• Are you worried about your old horse or pony this winter?
• Does he/she have laminitis that won't seem to respond to treatment?
• Do they keep getting infections or abscesses?
• Do they seem to hang on to their hairy, winter coat all summer?

They could be suffering from a common condition of older equids called Cushings.

Cushings is a disease we are encountering with increasing frequency. This is partly due to ponies and horses living longer due to being kept as pets rather then just as athletes. Cushings commonly develops in late teens to early twenties and is more common in ponies then horses.

The good news is that it is treatable, and although expensive, the price of treatment has come down over the recent years.

One of the main signs/symptoms is chronic laminitis, although sometimes the only obvious sign is a very hairy, sweaty coat. Occasionally owners notice that their horse is drinking more than normal, and sometimes they may notice a change in body shape (for example, bulging of the fat pads above their eyes).

Cushings is the result of over production of naturally occurring steroid by the horses body. There are two simple tests. One involves taking a blood sample on consecutive days, the 2 nd sample taken after an injection of synthetic steroid. In a normal horse this should suppress the bodies natural production. There is a very small risk, especially in a horse already suffering from laminitis, that the steroid injection may exacerbate laminitis. An alternative test involves sending a blood sample to a special hormone laboratory. The blood needs to be transported frozen, so we need advanced warning for this test so we can get the correct transporting equipment.

Once diagnosed, treatment is a lifelong commitment. Pergolide is the most commonly used medication. On average, a 1mg tablet given daily treats a 500kg horse, but the dose may need to be increased or decreased, depending on the response. Financially this would equate to approximately £50 per month. If Cushings was suspected strongly on clinical signs, it would be reasonable to start treatment and observe the response.

If you have any concerns about Cushings disease in your animal, please book a visit or feel free to call us, and any of the Equine team will be happy to talk to you and offer help or advice.