Quality of hair coat and skin, exercise tolerance, apparent immune response, inflammation or lack thereof, biomarkers of stress (increased heart rate, changes in alertness or appetite.) Basically “are you self-regulating or is your cortisol totally out of whack.” I also look for signs of tendon weakness or sensitivity and, of course, changes in the feet that could warn of laminitis. All of my horse’s previous clues that his dose wasn’t controlling his condition related to his suspensories- either an outright lesion or a couple weeks of inflammation and sensitivity- so I watch those legs.
At the end of the day, it’s a degenerative condition. I can’t get the tumor off of his pituitary gland. So it’s all about striking the balance between quality and quantity of life. I’m just thankful that he clearly feels very well in himself right now, despite having labs so bad my vet called me to warn me about the report in my inbox, and hope to be able to keep him that way.
