It would definitely be a good idea to check her ACTH. Even though my guy lived to a healthy 38, I still kick myself that he had pain that I stuck a figurative bandaid on by massaging those three falls instead of realizing what the true problem was and getting him on Prascend.
Good luck and please let us know how your mare is.
SO - to follow up: Vet tested my mareās ACTH, it is down quite a bit from first test, but not normal. Her options were to 1. Increase the dose by 1/2 pill OR 2. Try Smart Pak pituitary pellets - this vet has had some success with these helping the horse and delaying the need to increase the prascend. So I decided to try the pellets, they will start tomorrow. She is still somewhat short in front, even on the equioxx but also generally still a bit āblahā unless you have treats or its time to go out. With the modest increase in her feed, vet thinks she is looking a bit less ribby, but didnāt expect that to be fixed in a week or so.
The concern I had at first, that the prascend wasnāt helping was apparently unncessary worry as her #'s did improve.
Sometimes horses really do feel blah as their blood sugar levels stabilize. Human diabetics feel the same. After a while high feels ābaselineā for you and actually normal feels bad.
Iāve had three horses with cushings and every one has had periods where the Prascend dose needed adjustment. Two of mine would be a lot like your horse and that was the sign. The third is a mini who really should be dead and apparently can just exist no matter what is going on his body and be chipper and normal (donāt ask me to explain this, it doesnāt make sense). I hope thatās all it is, seasonal changes making the levels vary and perhaps a different dose needed.
Was going to say the dropped fetlocks are likely DSLD. I just passed on a horse that was on his way to having this. Sorry I didnāt read all posts but may want to add Equioxx as maybe her dull affect is due to pain issues with the hind suspensories.
Edit: i see she is on Equioxx- good call!
Prayers for your mare to improve.
Just an interesting update. See above post where vet and I decided to start my mare on smartpak pituitary supplement rather than up the prascend. I am surprised and pleased to say a remarkable change. She is brighter, moving more comfortablyā¦ No other change other than recent move from day to night turnout. Admit to being a skeptic re most supplements, lol.
Is it SmartPituitary Senior that youāre using?
Yes, avjudge. My vet (also a supplement skeptic) said she had seen some horses improve and some that were no impact. As it is somewhat cheaper to do than increasing prascend by 1/2 pill, I decided to try it. We are about 3 months in.
Mare is causing me other worry - last summer prior to diagnosis, she got a mess on her belly- maybe sweet itch, big area raw, we have been treating it with decent success up until the last few weeks; with Fla weather it is getting icky again; Never had this problem before and Iām wondering if her cushings situation is making it harder to control things like thisā¦UGH
My study of one cushings pony numbers dropped beautifully when I pulled him off soy. He lost all his bloated belly look and skin dryness went away.
I was able to cut back to 1/2 a pill a day for majority of the year.
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