Sage got a visit from Dr. Fleck today to recheck her ACTH level. She’s been on a trial dose of Prascend for several weeks since her level came back at the high end of normal at her last vet visit, and she looks and acts like a new horse. We’ll have answers from the bloodwork in a few days, but Dr. Fleck recommends that we just keep her on the Prascend indefinitely regardless of the test results.

So what does this mean for Sage? It means she does not have a definitive diagnosis of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, also know as Cushing’s), but she also is a senior pony who had an elevated ACTH level and would benefit from being on this medication for the remainder of her life. She’s in the grey area. This isn’t the news we had hoped for, but it’s also not the end of the world. Sage is on a low dose of Prascend, so the cost of her medication is essentially half that of an average-sized horse.

We are also starting Sage on an antihistamine for summer bug allergies. She’s been getting an oral supplement that works as a bug repellent from the inside out, and also on a monthly dose of Ivermectin as recommended by our vets. Those products have helped with her “sweet itch” and healed the raw spots on her belly that are caused by it, but she started rubbing her mane last week so we knew she needed a little something extra in the treatment department.