Cushings and temperature regulation

Bodshi

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Apr 23, 2009
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Yorkshire
Raf is very warm in this weather, he's sweaty under his mane and around the base of his ears and is dangling his bits, presumably to cool down. In himself he's fine, eating, drinking, pooing and perky.

I have read that some horses with Cushings have trouble regulating their temperature, but don't know how true this is. Raf's coat is still much thicker than it would normally be in summer, although it is still definitely a summer coat, not a woolly winter one, and he is shedding like mad in the heat. I'm just wondering whether I should have him fully clipped year round.

Also, when I was hosing him down I noticed a few small 'pink' patches, but on looking more closely it seems he has lost his skin pigmentation in these areas. Being grey he has black skin but under the patches it is pink. They're not on his face (of course I googled and found pigmentation loss is quite common around the eyes and muzzle), but in random spots - one on his elbow and another on his flank. Odd horse.
 
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I have found Sox is sweaty in the areas you have said with Raf, so behind his ears, arm pits etc. I too have been hosing him down for the last two days and I have noticed actually he appears to be moulting almost but he seemed to be loosing fur, mainly around his neck near his shoulder also. I have read a few horses have been known to do this. Also cushings does affect the way a horse can control temp. Which is partly the reason sox spent much of winter in nothing more then a fleece and no fill, lightweight at a push! As any thicker and he would just be dripping with sweat :( So I have certainly thought of clipping him in the winter if he is getting too hot. And he isn't the best at keeping weight on either!
I would be tempted to possibly fully clip him. What breed is he again?
 
He's an Arab @lauren123. He's clipped in winter but has never been a sweaty horse so I've never considered it in summer before. He doesn't seem at all bothered by the heat other than the sweating.
 
They do struggle with thermoregulation, its very important if they are sweating a lot to provide additional salt for them as they loose masses and electrolyte imbalances can send them into a metabolic downward spiral. Having said that I think a lot of horses were sweating yesterday, even those not affected by ppid, Jess was sweaty on her neck and shoulder but then so was Hank, I have been and sponged down her fly rug this morning and chased Hank with the sponge for a few minutes before giving up :rolleyes:
My old boy, phoenix, had ppid and had the typical long curly coat (4" or 5" long) year round so he was clipped year round, to keep him comfortable but also as his immune system was so compromised I needed to be able to get to his skin as he would suffer various infections (lice, rain scald etc) and his coat would get really greasy and dirty if left.
ETA half table salt and half low salt is the best electrolyte mix, its more balanced than plain table/rock/sea salt
 
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Kia is still clinging to winter coat even thought he was clipped out :rolleyes:

He hasn't been sweaty and his summer coat is definitely his summer coat no different to other years however he has suddenly grown three more sarcoids in the last 6months. Also his initial 'wart' that he has had since I bought him has changed shape and texture :( Vet isn't concerned however I am but it's just one of those elderly horse things I suppose.

I do find it interest however that he has not grown anymore in all the years I've had him but as soon as he is medicated for the Cushings or is diagnosed he suddenly had hen growing. Coincidence or side effect I'm not sure
 
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Kia is still clinging to winter coat even thought he was clipped out :rolleyes:

He hasn't been sweaty and his summer coat is definitely his summer coat no different to other years however he has suddenly grown three more sarcoids in the last 6months. Also his initial 'wart' that he has had since I bought him has changed shape and texture :( Vet isn't concerned however I am but it's just one of those elderly horse things I suppose.

I do find it interest however that he has not grown anymore in all the years I've had him but as soon as he is medicated for the Cushings or is diagnosed he suddenly had hen growing. Coincidence or side effect I'm not sure
That's very interesting, one of the symptoms of cushings is lowered immune system, so perhaps its less to do with the medication and more the disease
 
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Chloe never has any problem regulating her temp. She is on prascend so this must help? Her coat is normal enough - not thick or woolly.

Raf is on Prascend too, his dose was increased quite recently so maybe he wasn't getting enough prior to the increase to stop his coat being thicker than normal? Don't get me wrong - it's definitely not long or woolly, but normally in summer it's very short, fine and silky and this year it just isn't the same :(
 
Jess' coat is totally normal for her, but she was sweating buckets yesterday despite sponging her down in her rug first thing :( she did have her shires sweetitch rug on which is quite heavy and a closed fabric so I've swapped it out for a lighter rug today
 
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Raf is on Prascend too, his dose was increased quite recently so maybe he wasn't getting enough prior to the increase to stop his coat being thicker than normal? Don't get me wrong - it's definitely not long or woolly, but normally in summer it's very short, fine and silky and this year it just isn't the same :(

I think the prascend affects it because it does control the illness. When we first got Chloe she wasn't woolly but very very hairy! Vet said "goodness you are hairy"! Since she's been medicated it is still quite "rough" but nowhere near as hairy.
I can just imagine Raf's feeling like silk:) but it will feel different to you, even if it doesn't look thicker.
 
Jack did his usual and held on to his winter coat until the end of April and then shed it all out in about 5 weeks. He is now sleek and glossy and no hairier this summer than usual. As I mentioned recently his PPID is being managed well as his ACTH level was low. The only thing I have noticed with him is less of a tolerance to flies and bigger than usual lumps from HF bites, plus he us more prone to conjunctivitis (which I attribute to the immune system effects of Cushings) , so he just wears a mask and fly rug these days when out. I can't say that he is sweatier thsn usual either.
 
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