Volume 3 Issue 2

                                             SENIOR CITIZENS

CUSHING’S DISEASE

What Is Cushing’s Disease?
Cushing’s is a problem in the pituitary gland, located inside of the brain. Hormones are produced there and then released into the body to control body functions. Some of these functions control the hair growth, energy level, fat distribution, sweating, muscle development, immune system, and reproductive system.

Quite often a horse with Cushing’s Disease will exhibit some, or all of the following symptoms; long thick coat that fails to shed out, excessive sweating, lethargy, poor athletic performance, chronic, or recurring laminitis, infertility, weight loss, abnormal fat distribution, excessive drinking and urination, increased susceptibility to infections, internal parasites and possible skin sores.

Cushing’s is one of the most common conditions of older horses, and can occur in all types and breeds with the most common being ponies and Morgans.  Although it can affect younger horses, most sufferers are over 15 years of age. Recently, it has been determined that approximately 30% of all horses in this age group are likely to have Cushing’s.  It is a progressive condition, which has no cure.  If left untreated, it can shorten your horse’s life span due to secondary conditions.  But, with proper and early diagnosis, treatment and wellness practices, your equine friend can live a normal average lifespan, and enjoy a better quality of life.

What Causes Cushing’s Disease?
For some reason, the pituitary gland in the horse’s brain develops a tumor.  There are different theories as to how or why this happens. One school of thought is that the pituitary gland becomes enlarged as a result of increased work, but it is not known if the enlargement of pituitary causes a tumor to grow, or if the growth of a tumor results in an enlarged pituitary gland. 

For arguments sake, lets just say that the development of a tumor in the pituitary gland interrupts the normal production of hormones, which cause the clinical signs of Cushing’s.  One of these is Dopamine. The lack of Dopamine



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Wendy Teddiman, Trainer (wen-sacres@cox.net)  (http://Wen-D-Acres.com)  949-357-8040