Cushing's disease in horses is an overproduction of hormones that causes excessive hairiness, inappropriate sweating patterns and a pot-bellied appearance. Identify Cushing's in a horse, which becomes more prevalent in old age, with helpful advice from a veterinarian in this video on caring for horses.
Hi, I'm Dr. Joanna Robson with Inspiritus Equine Incorporated. I'm a doctor of veterinarian medicine and I'd like to talk to you about the basics of Cushing's disease. There's probably somebody that you know at a barn where you're at that has a horse with Cushing's disease, or you probably read about it in one of the horse magazines. Cushing's disease is also known as hyperadrenocorticism. Basically what happens, is there's an overproduction of a hormone that triggers the outside clinical effects that we see in our horses. Cushing's disease is generally associated with older horses, however it can be seen in horses as young as 8 and 9 years of age. Clinical signs are generally mild when they're younger, but as they age we see the things that are typically associated with the disease such as hirsutism which is a very hairy, hairy horse. They don't shed appropriately and get a very long hair coat particularly on the legs of the horse. The horse's hair gets very long and sometimes even a little bit curly or they grow long guard hairs. They may sweat inappropriately. They're much more delicate in hot areas and they can't evaporate quite as well. The hormonal changes will also sometimes cause a pot bellied appearance. This is because the hormone actually affects the muscles and the soft tissues of the body so they get a saggy belly and sometimes with that also a sagging back. So general changes in hair coat, inappropriate sweating, a pot bellied appearance and sometimes being more prone to founder or laminitis are all signs that are associated with Cushing's disease. Cushing's disease actually starts in the pituitary gland in the brain of the horse and an overproduction by the pituitary gland stimulates the adrenal glands which are associated with the kidneys of the horse. This hormonal imbalance isn't necessarily the end of the road for your horse. There's quite a few appropriate treatments that can be initiated. Medications such as pergolite have been shown to have quite a bit of clinical help for horses. And horses with Cushing's can go on to have a very successful performance career. If you suspect that your horse may have signs of Cushing's disease, contact your veterinarian to do appropriate blood testing. Cushing's disease can be detected with a variety of blood tests. So in a nutshell, Cushing's disease outwardly the clinical signs that we associate are an excessively hairy horse, inappropriate sweating, sometimes a pot bellied saggy appearance and a sag through the back and horses that may also be inappropriately prone to things such as founder, laminitis.
Specialty: Vetrinary Medicine
