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Post by horselady on Jun 5, 2014 11:35:14 GMT
I have a boarder that is about 20 years old and has been diagnosed with cushings. after all the horses i have had this is the first one that has full blown cushings and i am at a loss as to what to do. his levels are over 500 and should be between 9 and 50 i was told by his owner that i need to keep him off grass and no molasses or or carbs, and the vet is prescribing pergolide. . So this means dry lot this horse and put him on special grain that i have to buy and not allow him to graze. he will be so upset he love his grass. SO i need to charge her more everymonth also because of the extra work involved in keeping him and moving him everynight to his stall what do i increase his board by. (percentage or dollar figure) and i know she will pay for food. ALSO has anyone gone thru this and what did you do to make him/her better.?? HELP.....  |
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mingiz
Junior Member
Los Lunas, NM
Posts: 3,320 
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Post by mingiz on Jun 5, 2014 12:32:03 GMT
I have never dealt with it. But a friend of mine had one. I think she did the dry lot thing, had the mare on meds. Not sure what she fed her. I can send her a message and see what all she had to do...Once she got the things the mare needed the mare did well.
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Jun 5, 2014 13:01:11 GMT
Sorry I have no experience with Cushings (so far). How much extra time will it take to move this horse around where he needs to be? I would use that to go by for a price increase.
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Jun 5, 2014 13:22:54 GMT
Red was never diagnosed, but was obviously Cushings in his older age.
Since I had had to always monitor his intake, I remained consistent in watching, checking, controlling,
dry lotting, stalling, FARRIER SCHEDULE, etc.
Would also use a grazing muzzle in summer, if needed.
The feeding schedule with his age became quite time consuming, as well, expensive and made it very difficult
to 'send him off' if hubby and I wanted to go somewhere, vacation.
I often thought,.., 'how would a boarding barn price out this kind of specialized care??'
Would be interested in others thoughts, because it really requires a lot of extra attention given by the care taker.
My friend, who keeps Zip on his farm on occasion, just raised his board prices and has several oldsters.
I think he is still too cheap for the extra care they require.
When someone boards, and has no 'hands on' with the care of their own horse, they really don't realize (IMO)
how much effort goes into the old ones.
ESPECIALLY with Cushings.
They use extra bedding, pees a lot more, the meds, the monitoring, consistent farrier schedule, etc.
Wish I had a better answer, but I do have understanding and empathy for the work load.
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Post by shadowlark on Jun 6, 2014 7:28:57 GMT
I don't have much experience with cushings other than a horse at the barn I board at has it and is on some kind of supplements and doing well.
As to how much extra to charge, I'd say it depends on how much extra work is involved. Outdoor board where I am is $275, but I pay extra to have Lucy brought to a smaller pen every day for her feed (provided by me). The smaller pen is literally 10 steps from her pen and she's easy to catch so it doesn't take my BO very much time at all. I pay an extra $35/month for that, so just over $1/day. BUT if it's going to take you an extra 10, 20, 30 minutes, you need to factor that in and think about what your time is worth.
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Post by horselady on Jun 6, 2014 11:42:11 GMT
We still have not gotten his pills from the pharmacy and moving him from his stall every day to a pen is not the problem.
it is clean up of the pen. extra hay all summer when he should( could) be on grass, and having the pen cleaned out every day plus water checked every day two times a day. and him being on a trim schedule of every 7 weeks. that i need to schedule and hold for farrier.And now him requiring body clipping. it all adds up.
i love this horse so i will. of course do everything in my power to make him comfortable , also was suggest to get a grazing muzzle, and he will get one and go out on grass for about 2 hours a day. when his levels are down.
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Jun 6, 2014 12:18:14 GMT
We still have not gotten his pills from the pharmacy and moving him from his stall every day to a pen is not the problem. it is clean up of the pen. extra hay all summer when he should( could) be on grass, and having the pen cleaned out every day plus water checked every day two times a day. and him being on a trim schedule of every 7 weeks. that i need to schedule and hold for farrier.And now him requiring body clipping. it all adds up. i love this horse so i will. of course do everything in my power to make him comfortable , also was suggest to get a grazing muzzle, and he will get one and go out on grass for about 2 hours a day. when his levels are down. Cushings horses definitely drink more, therefore urinate a lot more,.., which required extra bedding for Red. His stall could get pretty wet, so pelleted bedding helped keep it more dry. And body clipping is a great idea, the extra thick coat can cause them to get hotter in summer. Red was also on a 6-7 week trim schedule, so I didn't like him to miss an appointment. It is definitely extra work and, depending on what the owner wants, can be time consuming. Let us know what you decide, rate wise, I would be interested to know how you decide to charge for things. |
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Post by horselady on Jun 10, 2014 20:26:01 GMT
The pills finally arrived and he is also on grass two hours a day. he gets all sweaty and irritated if he is kept away from his buddies so his owner sent up a grazing muzzle.I also have him started on special care food for cushings and laminitic horses and eliminated all snacks, bread, carrots. apples. and peppermints so his insulin levels come down to a more manageable level. His hooves were trimmed again and he needs to be on a 7 week schedule.
i will ask the owner to pay for 3 bags of grain, and up the board $30.00 a month to compensate for the hay he will be eating and the extra bedding and cleaning of a round pen. and also pay for 3 of the hoof trimmings out of the 6 he will need in the year.
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Post by horselady on Jul 14, 2014 19:35:30 GMT
Had the vet out today to take blood for testing to determine levels of cushings. i do hope they are lower, alot lower than his original levels of over 500. they should be around 50. she said he could have grass and put him on senior and not the special care that he has been on.  and to up his feed with fat. (oil) so he does not loose weight. and perhaps start to add a hay stretcher. oh and not have him be in a muzzle, that my grass is not THAT lush and long for him to need it. besides he hates it and just stands with his head down not eating anything. this cushings thing is a royal pain, but i will do it . and i talked to the vet the owner knows. and she said that what i was doing is great. and to up the board plus charge for the grain and foot care. i was going to do that any way. |
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Jul 15, 2014 1:20:52 GMT
Cushings horses are A LOT of extra work and supplies,..,
I always said that Red cost me more $$ to maintain him in the last 5 years that I owned him,
than ALL the other years put together,., YIKES!
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Jul 15, 2014 12:16:25 GMT
I hope you get good results. When are they expected to be in? I am so lucky with Mister that he is in very good health for his age (knock on wood).
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