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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I was told today that I needed to have my mare checked or cushings. She said she would almost bet she had it. She said she wouldn't even have her tested. Just feed her for cushings. So what is Cushing? What does the test for it include? What does a Cushings test normally cost? What does she mean by feed her like she has it?
Edited by TessBelle 2015-02-15 5:49 PM
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Extreme Veteran
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| I feed mine equi-bloom. He sheds off now, however be it later than my other horses. He's also noticeably faster. The supplement is very expensive, but works out to not much per day. I've never figured it, but have been meaning to. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I don't think she has cushings. She's fat everywhere and no matter what I do I can't get the weight off. Riding and barely any feed isn't working. I can't starve her. We don't have any grass so I have 6 horses on a round roll of hay. She's the only fatty. The others look good. |
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Miss Not Exciting
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Location: Ft Worth TX | Why not cut out grain? see how that goes- if that does not work sort her off and give regulate her hay. I have a pony who stays obese has no signs of cushings just stay fat off air. I have to dry lot him 12 hours a day |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Whoop Z Day Z - 2015-02-14 7:01 PM
Why not cut out grain? see how that goes- if that does not work sort her off and give regulate her hay. I have a pony who stays obese has no signs of cushings just stay fat off air. I have to dry lot him 12 hours a day
She gets a 1/4th scoop in the morning so I can get her in the barn. That's at 830. She stays in a stall until about 730 when she gets a 1/4 scoop agin. The only time she gets hay is during the night. She doesn't get any in her stall. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
 
Location: Florida.. | TessBelle - 2015-02-14 8:11 PM Whoop Z Day Z - 2015-02-14 7:01 PM Why not cut out grain? see how that goes- if that does not work sort her off and give regulate her hay. I have a pony who stays obese has no signs of cushings just stay fat off air. I have to dry lot him 12 hours a day She gets a 1/4th scoop in the morning so I can get her in the barn. That's at 830. She stays in a stall until about 730 when she gets a 1/4 scoop agin. The only time she gets hay is during the night. She doesn't get any in her stall.
so she is stalled from 830 am to 730 pm without any hay or forage to nibble on? or did I misunderstand.. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| TessBelle - 2015-02-14 6:34 PM
I don't think she has cushings. She's fat everywhere and no matter what I do I can't get the weight off. Riding and barely any feed isn't working. I can't starve her. We don't have any grass so I have 6 horses on a round roll of hay. She's the only fatty. The others look good.
Unable to loose weight is a tell tale sign of cushings.
Abnormal hair growth, is another.
Tying up can be a sign of cushings
I can't remember the rest of the top of my head.
Cushing horses have a problem with the pituitary gland
Cushing horses are insulin resistant, therefore you want to remove all starches, you want to give a high fat diet, low carbs.
Pergolide is the drug of choice for cushings horses.
There are two different tests to prove if the horse has cushings
The archaic way was to pull blood, administer prednisone, wait an hour pull blood, send it off to the lab to test cortisol levels.
The newest method is to pull blood send it to the lab and test for a certain hormone, and I can't remember it off the top of my head, this test itself is fairly cheap. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | cheryl makofka - 2015-02-14 8:14 PM
TessBelle - 2015-02-14 6:34 PM
I don't think she has cushings. She's fat everywhere and no matter what I do I can't get the weight off. Riding and barely any feed isn't working. I can't starve her. We don't have any grass so I have 6 horses on a round roll of hay. She's the only fatty. The others look good.
Unable to loose weight is a tell tale sign of cushings.
Abnormal hair growth, is another.
Tying up can be a sign of cushings
I can't remember the rest of the top of my head.
Cushing horses have a problem with the pituitary gland
Cushing horses are insulin resistant, therefore you want to remove all starches, you want to give a high fat diet, low carbs.
Pergolide is the drug of choice for cushings horses.
There are two different tests to prove if the horse has cushings
The archaic way was to pull blood, administer prednisone, wait an hour pull blood, send it off to the lab to test cortisol levels.
The newest method is to pull blood send it to the lab and test for a certain hormone, and I can't remember it off the top of my head, this test itself is fairly cheap.
I looked up all the symptoms there were a lot but unable to loose weigt is the only one she has. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Bibliafarm - 2015-02-14 7:31 PM
TessBelle - 2015-02-14 8:11 PM Whoop Z Day Z - 2015-02-14 7:01 PM Why not cut out grain? see how that goes- if that does not work sort her off and give regulate her hay. I have a pony who stays obese has no signs of cushings just stay fat off air. I have to dry lot him 12 hours a day She gets a 1/4th scoop in the morning so I can get her in the barn. That's at 830. She stays in a stall until about 730 when she gets a 1/4 scoop agin. The only time she gets hay is during the night. She doesn't get any in her stall.
