Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2011 | Page 107

the rider

Island Life - April/May 2011

Photo: Classic image of an elderly pony with Cushing’s disease with a very long coat during the summer.

as young as 12 years old with Cushing’s
disease.
How to recognise a horse with
Cushing’s?
In the early stages these horses will
have very subtle signs such as: failure
or late shedding of their coat during
Spring, drinking large amounts of
water and urinating more, lethargy and
recurrent bouts of laminitis.
Other cases can be more obvious and
display all the typical signs of Cushing’s
disease:
-Long or curly coat
-Horse prone to infections and worm
infestation
-Recurrent laminitis
-Redistribution of body fat into patchy
areas
Not all horses with Cushing’s will
display all the symptoms, a large
number of sufferers will only show one
or two of the symptoms associated with
the disease.
Can it be treated?
There is no cure for this disease, but
there is a very effective drug called
Pergolide which can control the
symptoms. This has traditionally been
used in humans to treat Parkinson’s

disease. The drug reduces the release
of natural steroids and prevents the
symptoms described above, allowing
the horses to continue with their
normal life for many years.
Equine metabolic syndrome
The concept of Equine Metabolic
Syndrome is quite new and was initially
extrapolated from a similar disease in
humans. At present there is a lot of
research going into the intricacies of
this recently discovered problem. The
disease is thought to be directly related
to modern horse management leading
to overweight horses and ponies, due
to an erroneous perception of what is
the ideal bodyweight.
Most of the UK equine population
will be fed extra throughout the year
so these horses don’t lose condition
especially over the winter. The result is
horses approach spring in good body
condition and in many cases they are
already overweight when the spring