Pergolide attitude

Freida · Pergolide attitude

Hey you people with Cushing's horses - if you have them on Pergolide, do you notice them throwing a little 'tude?? All of a sudden, Mr. Pooch Fry thinks he's all that, pushy, throwing his head, and gee, almost a little aggressive at times - hasn't hurt anyone yet, but he's not the laid back guy he used to be. I'm sure that's because he wasn't feeling well, but it's like a different horse is coming out. Just wondering.

cokey

I didn't notice any shift in attitude, but I did have to take her off it after about 6 months as she stopped eating entirely...

I subscribe to this Yahoo user group. It's run by Jackie Taylor who knows pretty much everything about Equine Metabolic Syndrome, so it would be a good place to ask..

Leah

Yes you can get personality changes. Some horses get very very depressed as well.

cokey is jackie taylor's treatment very different from Dr Kellon?

cokey

I'm afraid I don't know anything about Dr Kellon

Jackie's not a vet or anything, she's just very knowledgeable about cushings and metabolic syndrome in horses. She's a very good source of information as 1. she's free and 2. she knows waaaay more than UK vets as a general rule!

Leah

no need to blush-she is one of the more respected folks on Cushings and metabolic stuff.

She actually has a yahoo group that has tons of information.

cokey

I guess she's the US version of Jackie, then!!

Leah

Sounds like it!

Freida

I did belong to the Yahoo Cushngs group with Dr Kellon and it seemed really good. I loved the support and specific suggestions. Naturally my vet disagreed with everything Dr. K said. I know one thing EK says is no pasture, right? And only a low-starch grain? Beet pulp, right? And have the hay analyzed. Well I tried the beet pulp and the low starch grain but saw no weight gain - I mean he was severely underweight, like skin and bones. My vet said keep him on tons of senior feed - that didn't do anything either. Tried all kinds of weight gain fast track oil supplements, no weight gain at all. So finally someone I knew who worked for Purina said Strategy has more fat than senior so I put him on that - and she told me to keep upping it til I saw some gain. Well . . .

I hate to say it but he is getting three big scoops of strategy twice a day and finally after three years I see some gain. He is still about 200 pounds underweight but his hips have a little substance now and even his topline is filling in. No founder, no colic, eats scrubby pasture overnight and seems better than anytime in the past three years. Also had his teeth floated three times - he only has about 8 teeth left, poor guy, but the vet said she had never seen a worse mouth, ever. She said it was a wonder he was alive because the few teeth he had were not meeting.

Anyway here is a before and more recent pic - not the best cuz you can't see him from the side - but at least you can see a little light in his eyes - besides being really angry tht I had the nerve to put a saddle on him!

appellativo

Glad you found something that is working. I don't know a whole lot about Cushings but I was watching Pete Ramey's videos and on the laminitis disks he mentions about how horses who are getting too much sugar will literally starve to death because something about the sugar makes the body unable to digest food. So all the sugar in the sweet feed maybe made him unable to digest the good stuff that was in it? My conjecture there.

Anyway the other cool thing he said was there was a study published in a veterinary journal about they took several insulin sensitive horses and exercised them 30 minutes three times a week and improved the insulin sensitivity in every horse. Then they quit exercising the horses, and the benefit lasted an additional six weeks. So to me that says a lot about the importance of exercise for horses with insulin problems. so good for you saddling the old boy up!

And you're welcome to head over to the waterhole ritual thread to find out how to deal with the 'tude

(it's my suspicion the 'tude is coming out because he now feels better...again, just my conjecture!)

Erin

karmikacres

Freida

Erin, that makes sense. Senior = more sugar; Strategy = more fat. And you're right, the 'tude is probably because he wasn't feeling well before and now he is becoming himself again. The odd thing is he has the best feet of my little herd, rock solid, never split or cracked, no chips, no founder - I mean, you canNOT kill this horse! Or his feet. But he is so gol darn MULEY I tell ya, so LBI. But he will follow me around like a puppy even if I am just picking up manure. I think that is why the previous owners named him Poochie. He is like a big dog. It makes me wonder what he would have been like had he never gotten Cushings. He might have been the perfect horse.

appellativo

aw, he's perfect just the way he is....

seriously, what about him having cushings (other than it being a darn inconvenience)...er,how do I say..., do you think it (having cushings) has to do with him being extreme LBI? maybe I misunderstood...in what way is he not perfect (other than his obvious health issue? or is that it?)

Freida

I know, he is perfect - when I first go t myhorse he was thrown in as a pasture mate and he was much easier to work with for me, so Ihave a deep affection for the old coot. I guess what I mean is, he is not rideable becuase his spine is so prominent from being underweight and when he did put on a little weight nd we tried to get on him he had a little tantrum. So if he were rideable - if his condition were better, he could have been an awesome trai lhorse because he does not spook at anything that I have ever seen and he is very confident. But as long as I am able to give him a home he is safe with me! Thanks for the words of encouragement!