if your horse is also IR, this could be a problem. The NSC level of oat hay is around 23% and that can be a problem for IR horses.

Best wishes,

Liz R.