I have a 21 year old mare who I have owned since she was 19 months old. She has significant arthritis. In addition to her arthritis, she was not shedding out well this year, and had significant rain rot, that was not responding well to treatment. She also had a bout of pneumonia a year ago in the fall, which was attributed to a depressed immune system. (Pneumonia can happen to Cushings horses because the immune system is compromised). She was placed on an immune building supplement. Fortunately, through all this, she has not developed laminitis, which is common among Cushings afflicted horses(knock on wood!) She was also what the cowboys call "ADR", ain't doing right. She seemed more lethargic than normal. However, she did not have the curly hair or tell tale fat deposits of Cushings. I asked the vet to test her when he was out to do spring shots, teeth, etc. Her insulin level was 4x the norm! The vet said he would not have recommended testing her based on appearance, said it was a good call, and asked why I wanted her tested. Horses you see and interact with everyday are like your children.....you know when something is amiss, especially taking into consideration her clinical history. She is on pergolide, 1ml daily, and I can see a big difference in her energy level already. I gave her an iodine bath on the first really warm day, and when dry, used rainrot medication. The rainrot is subsiding nicely. Thank the good Lord!

Brenda

Thanks, Linda! After just 2 weeks on Pergolide, I can see a difference in her attitude, coat, and energy level. She came in second out of 4 in her race with the boys when called in from the pasture yesterday (despite arthritis and cushings). It made my heart glad! The boys are all healthy!

Brenda