Episode 89: Cindy Martin Pt 2: Cushings Disease
Cushings disease is something more and more horses owners are dealing with in part because we are keeping our horses into their old age. Cindy Martin provides a comprehensive starting point for understanding this disease - what are the early symptoms, how do you test for it, manage it, what is the difference between cushings disease and insulin resistance, what on-line resources can help you?
Cindy is always so very generous in sharing information. She sent these links for resources related both to this podcast and to the previous podcast on foot care:
Enrichment ideas for horses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1017333658459317/photos/ equine enrichment group webinar: https://m.iaabc.org/courses/equine-enrichment/ $12 https://www.arenasupplies.com/product/hay-play-ball/ ***https://www.chicksaddlery.com/slow-feed-happy-hay-ball https://www.pleasantridge.ca/index.php/hay-and-play-ball.html hay ball in Canada! This link shows where hay samples can be sent, internationally. https://www.ecirhorse.org/DDT+E-diet.php Excellent information about PPID (Cushings) https://www.ecirhorse.org/cushings-disease-ppid.php There are sub-categories to this topic. They help explain the subtle symptoms, the distinction from IR (Insulin Resistance) and why PPID can cause a horse to become IR, as a side effect. This page explains IR (Insulin Resistance) as a stand alone condition and explains it is NOT necessarily a gateway to Cushings. https://www.ecirhorse.org/insulin-resistance.php About feeding IR horses and why supplements are not the answer. https://www.ecirhorse.org/treatment-insulin-resistance.php https://www.ecirhorse.org/assets/documents/ECIR-Safe-Treats.pdf Dr. Kellon's nutrition courses. They are on sale right now, by 1 course, get a second course free. http://drkellon.com/ Here is Burley. 26 years old in this photo. Cushings. Note the dapples and shine in his coat. https://photos.app.goo.gl/CdnrTyvZdbETz67d8 Here is a round bale, in the slow feeder net, inside hay ring. https://photos.app.goo.gl/h1LxvmntostGmdPLA Rosie, stationing at the blue boat bumper. The blue scarf is to the right. The bumper was there because we were practicing hoof care. https://photos.app.goo.gl/FGhWewEhZzAN3VmN8 Ida Hammer's courses that are really helpful to become an educated consumer of hoof services: https://mackinawdells2.com/exploring-the-equine-hoof.html - lecture, powerpoint, hands-on preserved specimens https://mackinawdells2.com/beginner-trimming.html - tool use, guided trim of a cadaver hoof https://mackinawdells2.com/hoof-wear-patterns.html a moving horse is videoed as baseline. Then changes are introduced - trim, application of boots, wearing tack, wearing tack with added weight on one side. Videos are played back in slow motion and side-by-side to see how the movement and footfalls change. https://mackinawdells2.com/pathology-class-hoof-distortions.html - this might be more than most horse owners need; but if they have a horse with serious hoof pathology, it can be invaluable. People can audit all of the trimming classes for a lower price. So they can observe more cadaver trim work, but not have to do it themselves. Grace's LF when she first came to us. https://photos.app.goo.gl/h4f7fwdxXHY31VWeA Grace's RF when she first came to us. https://photos.app.goo.gl/sCyQ2uZ3jtnYdh5c9 I could not get the link to more recent photos of her front feet to work. She will ALWAYS need some kind of hoof protection, I suspect. Boots, glue on shoes, something. She never built the inner structures she needed, because of her lifestyle. Started for the track, put in shoes, box stall life. Then second career, always shod, much time in stall. Toe first landings for more than a decade. She probably has significant bone loss in her coffin bone. That impacts her ability to grow good sole and internal structures. I don't have the courage to xray her feet.
Clicker training clinics with Alexandra Kurland hosted by Cindy Martin in April and October, 2020: https://www.theclickercenter.com/clinics-1