Do you think this is cushings

[blueribbonpanel]

I have a 25 yr old horse, who does have longer hair, and some of it is wavey too. And actually she is shedding out now to have short hair, although some of the long hair is still there. I did a power pack on her last year and she shed out great after that.

I have owned her all 25 years, and she always wanted to have longer hair at the wrong times, even when she was under lights and in a warm barn, even at 2 and 3 yrs of age. Sometimes we had to body clip her to get that nice show coat. She has absolutely no other signs of cushings. I understand that testing her now won’t give a true results, something about the fall weather or something, and that testing in late winter is the best time. also, sometimes the tests aren’t conclusive.

Also, I read somewhere that one should NOT treat a horse for cushings unless they know for sure the horse does have cushings. Right now she is getting soaked alfalfa pellets, grass hay, and pasture. She is doing fine on that and keeps good weight.

[S1969]

Well, it could be possible to get a conclusive test for Cushings this time of year if it is bad; my pony was way off the charts positive last year, so there was no doubt it was Cushings. But he had tons of symptoms - pretty much all of them, actually.

If the only symptom that you are having is hair, it may not be necessary to test now if she’s otherwise healthy…you can do it in January or February if you are still concerned. Other symptoms are chronic laminitis, sweats easily, drinks and pees a lot, loss of muscle/atrophy, fat deposits over eye sockets…there are more but I can’t remember at the moment.

You don’t want to treat for Cushings if you are not sure - you won’t know the dosage you need, and it’s not exactly cheap…so you want to know that it is the right medication and the right amount.

[AA_Hunter]

You should get her tested at some point; Cushings isn’t at all unusual in older horses. At age 16, my mare’s only symptom was excessive hair coat. When tested, her ACTH was off the charts, but it’s now well controlled with Pergolide and she’s still in regular work at age 22.

[AA_Hunter]

Also keep in in mind that there’s a difference between Cushings and equine metabolic syndrome. Fat deposits, etc. are symptoms of EMS. A horse can have both, or one without the other, although they often go together.

[Hermein]

I’ve read that 85% of horses develop Cushings if they live long enough. I think my elder (32/33) is just beginning to show symptoms, although he did have a nasty bout of laminitis this summer.

Just be careful with your horse’s diet–basically keep feeding her what you’re feeding her, and try letting her out to pasture at night, when the sugars are lower. If you can’t do that, a grazing muzzle might help. Cushings horses are, eventually, prone to foot problems, which you absolutely don’t want.

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

I would make sure you have her tested. We have a retired (22) GP dressage gelding that takes an unusually long time to shed out (to the point of shedding out the last of his winter coat just before it’s time to start shedding out his summer coat) and his hair tends to be a bit wavy too. While in competition he had to be clipped several times a year. He was tested, thoroughly, for PPID and was negative.

So test, test, test!!!

[blueribbonpanel]

Yourcolorfuladdition:
That sounds exactly like my horse. sheds out really late, or at a different time than most horses. She just loves her hair. And I did body clip her sometimes during show season. The Power Pak did work really well though.
she has no other signs, very sound, keeping good weight, no excessive peeing or drinking water, no abnormal fatty deposits, etc. For a 25 year old horse, she is in excellent shape except for the longer hair at the wrong times.

[BLB_Racing_Stable]

My 25 year old QH is similar. Since he was about 18 he has grown a coat worthy of a Kentucky winter… Except I live in S florida. But other than his coat issue he holds weight really well and he still does walk trot lessons 2x a week. He wont shes out so I just have to shave him a few times a year to keep him comfortable.

[merrygoround]

Have a test done if it will make you sleep easier, but is long hair is the cony concern, then I wouldn’t be too concerned.

[TWH_Girl]

Failure to shed is not a symptom of equine metabolic syndrome. Failure to shed is almost always indicitive of Cushings. My horse (24) had this issue and it got progressively worse. He tested negative for Cushings 2 yrs ago before finally testing positive now. He is being treated with Prascend which is preferable to the compounded pergolide. It’s a simple pill you drop in his feed and he eats it no problem. It also is not subject to the varying degrees of quality compounded pergolide can have, or the light sensitivity.

The other symptoms my guy showed, which are not typical- included bad periodontal disease- so bad, all of his top and bottom insicors were removed- along with repeated abscesses.

I would recommend a vet examine your horse. Many times, simple physical signs alone are enought to make a diagnosis. Mine started on Prascend prior to test results even coming in. The vet from a well known, highly respected clinic took one look at him and said, yep- Cushings.