Hello Kris,

Thank you for writing about your horse. I am in agreement with you about putting him in a dry lot or using a grazing muzzle. Both of these things are stressful and therefore, increase the secretion of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is already high in a Cushings horse, so adding stress to his life only exacerbates the problem.

I have a couple of suggestions for you. First is a double dose of Cush Alleve. This will help control his Cushings symptoms and many of my cliets find that they do not need to put their horses on pergolide while using this supplement.

The second suggestion is Flex IR, since this joint supplement does not have glucosamine. The "jury is not out" quite yet on how much an effect glucoseamine has on the Cushings (hence, insulin resistant) horse, but this product may be helpful to try.

I prefer Triple Crown Lite or Low Starch to the equine senior feed that you're offering since these TC feeds are lower in sugar and starch. Also, avoid sweet treats such as carrots and apples. Instead, give him broken-up alfalfa cubes for a treat, or for more fun, try Skodes Treats.
I hope this is helpful.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO