Horse Health Care: What in the world is Cushings disease in horses?
Cushings disease in horses sounds ominous enough, but when you hear insulin resistance you really begin to wonder what dreaded disease your horse has come down with now.
Visions of daily insulin shots came to my mind; I’m a registered nurse and have given my share of insulin injections. I was lucky this time, it was caught early enough that laminitis had not developed. As I found out, insulin injections aren’t necessary for Cushings disease in horses anyway, changing the diet and the drug pergolide usually works well.
It turns out the horse in question actually has insulin resistance rather than Cushings. In south central Texas we have Mesquite trees, and I have an over abundance of them on my place. They drop a bean that is high in sugar and protein, and the horses eat them like candy. Last summer we were in a severe drought, and my horses stayed fat and shiny on mesquite beans. I take care of my brother’s horse Dice, he’s 16 hands and an “easy keeper”, or so I thought. All my horses are barefoot, and I was learning how to trim my own horses last fall when I first noticed the early warning signs of laminitis.
Dice had feet that my old farrier always bragged on, but I began to see a brittle flaking on the outer wall of his hooves. I meant to ask my vet about it, just didn’t for a couple of months. I finally found a new farrier in January, and her comments on Dice’s feet sent me to the phone to ask Madalyn Ward about laminitis, insulin resistance and Cushings disease in horses.
Cushings disease in horses, laminitis and insulin resistance in horses are closely related. Talking with Madalyn and my new farrier, we decided that the mesquite beans had triggered insulin resistance, and that dietary changes were in order to avoid laminitis. There are horses that are more prone to this and Dice fit that bill. He is an easy keeper, has a cresty neck, a large, broad hip with fat pones over the top of his hip, and gets ridden only once or twice a year. There also was a lot of heat in his feet in January.
Madalyn had me start him on Simplexity Essentials, Magnesium and Eleviv. I also changed him to a low starch, extruded grain that is 95% digestible. The Essentials have blue-green algae and probiotics in them, and the Eleviv balances the metabolic system. The Magnesium was added as these horses tend to be deficient in this mineral.
I am happy to report that in Feburary all signs of impending laminitis was gone and the brittleness in the hoof wall is better. I feel blessed to have caught it early, and to have access to a vet that understands how a horses nutritional needs affect his overall well being. Left untreated insulin resistance can progress to Cushings disease in horses and further lead to severe complications and even death. Dice is still fat and happy, but when the mesquite trees start dropping their beans Dice will not be allowed any access to them.
For more information on Cushings Disease, Laminitis or Insulin resistance in horses take a look at Madalyn’s website www.holistichorsekeeping.com. She has articles there and even an E-book on Insulin resistance. I would love to have feedback and your comments or stories. If you want info on any of the products mentioned above, please contact me.
