Arthur update

I thought I'd give an update on Arthur. He continues to become more comfortable and seems very stable to me at this time. I had been feeding him beet pulp with a handful of grain, and then I cut the grain and started adding the Ontario Dehydrated Timothy Balance Cubes (ODTBC) and now he has decided he doesn't want the beet pulp any more. He just sifts out all the cubes and leaves the beet pulp behind. He was still eating it when I put his evening supplements (salt, magnesium, vit E) in it, but now he is leaving even that beet pulp behind. So, I guess we're just a ODTBC pony now. He also gets as much coastal as he will eat, but it is still last year's cutting, which, although good for a cushings pony, is not very appetizing to Arthur. The latest batch has been a little tastier, thank goodness. I hope he starts eating more hay, but at the same time, I recognize his teeth are pretty minimal at this point, and I think he likes his soaked hay cubes best right now. So, we are doing everything we can for this little pony that we all love so much. He is the most expensive horse in the barn by far right now. :)

Arthur on Pergolide

I thought I'd try to journal Arthur's progress as a Cushing's horse. He did beautifully out in the pasture this winter, but as the spring grass came in and I started keeping him off of the grass, he started to get laminitic/ouchy feet. I may have left him out on the pasture a few days too long, but keeping him off the grass was not doing the trick, and it had worked well last year. He has a 48' x 36' paddock attached to the stall that is all dirt. He also was not wanting to eat as much hay as he used to - I ran out of my winter supply, and the quality of hay the feed store had was just pitiful. I have since found a better supply of hay that he likes, and also adjusted his feed to include supplemental salt, magnesium, and vitamin E. I also have started driving to get Ontario Dehydrated Timothy Balance Cubes that are specifically formulated to be a balanced, complete hay cube, designed for Cushings/IR horses. Arthur loves them, but I have to adjust everything slowly. But the biggest change I have made is to finally put Arthur on Pergolide. It seemed we were able to control everything with diet last year, but the diet was not working this spring, so I finally made the commitment to keep him on Pergolide for the rest of his life. He has been on the Pergolide for a whole week now, and is doing SO much better. He is finally comfortable on his feet again - moving around so much more. Although he seems a little "dopey" after his evening dosage, overall he seems much brighter and more energetic. I guess I am learning that you really have to focus on the whole picture when it comes to Cushings - both the diet and the medication, good trims, etc. When one part is off, you end up with an uncomfortable pony. I am relieved to say that Arthur is again comfortable, bright, and eating well, and I love that little pony so much.

Cushings/Laminitis & Diet

As you can read from my last post, we were so excited to get in some fresh hay for the winter! It feels so good to know that my stash is about half full, and know that the other half will be here in a few weeks. But the new hay had some unexpected consequences for Arthur, our 25yo pony. A few days after we started feeding the hay to him (he is up in a dirt paddock because he tends to get owwie feet when the grass comes in after a drought), he started showing signs of laminitis again. I had not made any other changes, and it seemed surprising to me that the hay could cause his feet to be sore. It wasn't grain overload or a ton of green grass - just hay? A very smart lady said it sounded like cushings - and I spent some time researching it. My best source by far was this group: Equine Cushings Group

I quickly learned that the hay could very well be too high in sugar/starch for Arthur, especially since it was grown during a drought time in Texas (although it was well irrigated and fertilized). So the solution was to soak the hay for 30 min (hot water) - 1hr (cold water) before feeding it to him. I was also advised to discontinue any grain, and use soaked/rinsed beet pulp instead, supplemented with vitamin E, flax seed, salt, and magnesium.

Within one week, this change in diet took him from a very ouchy laminitic pony who had started laying down for a few hours in the afternoon to get off his feet, to one who looks completely comfortable again, and has even been trotting around! He also seems much brighter, and the gook in his eyes he has had for the last year has completely cleared up. Amazing what diet can do!

I feel silly for not thinking of Cushings earlier - I knew Arthur had foundered in his past, and that he tended to be laminitic sensitive, but always thought "old foundered pony" - not Cushings. And then I remembered how hairy he had been this winter, and how he continued to shed (blankets!) until almost June before his coat looked nice, short & shiny.

My next steps will be to get a baseline ACTH, insulin, and glucose. And to have my hay analyzed so I can do a more specific diet balancing. Right now, though, we are through the hardest part of getting him stabilized and knowing what to feed him to keep him healthy and happy! I am so glad I found the Equine Cushings group and I am learning as much as I can for Arthur's sake.