Yes. She would be huge if I did give her some. The others get it just not her. My vet has looked at her several times but never pulled blood. That was her suggestion. She said she was just fat. She's only 6
Edited by TessBelle 2015-02-14 8:30 PM
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Posts: 1384
Location: Kansas | A lot of horses with cushings also have a thyroid problem. Have you checked for that. If she does have a thyroid problem, treating it will greatly help with the Cushings issues. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| TessBelle - 2015-02-14 8:25 PM
cheryl makofka - 2015-02-14 8:14 PM
TessBelle - 2015-02-14 6:34 PM
I don't think she has cushings. She's fat everywhere and no matter what I do I can't get the weight off. Riding and barely any feed isn't working. I can't starve her. We don't have any grass so I have 6 horses on a round roll of hay. She's the only fatty. The others look good.
Unable to loose weight is a tell tale sign of cushings.
Abnormal hair growth, is another.
Tying up can be a sign of cushings
I can't remember the rest of the top of my head.
Cushing horses have a problem with the pituitary gland
Cushing horses are insulin resistant, therefore you want to remove all starches, you want to give a high fat diet, low carbs.
Pergolide is the drug of choice for cushings horses.
There are two different tests to prove if the horse has cushings
The archaic way was to pull blood, administer prednisone, wait an hour pull blood, send it off to the lab to test cortisol levels.
The newest method is to pull blood send it to the lab and test for a certain hormone, and I can't remember it off the top of my head, this test itself is fairly cheap.
I looked up all the symptoms there were a lot but unable to loose weigt is the only one she has.
Sometimes the unable to loose weight is the only symptom.
We had an appy when I was growing up that had cushings for an entire month I ponied him 4 miles per day with my brother riding him with his steer rope, the horse was fit, but never lost a pound.
Sadly we had to euthanize him at 36 yrs, he had lost his eyesight for a yr prior (side effect of cushings) and was able to maneuver in his pasture well till that time. |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Here's what the tag on my feed says.
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Expert
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Location: Willows, CA | TessBelle - 2015-02-15 9:45 AM
Here's what the tag on my feed says.
Well, that feed tag may be the least informative about what it is made of that I have ever seen. This is least cost formulation at its worst. |
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Warmblood with Wings
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Location: Florida.. | its just not good for their digestive system to go that long without anything . can you post a photo? if its only cant lose weight then its not cushings. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Bibliafarm - 2015-02-15 10:28 AM
its just not good for their digestive system to go that long without anything . can you post a photo? if its only cant lose weight then its not cushings.
Yes I'll do it tonight. That's what I said too. She doesn't have any other symptoms of Cushings. I'm going to have her checked out but I need to know what I'm having her checked for. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | winwillows - 2015-02-15 10:19 AM
TessBelle - 2015-02-15 9:45 AM
Here's what the tag on my feed says.
Well, that feed tag may be the least informative about what it is made of that I have ever seen. This is least cost formulation at its worst.
Were very limited on what we can get. It's either this that's $16 per bag or $29.50 per bag of Triple Crown. |
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Expert
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Location: Willows, CA | There is a great point here on this feed tag at a time when people are looking at what is in our feed. There is a lot of concern about medicated contamination. This is actually quite rare. On the other hand, every time you buy a bag with a label like this you are potentially changing your feeding program. If you can, look for fixed formulation feeds that have clear ingredients actually printed on the bag, not vague descriptions of ingredients on a tag that can be changed due to ingredient prices with every lot made. |
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Extreme Veteran
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| Wow, that feeds first ingrediant is processed by products. |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I know nothing about our feed. We had a feed store that carried everything and when it closed down a few years ago we didn't know what to do. We was at our vets house a few days latter and this what she was feeding their pleasure and halter horses so this is what we started using. |
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Tried and True
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Location: Where I am happiest | A handful of grain will get her in just as good as a 1/4 scoop. Reduce the grain to just a handful and give her some hay instead. Dont feed a second scoop of grain or if you must, then just a handful, and I do mean 1 human handful. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | ThreeCorners - 2015-02-15 4:33 PM
A handful of grain will get her in just as good as a 1/4 scoop. Reduce the grain to just a handful and give her some hay instead. Dont feed a second scoop of grain or if you must, then just a handful, and I do mean 1 human handful.
Are you meaning grain like oats? Or feed in general? |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Here's pics of her. She's 14.0hh exactly.
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Feed ingrediance from their website
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | TessBelle - 2015-02-15 4:38 PM
ThreeCorners - 2015-02-15 4:33 PM
A handful of grain will get her in just as good as a 1/4 scoop. Reduce the grain to just a handful and give her some hay instead. Dont feed a second scoop of grain or if you must, then just a handful, and I do mean 1 human handful.
Are you meaning grain like oats? Or feed in general?
