Cushings disease more properly termed pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction PPID is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to the enlargement of a portion of the pituitary gland in the brain of the horse which results in excess production of certain peptides and hormones that have a direct effect on the adrenal glands. High-fibre feeds that can be soaked such as Dengie Alfa-Beet may be easier to chew and can be used as partial hay replacers.
For example a 1000-pound horse should be fed 15 to 20 pounds of hay per day.
Can horses with cushings eat haylage. As a rule later cut coarser hayhaylage is generally lower in wsc. Complement haylage with a short-chop fibre to extend eating times in stabled horses. To make the best nutritional recommendations for horses with PPID nutritionists must first consider whether the horse needs to.
Entice their appetite with different feeds and flavours Horses with PPID can be fussy. Most horses will eat between 1½ to 2 percent of their body weight per day in forage. As PPIDCushings Disease tends to affect older horses poor teeth may be an additional problem to overcome.
You shouldnt restrict the amount of hay your horse eats. Feed little and often and encourage them to eat slowly to avoid large peaks. These carry the risk of disease such as botulism or listeriosis.
Haylage may be too rich for horses with metabolic issues or those that are prone to laminitis and there is a risk of botulism contamination. Tee Fox of Markdale Veterinary Services said haylage is a good feeding option especially for horses with respiratory issues but she says horse owners must understand there are potential risks. Try and keep them fit with a target body condition score of 5 out of 9 on the Henneke Body Condition Scale for horses.
In this situation there will be insufficient lactic acid produced to preserve pickle and ferment the haylage. How owners manage pastures and seasonal consumption of grass carbohydrates can significantly affect horses with Cushings disease. Soaking hayhaylage for 12 to 16 hours will help to reduce the wsc content.
Normal haylage is a no no. Soaking hay for up to 16 hours can also help to reduce its sugar content although the extent to which the WSC is reduced is variable and cant. It is semi-wilted grass sealed in a bag but without the dust and spores found.
For a pony or horse suspected of having Equine Metabolic Syndrome EMS or diagnosed with Cushings Syndrome diet and exercise management is essential. Soaking your hay or haylage has been shown to reduce WSC in forage the latest research recommends that soaking hay for approximately 60 minutes in cold water is adequate. Some horses can also suffer from tooth and hoof rot as well as developing lameness issues.
High-fiber components such as these found in hay hay cubes pasture and beet pulp should constitute the main portion of a senior horses diet. Feeding horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction PPID also called Cushings disease can sometimes be difficult because these horses are often older overweight or underweight and may have insulin resistance with or without recurrent laminitis. If your PPID horse is underweight and requires a higher calorie feed to help build or maintain condition provide a feed high in fibre and oil and low in starch and sugar such as Cushcare Condition.
Haylage - benefits of feeding to horses and ponies. Horses naturally graze for around 17 hours per day so for optimum health we need to mimic these patterns as much as we can. Putrid smells indicate the presence of butyric acid from Clostridium bacteria and horses should not eat this haylage.
Haylage is an ideal replacement for hay and excellent for feeding to horses with dust allergies and equine respiratory problems such as COPD SPAOD and RAOD. However if they have a flare up I soak it for 12 hours just to be extra. Reduce grazing Cutting down on the amount of grass your horse eats will avoid any sudden increases in carbohydrates that can cause a bout of laminitis.
Horses with Cushings disease will have a noticeably thick coat all year long. You can buy the high fibre horsehage which has been fine for the two laminitics on my yard. Haylages are made of grass that is cut before it goes to seed.
The average 500kg horse should be consuming around 125kg of dry matter per day. 1kg of dry matter forage would be approximately 122kg of hay 25kg of haylage and 4kg of grass from grazing not a bag. Avoid gritty or soil-contaminated bales.
This type of problem occurs mainly when haylage has been made too wet. When feeding horses with Equine Cushings Disease its important to keep the following in mind. They will also develop excessive thirst and can drink three or four times as much water than they normally would.
Build up to this gradually as soaking can reduce palatability and be careful in warm weather to avoid fermentation or bacterial growth.
