What on earth do you feed a horse with cushings?

OMG, you know that this is going to be a headache!

  The hardest thing was getting used to is actually having to think about what to feed her rather than how you are going to stop the far too intelligent madam from stuffing her face with anything that stands still long enough! To be honest after at least 5 months of trying it is still a hard thing to master.

I want to point out straight away that I'm not in anyway suggesting this is how you should manage a horse with cushings' diet, I just wanted to share what seems to be working for me.

There is so much on the Internet and a lot of it is very conflicting, it can leave you feeling extremely disheartened and totally lost.  But seriously trial and error is the best policy as every horse is different and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.


So basically as you are probably already aware, cushings is also known as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), which basically means that the Pituitary gland isn't working as it should.  The Pituitary gland is found behind the brain and plays an important role in controlling hormone levels.

Cushings also makes the horse more susceptible to infections as their imune systems are not up to scratch which leaves their bodies lacking the full ability to fight the infection, so conjunctivitis,dermatitis and so many others are all things that need to be kept on top of as the horses ability to recover is greatly compromised.

Anyway back to what to feed:

Obviously it is wise to go down the recommended medication route of the Prascend tablets, which undoubtedly do work. Her symptoms are literally gone, the constant empty water buckets in the morning are no longer a problem and also her stable although still mareish isn't a swimming pool either. Her coat although still thick (she has always had a thick coat) is coming out this year unlike last spring when she was intent on holding onto it! Once you get over the price of the little buggers per day you can start to appreciate the impact they have.

Apart from the Prascend I wanted to give Molly everything possible to improve her condition, so get ready for it this is a list of her daily feed, I haven't added the quantities as that would differ depending on the horse and Molly is starting to live out for the summer so her quantities are also changing.

• Agnus Castus (Chase berry) aka Monks Pepper
• Micronised Linseed
• cinnamon
• Turmeric -don't forget the freshly ground black pepper
• Magnesium Oxide
• Fibre Beet
• Fibre Nuggets
• TopSpec TopChop Lite
• Micronised Barley
• Rolled Oats 
• Ad lib soaked hay

Oh yes it does take me longer to make her feeds up that it does to muck out her stable, but everything on the list I have researched and is there for a reason.

Agnus Castus

If you type into any Internet search engine 'Cushings Horse' you are likely to stumble across this stuff.  The rather ingenious Chase Berry was discovered and originally used by monks to help combat certain 'urges' and is used to good effect in other European countries to help balance women's hormone levels.
It isn't just used for horses with cushings, hormonal mare and riggy males are also given this supplement to balance hormone levels.  You can purchase this from most horsey feed shops and many big brands have it listed in the ingredients in their 'Stroppy mare' supplements.
If you decide to feed this to your horse where you purchase it from is totally your choice and please do not be swayed by my decision, but I order mine from a on line auction site as a straight feed, without any fancy names and additional bits and pieces added, it comes in a simple bag and is much cheaper than others I have looked at and has the same content etc.

Micronised Linseed

This stuff I could write a whole book about, I cannot praise it enough! In my personal opinion it is quite simply a super feed and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.  If fed in small amounts it does not affect weight gain and is good for all round health and well being including a super shiny coat, a much improved knot free mane and tail, good feet, great vitality and health.  If fed in larger quantities it is a brilliant addition to the cushings suffering horse that needs to gain weight as it is high in fat without the sugar which can be so dangerous to the poor dears. And also horses love the taste of it.
It can be brought in small amounts but can work out quite pricey, It is worth shopping around, as I have found a feed outlet not to far from where I live that sells a 15kg bag for under £19 and that lasts me months which is brilliant as Molly gets between 2-3 cups of the stuff a day.

Cinnamon

This was suggested to me by a friend who has ponies who are prone to laminitis, and knowing that my madam has a muchly increased chance of suffering from laminitis I didn't think it could hurt to add this inexpensive accompaniment to her ever increasing daily menu.
I'm not 100% sure as to how cinnamon works but from what I can make out it is thought to help the cells respond to insulin and cinnamon is supposed to have high antioxidant levels that can give extra health benefits to the laminitis prone horse.

Turmeric

At this point I wanted to add this picture of what turmeric does to ones nose, and also may I add anything that gets remotely close to that nose!

Anyway turmeric is used by many for horses,dogs,humans etc for its health benefits.  There are many forums and even pages on Face Book where people share tips and success stories about health improvements.
I would suggest looking into it yourself, but the little i know about feeding it is that firstly it should be fed with oil, ideally olive, coconut or linseed oil and if you are feeding micronised linseed you do not need to add any extra oil to the feed, and also that freshly ground black pepper added to the turmeric in a way activates it and has better results.
I cannot add that much more regarding turmeric as this is a fairly new addition to the diet.
People use it for sweet itch, sores, cushings, dermetitus, arthritis, general joint pain the list goes on!

Fibre Beet, Fibre Nuggets, Top Chop Lite

These sort of feeds I would generally say are personal preference as there are so many on the market.
The simple things to remember are:

• very low or no sugar
• no molasses
• high fibre - I have found that the linseed can make her a bit runny and with a lot of fibre added to her diet that problem seems to have been rectified

Straight feeds e.g oats

The only reason I have started to go for straight feeds is that I know exactly what is going into my horse. I have absolutely nothing against mixes etc, I just feel that it is important for me to have total control over what my horse is eating.

Magnesium Oxide

It is found most commonly in many of the shelf equine calmers, as it is supposed to help re balance horses when magnesium levels are low which is generally in spring and late summer, which can result in a fizzy pony. I however have added it to the diet due to the belief that it can help in combating fat deposition in overweight animals (cresty necks), yes Molly isn't overweight, but with her susceptibility to laminitis it cannot hurt to ensure magnesium levels remain good.  There are also reports that it is good for bare footers as well. 


Well that is it, it took awhile to put it all down on here but that is what the old mare gets, it seems to be working for me and it has taken what seems like ages to get a good balance right and there are likely to be alterations especially now the spring grass is here, but the best advice I can give it trial and error.