Feeding a 25 year old Cushings Pony

[Diamondindykin]

The owner of the company that I work for has a 25 year old pony that is said to have cushings. The pony was a gift from his step daughters dad years ago. The family really doesn't know much about horses. The pony is kept on their 80 acre farm and cared for by farm help that know nothing about horses either. This ponies issues are compounded by the fact that he has very few teeth left.

What kind of diet should he be eating given the fact he has few teeth left? From my understanding he is not being treated with any drugs. He has been doing fine the last few years but they are now noticing he is leaving chewed up wads of grass so they are concerned he is not going to do well this winter.

[Cherry]

Honestly? It might be time for a new home for this pony where he would be better looked after.... These guys tend to need more TLC than the average pony gets.... Any chance he could be rehomed??? :confused:

First of all,
He has been doing fine the last few years but they are now noticing he is leaving chewed up wads of grass so they are concerned he is not going to do well this winter.
This indicates his mouth may need attending to.... That would be the first thing to be checked! If his teeth are loose though I would hope no one would get in there and jeopardize what he has left.... :uhoh:

If the teeth he has left aren't functioning optimally then he probably won't do well this Winter. It doesn't sound as if the farm help has any clue about dealing with a needy pony either.... It's very hard to advise as it doesn't sound as if anyone really understands what it takes to keep a pony like this afloat (assuming the pony really has Cushing's).

There is low NSC food out there (no Purina Senior, please--not good for Cushingoid ponies--ask me how I know :uhoh: ) and low NSC chopped hay (Safe Starch, by Triple Crown), hay cubes or hay pellets of all kinds that should be moistened before feeding to this little guy.... Rehydrated beet pulp without molasses, but these folks may not want to be bothered with the extras that go along with keeping old horses or ponies....

Sorry, but older horses and ponies need more than just food to keep them going.... :( He really needs a home where a vet (and testing--perhaps drugs) are involved and where someone can monitor him.

[Diamondindykin]

These people are actually very wealthy and are willing to do what it takes to take care of him. The vet has been called to check his teeth but they know I have horses and the wife was asking me the other day to help her with his diet. You can't blame them for not knowing and I give them alot of credit for asking for help. They sure could have turned a blind eye and let him starve.

I mentioned to them about soaking hay pellets for him. What is the best hay pellets for Cushings...... alfalfa, orchard grass?

[murphyluv]

Timothy, not alfalfa. But really, no-molasses beet pulp would probably be better.

[marta]

if he's cushings he may have other metabolic issues. some metabolically challenged horses cannot have alfalfa. wellsolve has some hay pellets and so does blue seal that are often used by those w/ metabolically challenged horses. low carb feed is in order (if he can chew it). beet pulp (molasses free) is great as well.
get a dentist out to check his teeth (unless the vet is doing that).

[BuddyRoo]

Well, the "cud" issue isn't related to the cushings most likely.

If the pony's teeth are in bad shape even after the float, he may need to go on a senior feed + hay cube diet only...no more hay--or risk choke.

I'd have them start w/ the vet...see what the vet finds.

Ideally, pone pone should be getting treated for the Cushings too.....there's so much TO this topic....it requires some serious comittment...not just something you can "pay for", ya know? requires trench work.

[Melyni]

Hay or if he can't eat it due to teeth issues, then chopped hay (Lucerne Farms do a good one) or the new ensiled grass product Chaffhaye. Soaked and rinsed sugar beet pulp or soy hulls are alternative fiber sources.
A good vitamin mineral supplement with enough copper and zinc in it, essential fatty acids, specifically Omega 3s.
NO GRAIN, NO GRAIN, NO GRAIN, did I say NO GRAIN!
If the pony is truly Cushings then he probably needs the vet to prescribe pergolide.
Teeth need to be checked if he is that old.
Good Luck
MW

[Jaegermonster]

You need to know if he is IR (insulin resistant) before you know what he needs to eat.
I have a 31 yo TWH here that has cushings, he has been boarded here with me for the last 6 years. He is not IR, is treated with Pergo, and we feed him Seminole Senior. He has very few teeth,like your pony, and quids his hay also. They do that because they can't chew it enough to swallow it. They play with it and suck on it til they are done with it and then spit it out.
You can find out if he is IR by having the vet draw bloodwork on him. That's where I would start. Bloodwork and teeth. Find out what's what and go from there.

[prince and ponies]

Just asking a question here in regard to the comment about feeding soy bean hulls. Is that really ok to feed a cushings horse? Could you feed it in place of beet pulp?

[Melyni]

Just asking a question here in regard to the comment about feeding soy bean hulls. Is that really ok to feed a cushings horse? Could you feed it in place of beet pulp?

Not on it's own, it needs a good vitamin mineral supplement, but it is an alternative fiber source, and as it comes in pellets which are soft and can be soaked it will be easy for a pony with bad teeth to eat.
However sugar beet pulp or chaffhaye or chopped hay would be better.
MW

Don't confuse soy hulls with soy bean meal, soy hulls are the fibrous outer part of the husk , soy bean meal is what they turn the inner part into when they extract the oil.
Yours
MW

[stuge]

IF the horses teeth are not allowing him to chew hay then I would go with Triple Crown Senior, soaked timothy cubes, and pergolide. Keep in mind that if he can't eat hay or grass on his own that he is going to need to eat the Senior and timothy 4-6 times a day and a LOT of it, depending on his weight.

But the TC Senior is the lowest NSC senior feed I have come across, is typically very easy to get a hold of (Southern States), and is very easily digestible.

If they are willing to do what it takes then the horse very well might be just fine for several more years they just need to follow directions. Lots of cushings horses shouldn't be grazing but I am thinking that if his teeth aren't good and he has never had laminitis or founder, grazing is unlikely to be a problem.

[Cherry]

Unfortunately money is no substitute for knowledge and monitoring of the animal in question.

If it were my pony the first thing I would do is get the vet out to draw some bloodwork. In an elderly pony I would test the electrolyte panel, do a CBC, test the thyroid, glucose and insulin to see if this pony is insulin resistant (using the values provided by Dr. Kellon on the Cushing's and Insulin Resistance board). I wouldn't be feeding a horse feed per se, but I'd be feeding a ration balancer pellet along with as much forage product this little guy is willing to eat. I wouldn't feed oils as it can lead to insulin resistance. I'd probably feed this pony additional magnesium oxide--not sure how much though and Source to support his thyroid. These folks might want to contact Dr. Kellon directly since money is no object and have her figure out a diet for him. ;) Probiotics and amino acids (Tri-Amino by Uckele) are generally a good thing if he starts losing weight. :yes:

I had a Cushing's pony and did a lot of things wrong. One of the few things I was good at was monitoring his health.... ;)

A good diet is a good start to prevent health issues in this pony but in the Spring he should be retested for Cushing's and possibly put on meds for it.... I used Cyproheptadine, but looking back realize Pergolide would have been a better choice.... Your choices are only as good as the vets you use.... :(

[hrsgirl07]

We have a couple of cushing ponies at the barn where I ride they are all on the following program:

Triple Crown Low Starch Pellet (one of the ponies gets it soaked because she can't chew very well)
Pergaloid- perscribed by vet
Cush- A- Way supplement (don't know how much it actually does, but the vet said it wouldn't hurt)
All of the ponies eat a timothy orchard grass mix hay and one of them gets a hay strecher pellet soaked and mixed with beet pulp shreds.