Cushings Disease Horse - Discover Secrets to Prevent it

Cushing’s disease in horses is, sadly not uncommon. However, when you understand what can cause it, then you can prevent it altogether. And as a bonus, ensure your horse has great and lasting good health.

The medical diagnosis of cushing’s disease or syndrome comes from a blood test showing excess cortisol and the physical signs of fatty swellings, especially at the withers and face. Weakness can result.

This can be a result of an excess of secretion by the pituitary gland. It can also be a result of the adrenal cortex, situated at the kidneys, releasing too much glucocortisoids. A third reason can be from what is known as an iatrogenic (caused by drugs) over-zealous administration of cortisone veterinary treatment.

I have noticed that in a huge percentage of veterinary treatments of horses, some form of cortisone treatment is invariably used. And often it is not indicated or required.

At the slightest hint of pain in a horse, cortisone is often given. Presumably this is to allow the horse to continue his work. But who does that benefit? Certainly not the horse.

If a horse has become lame, the cause of the lameness needs to be discovered and dealt with. Masking it so the horse can still perform will only make it worse in the long run.

And, if done frequently, can result in Cushing’s disease.

How much better it is to deal with the cause of the lameness in a holistic way. This can not only be the most effective way, in the long term. It can also be the fastest way in the short term. And all without the potential of harm later in life.

Homeopathy is just such a modality of health care. Its enormous scope for deep healing, by supporting the horse’s best healing efforts, by stimulating the immune system, by personalising the horse’s unique expression of imbalance all go towards resolving the original cause.

The healing remedies themselves resolve any associated pain, so pain relief becomes a thing of the past.

Founder Horse Disease and How to Deal with it Fast, Naturally and Effectively

Founder is a horse disease of the feet. Normally only the front feet are affected.  The problem occurs for some horses, generally those who have a tendency to be overweight such as ponies, when they eat too much rich, green grass, especially the new grass of the season.

Some sturdy horses, and most ponies, have evolved to live on little, scavenging  on scare vegetation in various regions of the world. These equines are not dissimilar to mountain goats. They tend to be sure footed and don’t need lush grass to survive.

This is at the heart of founder in horses. So you need to know what sort of equine you have. And then feed them accordingly, or limit their access to rich new grass.

However, sometimes it’s too late and your horse has already foundered. Normal veterinary treatment can take many weeks to work and then is often dissatisfactory, with future bouts becoming more common.

One of the best alternative treatments for founder in horses is homeopathy. And there are several different medicines for this, based on your horse’s unique and personal symptoms. In many cases, your best option is to call a professional homeopath who works with animals.

If you don’t have access to one, then you may find that the following homeopathic remedy gives your horse total relief.

However, the following symptoms must be present:

•  if your horse is standing in the typical founder gait, with the front legs pushed out in front, balancing more weight on the rear legs
•  if the front feet are very warm, almost hot
•  if your horse has difficulty moving about
•  if your horse has been grazing on rich or new grass
•  if it has recently occurred

Then the homeopathic medicine Belladonna 30c, given every hour for about 8 hours, or until relief is seen may solve the problem. However, there are several qualifying points to consider.

If the founder occurs regularly, then a deeper acting remedy may be needed. If the horse is foundering for other reasons, then this remedy may not provide relief. If the front feet are not very warm, then your horse will not benefit from this remedy.