[I*luv*Ellie]

What are some treatments for cushings disease?

[drafts]

The only treatment for cushings is meds. The meds only last a few years though,a nd then they quit working. Some people try herbal remedies. Our horse has it, and the meds are very costly, but he is worth it. You have to change your feed plan, and NO MORE treats, even apples.

[MissBandit]

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[MissBandit]

Drafts is correct. Meds and also diet. A Cushing's case needs to be fed a high fibre, low sugar/calorie diet. Cushing's

[Carla_Lizzy]

This is some info that i was sent a few years ago when i asked someone the same thing about my mare~


Cushing's Disease, or Cushing's Syndrome, is often thought of as a disease that only afflicts older horses, however, it has been known to occur in horses as young as eight years old.
Symptoms of Cushing's Disease
Horses with Cushing's Disease can be easily recognized by their coarse, wavy coat that often fails to shed out in the summer. A gelding at the barn I used to board at suffered from Cushing's Disease, and even in the heat of a Houston summer, he had a thick coat of wavy hair.
Other symptoms are excessive thirst, combined with excessive urination. A normal horse will drink in the region of 5 - 8 gallons per day, whereas a horse suffering from Cushing's Disease will drink as much as 20 gallons per day. Affected horses often have a pot-bellied appearance, combined with a loss of muscle on the topline. In addition, horses with Cushing's Disease are often more susceptible to other diseases because their immune system has been compromised.
What Causes Cushing's Disease?
Cushing's Disease is caused by a tumor of the pituitary gland, which is the small gland at the base of the brain which regulates the rest of the horse's endocrine systems. As the tumor grows, it puts pressure on the nearby hypothalmus, which is what regulates the body temperature. This is believed to be the primary cause of the distinctive coarse, wavy hair coat. As cells in the pituitary gland become overactive, they produce excess quantities of a peptide called pro-opiolipomelanocortin (POLMC, for short) causing the entire endocrine system to go out of balance.
Diagnosing Cushing's Disease
Even though the clinical symptoms are often very obvious, a number of tests have been developed over the years to positively diagnose Cushing's Disease in horses. These include the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) stimulation. In addition, a test which combines the DST with a thyroid stimulating hormone release test, or TRH was developed by a team at the University of Tennessee to eliminate the overlap of the values of normal horses with those with pituitary tumors which was occurring in a number of cases.
Treating Cushing's Disease
The good news is that once Cushing's Disease has been diagnosed, treatment is simple, if long term, and in many cases allowing the horse to return to normal health.
Bromocriptine mesylate, a dopamine agonist, is one of the drugs used to treat Cushing's Disease. It mimics dopamine to inhibit overproduction of activating peptides, and it has been shown to mildly decrease plasma ACTH and cortisol levels. There are problems in absorption which limit it's practical use, however, and there are reported to be a number of side effects.
A more successful drug in the treatment of Cushing's Disease is cyproheptadine, a seratonin blocker. This is available in tablet form, which is easily absorbed into the horse's system, making it a much more practical treatment. The simplest way to monitor the horse's improvement is to watch the water intake over a 24 hour period. The drug levels are slowly increased till the water consumption returns to normal. Once the horse has shown maintained improvement for a month, the dosage of the drug is decreased until a maintenance dosage is reached.
It is important to note that while these drugs treat the symptoms, they do not treat the pituitary tumor itself. Horses with mild Cushing's Disease may be returned to good health for a number of years, but eventually the tumor will compromise the horse's life and euthanasia becomes the kindest option.

[Carla_Lizzy]

we fed my mare on happy hoof and high fibre cubes, hay and she rarely had grass. we lead her out to some grass before she was put to sleep because we knew that would make her happier than ever.

[ejforrest]

*Hays fed to insulin resistant horses should cantain no more than 10% sugars and starch combined. The only way to know for sure what hay contains is through laboratory analyis.
*It is not necessarily a good thing to restrict the intake of hay. When good grass hay is being fed, it should be at the rate of about 15-20 pounds per day for a 1000 pound horse. Horses which spend a lot of time in stall would be fed at the lower end, while those that get turned out in a herd situation would be at the upper end.
*Grain and fruit treats of any kind should not be fed. That includes everything from oats to apples.
*hes horses usually do well on grass hay only diet, beet pulp is an excellent addition to teh diet because it actually is more digestible than hay and has a cloric value that is roughly equivalent to plain oats.
*The proper intake of minerals is highly important. The intake of each individual mineral should be set at a minimum of 150% of current National Research Council(NRC)minimums. This extra intake of minerals is needed to help combat the problem reather than just maintain a proper balance.
*Long term diets that are high in fat can worsen insulin resistance in some breeds and ponies.
*Addequate-but not excessive-poritein is advisable. Grass hays containing 7.5% protein consumed at the rate of 2% of body weight per day will meet crude protein requirements.
*Free choice access to grass should be avoided to cut down on the possibilty of ingeting too much sugar.
More information go to www.thehorse.com

[thespa]

For my older horse, who had "trace" Cushings, I used Pergolide for while and he did fine, but then my vet said I could stop it. He's still doing fine, has had no recurence of founder. It costs a lot, but I guess is a real good one.