Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I'd ask a few more questions of the vet... have any tests been run for cushings? Most of us think of it as an old horse disease, but I had a pony come down with cushings' symptoms when she was about 10. My vet said it can happen in younger horses and the disease can manifest itself in many ways... our pony's symptoms were high blood sugar levels, laminitis, and seizures.

 

Have thyroid tests been run? sometimes thyroid support can help horses who are chronically laminitic and don't metabolize their food well.

 

Beyond that, this horse probably needs a "bread and water" diet. Unfortunately. I had a horse like this I kept alive for about 5 years after his first bout with founder. We poured tons of money into him... vet and farrier and nutritive care. He was on thyroid supplementation. He could have no legumes, i'e, clover or alfalfa. I even had to read the labels of treats.. the least little bit of alfalfa would make his feet sore for days. He pretty much had to be dry lotted and fed prairie grass hay, a lower protein hay than the brome grass we usually get around here. No sweet feed, no beet pulp. In the end, despite everything we tried to do for him, the soles dropped out of his feet and he was in such excruciating pain, I called the vet to euthanize him. We both cried when we did it, but after five years, it was like letting go of a cancer patient... it was sad, but it was a relief. I no longer had to watch him shuffle from foot to foot trying to find a way to stand that didn't hurt. He had gotten to the point where bute had about trashed his liver and kidneys, so there just wasn't much in conventional medicine that could help him. My only regret was letting him go on so long and not getting the courage to say goodbye to him sooner.

 

I have a friend who has saved some severely laminitic horses with an herbal product called "jiaogulon." Two years ago, I saw at her barn a severely foundered QH mare. My first reaction was, OMG, put that poor horse down! Now this same horse is sound again, had a lovely foal and they are doing team penning with her! so I guess there's always hope!

 

chris

 

mary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Have a friend who was told her horse is insulin resistant.

Does anyone have a horse with this problem? What do you do special with them? Do you use a glucometer on them to test?

This poor guy got rain rot every year, fungus on his feet, foundered on one hind foot, then foundered on both front feet.  This is a horse that had great care.  The vet did a blood test and found he was double the normal horse. He's only 7.

 

thanks,

Mary

I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott

 

Chris Paus

BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

Lake Region SWA  http://lakeregionswa.fws1.com