Whatever grain/feed your feeding. You posted she gets 1/4 scoop a.m. and then 1/4 scoop p.m. Just give a handful instead of a 1/4 scoop and give her hay. Also, she doesn't look like a cushings horse to me and I don't think she is "obese". She is built to be a easy keeper and yes, she's packing good flesh. Like I said reduce her grain, feed her hay as no horse should go that amount of time with no hay and maybe look for a better feed for easy keepers. |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | ThreeCorners - 2015-02-15 7:22 PM
TessBelle - 2015-02-15 4:38 PM
ThreeCorners - 2015-02-15 4:33 PM
A handful of grain will get her in just as good as a 1/4 scoop. Reduce the grain to just a handful and give her some hay instead. Dont feed a second scoop of grain or if you must, then just a handful, and I do mean 1 human handful.
Are you meaning grain like oats? Or feed in general?
Whatever grain/feed your feeding. You posted she gets 1/4 scoop a.m. and then 1/4 scoop p.m. Just give a handful instead of a 1/4 scoop and give her hay. Also, she doesn't look like a cushings horse to me and I don't think she is "obese". She is built to be a easy keeper and yes, she's packing good flesh. Like I said reduce her grain, feed her hay as no horse should go that amount of time with no hay and maybe look for a better feed for easy keepers.
I think her only being 14hh makes her look a lot bigger than what she actually is. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Looking at the pictures, she looks an appropriate weight for her body type.
I find compact horses don't ever look "fit". As they have the same amount of muscles on their body as a horse that is a foot longer and taller.
I personally would test for cushings if that is what my vets suggest, i doubt my vet would suggest it unless I was having some sort of issue with her.
I would invest in a hay saver hay bag so I could have feed in front of her 24/7. If she is not on suppliments. I would cut out the grain/feed.
I would also go to a harder feed such as Timothy, brome, orchard grass, whatever you have available in your area.
Nice horse |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | I think its just the way shes built,, but that grains and whats in it .. is not a good quality ..if she was mine id start working on getting her back and tummy strong....
Edited by Bibliafarm 2015-02-15 8:14 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I've always though she looked more fit than fat but every one makes comments about her being 200-300lns over weight. I'm going to the vet Saturday to have coggins done so I'll ask her then and see what she thinks. Another sign of Cushings was abnormal hair growth. She didn't grow a winter coat. Never has. She doesn't sweat either.
Edited by TessBelle 2015-02-15 8:18 PM
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | TessBelle - 2015-02-15 9:16 PM I've always though she looked more fit than fat but every one makes comments about her being 200-300lns over weight. I'm going to the vet Saturday to have coggins done so I'll ask her then and see what she thinks. Another sign of Cushings was abnormal hair growth. She didn't grow a winter coat. Never has. She doesn't sweat either.
to me it just looks like her topline is weak therefore her tummy is weak to . |
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Bibliafarm - 2015-02-15 8:18 PM
TessBelle - 2015-02-15 9:16 PM I've always though she looked more fit than fat but every one makes comments about her being 200-300lns over weight. I'm going to the vet Saturday to have coggins done so I'll ask her then and see what she thinks. Another sign of Cushings was abnormal hair growth. She didn't grow a winter coat. Never has. She doesn't sweat either.
to me it just looks like her topline is weak therefore her tummy is weak to .
Meaning??? I'm trying to learn what all this means. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | it could be why she appears fat to some... her belly isnt tight and her back is droopy in simple terms.. if she worked to get a strong back and firm belly muscles shed appear fit and not fat.. lol..just tone it up .. it appear weak to me.. her hind end is firm though , but thats just my opinion..her neck isnt cresty so thats a good sign..
Edited by Bibliafarm 2015-02-15 8:33 PM
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Expert
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Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Bibliafarm - 2015-02-15 8:31 PM
it could be why she appears fat to some... her belly isnt tight and her back is droopy in simple terms.. if she worked to get a strong back and firm belly muscles shed appear fit and not fat.. lol..just tone it up .. it appear weak to me.. her hind end is firm though , but thats just my opinion..her neck isnt cresty so thats a good sign..
So what kind of exercises works on her back? |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| Sounds more like a thyroid issue to me. Have a thyroid test done. Runs about $65. She does not look like she has Cushing's to me. One of my horses has been on thyroid meds for about 6 years. One symptom is that he cannot stand to be brushed. He also does not sweat. |
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 Expert
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Location: mi | Just an FYI. I have read and also been told that just taking a horse off of hay or grass for extented hours then back on for a long period really doesn't slow down their consuption. If they are on pasture 24/7 they eat until they are full or content then go relax. If they are in a stall for 12 hours then out on the pasture for 12 hours. They will spend that entire 12 hours eating to catch up. So they end up eating just as much in 12 hours as they would in 24.
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