Diagnosed With Cushings :-(

[Abi Ramsey]

Magnum's been diagnosed wtih Cushings Disease....!! :o

Had to get a vet from outside Bahrain to get this diagnosis, but was pretty sure anyways!!

I've been told that his muscle won't build up, so have to teach him to lead while I'm riding my other boy....

This is painful for me - I thought I'd be able to at least pley with him - now need to learn to play on foot!...

A question tho, has anyone got any comments on this:
Cush X Support Formula http://www.hiltonherbs.com/equine/equine_specialneeds.cfm?cfid=33265533&cftoken=64016232 The first item.

My vet says why not try it anything that would help would be a good thing and there doesn't seem to be anything harmful in it composition...

Would be great to hear feedback.

[martini55]

My horse was diagnosed with cushings in Oct last year after suffering an attack of laminitis almost out of the blue and then going on to lose lots of weight and all her muscle. The vet prescribed peroglide for her, and although it doesn't always work, it has done wonders for her. She's a good weight now and has put on a bit of muscle. My vet has said there is no reason why she cannot be ridden again if she is built up to it. Exercise is beneficial, be it in-hand or ridden. If you are stuck to inhand work then walking out inhand, long reining and things like clicker training will be good to do with your horse.

I'd try her with vitex and then if you get no improvement I would approach your vet and talk about trying peroglide.

[Abi Ramsey]

Thanks but can't get any of those here in Bahrain...!
Thats why I wanted some feedback on Cush X - that I can get from Dubai, which is a neighbouring country...
Will be doing lots of walking in hand until he's put on a bit of.
Hopefully Cush X will work!
:rolleyes:

[mrs pdales]

The only help I can ofer is both my old pony lived with cushins for years and my old dog is still living happily with it.

[artemis]

My pony is stabilized on Vitex & diet, research was done by the Laminitis Trust.He has been fine for 3 years now. I was told by some researchers in the USA that Cushings supplements are not much good, that the ingredients need to be individually measured for each horse/pony's requirements.

[TaffyJay]

Abi sorry to hear about your horse one of mine has just been diagnosed as well but we are going down the pergolde route. A friend of mine has used the hilton herbs and had ok results NAFs supplement is supposed to be fantastic but i suppose every case is different.

Sorry to hyjack thread but i had heard that alfalfa should be avioded for cushings sufferes, mine are fed on simple systems which is all alfalfa based typical. asked my vet and she said just to carry on feeding him as im doing but just a lttle concerned any body got any useful diet tips?

[martini55]

I think the alfalfa thing comes from the US where they feed a lot of the stuff. I can't remember the exact details but I've continued feeding quite a bit of hi-fi lite (which has some alfalfa in it) with no problems at all. If you haven't had any problems with it then I'd keep on feeding if it were me.

[TaffyJay]

Thanks martini, i thought as much, most people i have spoken to said feed as you would a laminitic which is how he is fed any way. only stressing as im going away for a month and wanted to make sure everything is just right and make any changes for everybody who is looking after my tribe!!

[artemis]

I haven't used alfalfa since reading about it. I didn't think it was worth the risk at the time & as he is so stable at the minute I am reluctant to change his diet.

[Abi Ramsey]

Alfalfa is high in protein, that's probably why. High protein isn't good for laminitis and Cushings horses are prone to this...
I wouldn't feed high protein anything to my laminis/cushings horse, but them I'm not a vet to say whay you should do.
Magnum is now on Cush X, so will wait a few weeks to see if anything changes...
Hopefully the weather will cool down as well, which will be more comfortable for him!!
:cool: