Equine Cushing’s
Some Thoughts on Cushing's Disease
A friend is battling Cushing's Disease in one of her horses, and it spurred me to look back at notes and experiences, in regard to the condition, and to reach out to some of our holistic care friends for their insight.
What is Cushing's?
Also known as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID).
A condition where the middle lobe of the pituitary gland (base of the brain) becomes enlarged and over produces hormones.
Common in horses 15 years or older
Common in all breeds, but more common in ponies and Morgans
Increased cortisol production and insulin resistance result
Clinical Signs:
long, curly retained hair coat
laminitis
cresty neck
increased drinking and urination
lethargy
weight loss/ muscle loss
excessive sweating
Veterinary Test
The dexamethasone suppression test is the most effective test that I am aware of, but comes with a cost.
As I understand it, the dexamethasone suppression test is performed as follows:
Blood is drawn from the horse at, or around, 4 pm
administer dexamethasone
Draw blood 19 hours later
Look at cortisol levels
Problems that I see with this test include the likelihood of false positives seen in the fall of the year, and more critically, as a hoof care professional, steroidal drugs can be a contributing cause for laminitis, already a problem in the patient.
Holistic Lifestyle Changes:
Movement
The affected horse should be turned out in area large enough to exercise freely, and should be out with another horse, or multiple horses that encourage active play. If other horses are not present, or they do not interact in spirited play, then the horse should be exercised by the owner at a trot or fast walk for at least an hour per day.
Diet
The horse should be kept on a low sugar/starch diet with grass hay as the cornerstone of the daily feed.
Barefoot Trim
The horse must be maintained barefoot, and an experienced natural hoof care practitioner (hey, I know a guy!) should be performing physiological trims on a frequent basis (3-4 week interval) in the early stages to heal the laminitis. Heels must be short, toes as well. Hoof care should mimic the hooves of horses in the wild. Laminitis, and any “rotation” of the coffin bone is a healing effort by the horse, and should result in a more natural, balanced, and comfortable foot if the growth is managed to mimic nature.
Some observations:
The cresty neck can be viewed as one indicator of severity. A bigger and harder cresty neck inidcates a more severe case, and when the pome is smaller and moveable, this indicates improvement or a less severe case.
With proper care, the cresty neck can effectively disappear.
The Hind-Gut
It is commonly believed among holistic horse care folks that Cushing;s Diseaseresults, at least partially, from deficiencies in the horse's hind-gut, the cecum, large colon, small colon, and rectum, where fermentation takes place. To stimulate and maintain hind-gut function, probiotics and natural herbs should be employed.
We stock some of the necessary supplements, and could help find the ones that we don't keep on hand.
Strategy for Supplementation
Some supplementation will be in the form of herbs and probiotics, as previously discussed, to stimu;ate and maintain hind[gut function.
Other supplements are ones that we have seen contribute to rapid and strong hoof development
Yet others serve as anti-inflammatories, immune boosters, and serve to promote bloodflow necessary for healing.
Results
Folks that we know to be absolutely truthful, and very knowledgeable holistic horse care providers tell me about a Cushing's case that was effectively eliminated, and the horse simply remained on a maintenance dose of herbs and supplements by employing the described strategy.
We can cure laminitis with lifestyle changes and natural hoof care, restoring a more natural hoof structure and form that will serve the horse better in the long run. We've done this repeatedly.
If you would like to consult further with us on this, or other horse or hoof care topics, [lease reach out to us.