Managing IR/Cushings Horses in a Boarding Barn

[frisky]

I’m just wondering how other people manage the IR/Cushings (or other complicated health issue!) horse in a boarding barn.

I currently bag my own grain (standard of all horses) and weigh (10lbs) and hay bag all the hay (tested) for my horse. My horse currently lives 30+ minutes from my house in the opposite direction of my work and I’ve become increasingly overwhelmed by the work and I am thinking of options. Maybe moving somewhere closer.

I try to keep care exceedingly simple for the barn workers, because I’ve had two alarming, human-caused, care situations, one that directly caused laminitis and another that very nearly. I don’t honestly trust my current situation to make independent choices, so I keep everything controlled and exceedingly simple.

How do you manage care and meds? Do other barns let you bag hay? Do you trust your barn to feed what you say? What is standard care?

[Scribbler]

@frisky

I’m just wondering how other people manage the IR/Cushings (or other complicated health issue!) horse in a boarding barn.

I currently bag my own grain (standard of all horses) and weigh (10lbs) and hay bag all the hay (tested) for my horse. My horse currently lives 30+ minutes from my house in the opposite direction of my work and I’ve become increasingly overwhelmed by the work and I am thinking of options. Maybe moving somewhere closer.

I try to keep care exceedingly simple for the barn workers, because I’ve had two alarming, human-caused, care situations, one that directly caused laminitis and another that very nearly. I don’t honestly trust my current situation to make independent choices, so I keep everything controlled and exceedingly simple.

How do you manage care and meds? Do other barns let you bag hay? Do you trust your barn to feed what you say? What is standard care?

There is no standard care. Some otherwise excellent barns don’t have the bandwidth to cater to individual needs or stuff bags. Some rather casual barns may be willing to stuff bags and what not, especially if they are concerned and informed about dietary issues.

[SMF11]

I give all medications to horses here (I board retirees, and always have a horse or two with Cushings). If ok with your vet could you put the prascend in half a fig Newton or piece of bread in with your bagged grain?

[frisky]

Yes, I have boarded horses for a long time. I have boarded at full care, which means a range of things, and more local casual barns. I was just interested in other people’s experiences with managing their horses. This includes barn care and also the range of things that we do to keep our horses functioning. Maybe other people choose a more relaxed/casual way of feeding hay and it all works out.

[Alibhai_s_Alibar]

I agree with what Scribbler said. Despite giving outstanding care and having beautiful facilities, many boarding barns aren’t set up management/staffing-wise to accommodate the needs of PPID/IR horses. Things that are simple for a horse in your back yard like soaking feed can be trickier efficiency-wise at a big farm with certain ways of feeding. In my experience, a smaller barn can sometimes be more flexible with feeds and medications. Barns with a dedicated farm manager are a good option for horses who need special care, in my experience.

You’re not alone. My horse absolutely always thrived on pasture and I sought pasture/turnout out as a priority for him as a boarder. Then we got the PPID/IR diagnosis when he turned 25 and his entire care schedule had to be dramatically changed (dry lot, tested hay, etc). I thought we would have to move. I’m forever grateful to my current farm, where he’s getting individualized care and thoughtful management. He’s on tested hay and the farm stores and feeds it. He’s also on a different feed brand from the rest of the farm and he gets soaked hay cubes. I don’t think we could have made all the changes he needed if I boarded at a large facility. I’ve asked for far more than I planned as a boarder, but I got lucky with such a great farm. I try my best to be a respectful boarder by doing things like 1) finding tested hay that can be fed dry so they don’t have to soak 2) never running out of supplies 3) keeping everything simple and organized.

I also happened to move closer to my horse not long before the PPID/IR diagnosis so I was WAY better equipped to handle frequent barn trips. I lived 45+ minutes away for many years because work was in one place and the best barns for him were in a different place. I know that’s not always feasible, but relocating was a huge game changer in my case.

Simple and organized is definitely best when you’re supplying and measuring out feed/meds, as it sounds like you’re already doing.

ETA: For some farms, it’s no big deal to soak a meal, stall a horse separately for feeding, feed a different brand of feed, swap a paddock. But for some, any of those options aren’t feasible through no fault of theirs.

[pick_a_pony]

More hay nets if you have the space to put them. I don’t have to worry about precise quantity currently but my horses needed more hay than the barn is willing to provide so I now supplement hay and bought a goodly number of hay nets so I don’t have to worry if I cannot get there daily. Having as much extra made up as possible goes a long way to that peace of mind. It’s rough if you don’t have confidence in those that are providing daily care to your animal to be your eyes. This is the third barn that I have now been at that I get there shortly after dinner and have a surprise lame horse that no one noticed. Pretty freaking irritating so I can understand how it is.

[BayBondGirl]

I have always boarded my horses out, and I’ve run into a few unfortunate feeding-related situations that have definitely left me a bit paranoid about my horses’ feeding care and regime.

My favourite set ups are the kind where I can pre-bag my own grain/supplements at least once a week and then the staff can just feed what I leave out; this way, if I want to make any changes, I don’t have to keep notifying the staff. This worked great the few times my horse had to have meds, too - I just added the pill to the baggie of prepped feed (sometimes hidden in a cookie) and I knew they would put everything into her bucket. If I wanted to try a new supplement, etc, I didn’t have to explain it to everyone; I just added it to the baggies.

I recognize that things like soaking feed (especially hay cubes which can take ages) can be majorly time consuming for a barn and I never balk if they charge an extra fee for this type of management change. Same for feeding in hay nets: stuffing them can take ages and I respect if a fee needs to be charged for that extra work.

So I’m of the mind that if I can’t prep feed in advance and I don’t trust the staff, that is not the barn for me!

