Monday, August 3, 2009

One Step Forward, One Step Back

Nate had his first real pedicure last week, but not without some setbacks at the same time. Progress came to a halt when real summer temperatures arrived. As anyone who has cared for a Cushings patient knows, heat is the enemy. One of Cushings' common symptoms is impaired ability to maintain a normal body temperature in either extreme cold or heat, though in our experience, Cushings horses have more trouble dealing with heat than with cold.

To try and combat this new complication, Nate was started on pergolide last Friday and today we will tackle his "Cushing's Coat" with our new Clipmasters. His clip will likely be more than a one-day job, but hopefully will make him more comfortable and remove one more physical stress. Nathan's new coif will not be "pretty" but we're going for function rather than style, so when you visit, try not to snicker and remember this is meant to help keep his body temperature down, not prepare him for EQ magazine.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Ya just have to smile when it comes to Nathan. He is always handsome in my book. :-)