'Maisie' Boraston

Horse of the Month September 2022

Our Horse of the Month for September is the beautiful Maisie! Maisie is 19 years old, and her owner Shirley had owned her for about two years before her Cushing’s was diagnosed. Shirley says that she felt a little embarrassed that she didn’t spot the signs earlier, but because the signs of Cushing’s often develop very insidiously it can be very challenging to spot them early on. Maisie was well in herself and winning show-jumping and dressage events when she needed to have her hocks medicated. As part of this treatment a routine blood test was carried out, and the results showed that she had Equine Cushing’s disease.

Both Shirley and her vet were initially shocked by the diagnosis, but when they started to look for the clinical signs it was evident that Maisie did have a pot belly and fat pads above her eyes. Her coat was amazing though, and she wasn’t showing any of the other signs of Cushing’s disease such as lethargy or laminitis. Different horses will present with different clinical signs, although the longer the disease is untreated the more likely it is for other clinical signs to develop.

Maisie’s vet prescribed a daily tablet to control her Cushing’s disease, and she’s doing amazingly. Shirley still does dressage with her, and she is happy and enjoying life.

Thanks so much for sharing Maisie’s Cushing’s story with us Shirley – it’s so good to hear that she is doing so well.