Are you able to post in some local FB pages with an “ISO” ad that lists the things you need for the PPID/IR care? That way barns can reach out to you if they feel they are adequately set up to help with those extra needs.

[Renn_aissance]

Standard care is whatever the barn’s contract says is standard care, and if you know your horse needs something outside of that, make sure that it and its cost is documented in the contract. You probably want to inventory the must-haves that are part of your horse’s daily care and make sure to ask about this when interviewing a barn to see if you will be a good fit for each other.

I would expect to pay extra to stuff hay nets for an extended period of time (and especially if they also had to soak it.) I think that weighing the hay may be the most challenging part to get someone else to do reliably. Personally, I manage medications by pre-packing them in little containers with screw-top lids so that I manage the medications and dosing and all someone has to do when they feed is open a container. The pergolide is hand-fed. We have several Cushings horses and the barn now has two pill organizers, one for AM and one for PM feed, and each horse has a little cubby in the pill organizer stuffed with a quarter of a Fig Newton and their own dose of pergolide in its little wrapper, to be administered by hand during feeding. (This is fantastic. I love this barn and everyone who works here.)

[grayarabians]

I recently moved to a barn more accommodating to special needs horses.
My horse is PPID but probably not IR.
I manage him though as if he’s IR.
My horse is on compounded Pergolide capsules.
I put each capsule in a size 0 gel cap.
In the past it stuffed the capsule/s in a fig newton. I left enough for a few days for barn staff to give.
The gel cap stops fig newton moisture from getting to the Pergolide capsule.
I also prepare baggies of feed.
Stabul I low sugar and starch and no added iron to which I add handfuls of Timothy Balance Cubes.
At present barn the same staff will hand feed the Pergolide.
I put the Pergolide capsule in a gel cap in a pill container - marked for days - with a Stabul I strawberry nugget/ treat.
My horse readily accepts it that way.
You might consider using the TBC’s as all or part of forage for your horse.
Most of the cubes are broken down or are in bite size pieces. They’re not hard like other cubes.
They’re safe - made for metabolic horses.
They’re fed dry when using baggies…
I also use them to make a mash - nights I can get to the barn.
My horse loves Stabul 1 feed (especially Pina colada flavor) as well the TBC’s.
He didn’t like Prascend .
Fortunately our vet will Rx for compounded.
Hope this helps.

[lenapesadie]

How much the barn will do, depends on the barn.

I think it’s easier to find a barn that will turn out in a dry paddock than it is to find a barn that will weigh hay and stuff that weighed hay in a net.

[RedHorses]

@Renn_aissance

You probably want to inventory the must-haves that are part of your horse’s daily care and make sure to ask about this when interviewing a barn to see if you will be a good fit for each other.

Key point here. ^

I have a horse with PPID, PSSM, and seasonal heaves. When I’m looking for a new barn I specifically bring up my horse’s needs, explain how those needs have been met in the past, and ask if/how the prospective barn would be able to meet those needs. I’ve been at several places that handled the actual logistics differently, so I bring it up with an “is this something you can do”, collaborative “what might be easiest for you” approach.

[Arlomine]

Pracend needs to stay In It’s airtight foil until just before feeding…it’s quickly and adversely effected by exposure to air. It’s why it’s packaged the way it is.

[NaturallyHappy]

I read last night it cannot get too cold, either. A new box arrived yesterday. It came in the mail mid morning and I didn’t get it until after 5:00 or so. It was below 32 degrees. It was in the mailbox and comes wrapped in bubble wrap in a card board box. Do you have any idea if it is compromised?? Thank you.

[fordtraktor]

BO here, I was going to mention the Prascend needing to stay in its foil thing.

I have no problem hand feeding meds when I feed grain and supplements. I feed everyone’s hay in Nibblenets, so stuffing hay bags would be unnecessary.

I have had several Cushings horses here and they are no more difficult to care for than the ones with arthritis, etc. who get Equioxx…but that is my specific program. If I were you I would try to find a place where the program is closer to what your horse needs. Especially if you have found they are missing things already…missing medications is a big dealbreaker to me as a BO and a horse owner.

[SMF11]

I know pergolide is unstable, but googling has not turned up anything that says the prascend must stay in its foil pack. It makes sense (why go to the trouble to package it that way if it’s unnecessary) but I could find no studies or info from the manufacturer. Can you point me to some?

One of my boarders is a vet tech and she routinely pops several tablets out at a time (not that that is proof of anything).

[Weezer]

I have a mini who has been on prascend (IR and Cushings) for several years. I keep one sleeve at a time in my unheated garage. It frequently gets below freezing in there in the winter but I have never seen any indication of the pill not being effective. I also feed her 1/2 pill per day so the other half sits out on the shelf for 24 hours. When I test her levels every year or so, everything is good. So maybe I’m not handling the pills the way I’m supposed to, but I’m not seeing any indication of it being a problem.

[NaturallyHappy]

Thank you SO much! It would have been a pretty expensive box to trash. I order the big ones.

[Weezer]

In my experience, you get the best individual care for your horse if you board it in someone’s backyard facility. If you can find someone who will treat your horse like their own, they will likely be willing to put in a little extra effort. If you want to go this route, your farrier or vet may know someone looking for a companion boarder.

[CowgirlCoffee]

Just a word of caution if you are proportioning out Prascend in baggies. The foil pouches that the pills come in are filled with nitrogen. Once they are exposed to the air, the pills start to degrade, even within 24 hours.

[Pico_Banana]

@fordtraktor is on the right track. I used to board at a fantastic facility where the majority of the horses were on prascend. And all horses were fed hay by weight and in nets. So you wouldn’t be any additional work at a place like that b