Equine Cushings Disease- Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Cushing's disease occurs in various animals (e.g. dogs,may notice an abnormal amount of urine (or soiled
horses, people), although the symptoms in horses arebedding) in its box.
different than the symptoms in other animals (e.g. in- Development of laminitis. The most common cause
dogs it results in hair loss whereas in horses it resultsof normal laminitis is carbohydrate overload due to
in greater hair growth). When the disease occurs ineating spring grass, whereas ECD-caused laminitis is
horses, it is known as Equine Cushings Disease (ormore frequent in autumn and winter since ECD is
ECD).worse when the days are shorter (this is because
ECD is an illness caused by excessive hormonethe pineal gland is light-sensitive and as daylight
production. The pituitary gland produces too muchdecreases it stimulates the pituitary gland).
hormone, which over-stimulates the adrenal glands,- Immune system declines, leaving the horse more
which in turn produce too much steroids. It is theprone to infections and slower to heal from external
excessive quantity of steroids which causes theinjuries.
symptoms associated with ECD. The over-production- The depressions above the eyes fill in. These
of the pituitary can be caused various changes, suchdepressions are most evident when a horse is
as the growth of benign tumors, enlargement of thechewing, but gradually fill in with fat in ECD horses.
pituitary due to age-related changes, or a decline inAny of these symptoms can be caused by a variety
the regulatory chemical dopamine due to age-relatedof illnesses other than ECD. Consequently, blood and
changes in the brain. All of these factors tend to beurine tests are normally used to confirm that the
age related, so the disease is much more common incause is ECD (e.g. by measuring hormone levels and
older horses (over 15 years) although it has beenhormone response levels) and to rule out other
found in horses as young as seven years.possible diseases. Studies have shown that many
The nature and cause of the disease itself was firsthorses with ECD are either not diagnosed or
explained by Harvey Cushing, an American brainincorrectly diagnosed (the symptoms are incorrectly
surgeon, in 1921. Consequently, the disease is namedattributed to a different disease), with the result that
after him.they do not receive appropriate treatment.
Symptoms and DiagnosisTreatment
The symptoms of cushings disease vary somewhatECD cannot be cured. However, the hormone levels
from horse to horse, with the more commoncan be reduced to more normal levels through
symptoms including:medication, slowing the progress of the disease. As
- Changes to the coat. It may become longer andsome of the medications can have serious side
curly. It may not be shed in Spring. In some caseseffects (e.g. liver disease), one needs to monitor for
the color becomes lighter.any such side effects and change the medication
- Increased sweating. This is often due to the coataccordingly.
become longer and thicker, and retention of theAs cushings disease can result in the development of
winter coat into summer.secondary diseases (e.g. laminitis, diabetes), the horse
- Weight loss despite increased appetite and foodneeds to be closely monitored for any symptoms of
consumption. Changes to the body shape, with lossthese, with appropriate and prompt treatment.
of muscle in back and neck, and development ofManagement of the symptoms can make the horse
pendulous abdomen.more comfortable and increase its quality of life. For
- General depression, loss of coat shine, horse looks ill.example, if the horse cannot shed its winter fur and
Development of diabetes and a resulting increase inconsequently over-heats in summer, the coat should
water consumption. This can be difficult to detectbe clipped.
with pastured horses, but with stabled horses one