The Horse in a Winter Coat- Cushings Disease
By Dr. Sue Whitman, DVM
The hottest part of summer has arrived in the U.S., and most of our horses are slick-coated and shiny. However, a small percentage of our beloved older horses still have hair hanging on from the winter and are facing life-threatening overheating due to a condition known as Cushings Disease or PPID. (The actual scientific term is Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction). Most of these horses (70%) are mares over age 20, but geldings are not excluded. (Horse-Angels Horse Rescue currently has 5 mares and 2 geldings with PPID). The condition is caused by a dysfunction of the pituitary gland in the brain. In addition to a long hair coat and uneven or no shedding in the spring, these older horses may also have muscle loss, development of a “swayback”, and changes in their hoof growth. Every summer older horses waste away and look unkempt or matted with thick hair, and are diagnosed as “just old”.
There are diagnostic tests for Cushings Disease, and both holistic and conventional medical treatments available for these horses, but many people cannot afford the testing, medication, and ongoing monitoring with blood sampling that we would recommend as the ideal solution. Does that mean that we need to watch these animals waste away in the heat, or put them to sleep? Horse-Angels has been successful with seeing these hairy horses stay happy and beautiful for an average of 4 years from Cushings onset with only love and a bit of extra effort. In fact, our Cushings horses have never been lost to Cushings complications; we have always said goodbye as a result of severe arthritis, cancer, heart failure, or in one case, choking.
So, what can you do for your beautiful old horse? First, get her (or him) off of any feed containing a coating of molasses, because insulin resistance or Equine Metabolic Syndrome is nearly always involved alongside Cushings Disease. Get a non-sticky, all pelleted feed, and if affordable, get the new products available to prevent insulin resistance. Next, get a nice set of large animal clippers with an extra set of coarse blades to buzz that hot hair, which is what usually overheats, dehydrates, and kills the horses. We use a clipper made by Premier 1 Supplies, but nearly all clipper companies have a large animal line, and most can be ordered online or found used online. You will want to have at least 2 blades so that one can be at the sharpening service while the other waits for the next clipping.
We do our first Horse-Angels’ shaves (in Indiana) in April, and then clip monthly through September. By October we will have a frost, and will allow the hair that we despised all summer to grow into the warmest winter coats at Horse-Angels! Shaving a horse and rinsing the prickly pieces of hair off after shaving will take us up to 3 hours per horse each month during the summer. In return for that effort, you will see your horse’s activity increase, her hooves become healthier, her appetite increase, her water drinking decrease, and her muscle wasting slow. Our Cushings horses are truly a labor of love, but their happiness costs only the clippers and time.
Our oldest is 43 this year (a mare). We also have 2 mares that are 40, a gelding that is 35, a mare that is 33, a gelding that is 31, and a mare that is 31. Cushings Disease is a frequent killer of older horses, but if you can manage the overheating with a pair of good clippers and love, a happy future does not have to require a big veterinary investment.
There are diagnostic tests for Cushings Disease, and both holistic and conventional medical treatments available for these horses, but many people cannot afford the testing, medication, and ongoing monitoring with blood sampling that we would recommend as the ideal solution. Does that mean that we need to watch these animals waste away in the heat, or put them to sleep? Horse-Angels has been successful with seeing these hairy horses stay happy and beautiful for an average of 4 years from Cushings onset with only love and a bit of extra effort. In fact, our Cushings horses have never been lost to Cushings complications; we have always said goodbye as a result of severe arthritis, cancer, heart failure, or in one case, choking.
So, what can you do for your beautiful old horse? First, get her (or him) off of any feed containing a coating of molasses, because insulin resistance or Equine Metabolic Syndrome is nearly always involved alongside Cushings Disease. Get a non-sticky, all pelleted feed, and if affordable, get the new products available to prevent insulin resistance. Next, get a nice set of large animal clippers with an extra set of coarse blades to buzz that hot hair, which is what usually overheats, dehydrates, and kills the horses. We use a clipper made by Premier 1 Supplies, but nearly all clipper companies have a large animal line, and most can be ordered online or found used online. You will want to have at least 2 blades so that one can be at the sharpening service while the other waits for the next clipping.
We do our first Horse-Angels’ shaves (in Indiana) in April, and then clip monthly through September. By October we will have a frost, and will allow the hair that we despised all summer to grow into the warmest winter coats at Horse-Angels! Shaving a horse and rinsing the prickly pieces of hair off after shaving will take us up to 3 hours per horse each month during the summer. In return for that effort, you will see your horse’s activity increase, her hooves become healthier, her appetite increase, her water drinking decrease, and her muscle wasting slow. Our Cushings horses are truly a labor of love, but their happiness costs only the clippers and time.
Our oldest is 43 this year (a mare). We also have 2 mares that are 40, a gelding that is 35, a mare that is 33, a gelding that is 31, and a mare that is 31. Cushings Disease is a frequent killer of older horses, but if you can manage the overheating with a pair of good clippers and love, a happy future does not have to require a big veterinary investment.
