Gremlin and Cushings

Gremlin grass foundered at an early age, but not badly. There was no rotation of the coffin bone, so I was able to keep the problem under control by limiting his green grass consumption and frequent trimming and shoeing. In his old age, however, I noticed he was growing very long hair and not shedding it readily in the spring. He looked like a Chia Pet.
My daughter, by this time, had finished her Bachelors Degree with honors in Animal Science at Texas A&M, and also a Masters Degree in Equine Reproduction. She told me to suspect Cushings when I began telling her of Gremlin's hairy problem. So, off we went to the vet for a blood test. Jesi was right, and Gremlin was diagnosed with Cushings. The vet told me the founder was probably an early symptom of the disease, although we didn't know it at the time. He was also losing muscle tone along his top line, like so many older horses do.
The vet first prescribed a tiny capsule to be given with his grain once a day. Well, Gremlin soon realized his grain was being spiked, and he would eat everything except that tiny pill. I watched him one day and he had it in his mouth with a mouthfull of grain and he managed to spit that pill out and swallow most of the grain. I had already seen some results from the medication--Pergolide--so we went to a liquid form for top-dressing his grain. He also figured out how to eat all the way around that little lump of grain that was infused with the tincture.
I was at my wit's end, but the other day I was doing some research on the Internet about Cushings in horses, and I read an article by a lady who had been treating an older horse with a natural remedy, Chasteberry, for a year with great results. It not only reversed the symptoms, a follow-up blood test showed no signs of the disease. So yesterday I was in Casper for Jason Miller's victory celebration and I paid a visit to the natural foods store on the off chance they would have this herb. They did. It costs $1.00 an ounce, but it only takes two teaspoons of ground up Chasteberry a day, so it is going to cost much less than the Pergolide, also. If it clears up Germlin's Cushings, that will be a win-win situation. I'll let you know how this works out.
Already, I'm dreading the day I have to say goodbye to my old friend. He's the first horse that I've been with his whole life. I had a Red Heeler for fourteen years, and didn't even think I liked her that much, but when the day came that the vet said all her bodily functions were shutting down and it would be kinder to let her go...well, he went from worrying about the dog to worrying about me.
He kept asking, "Are you sure you're going to be able to drive home?"
It was pretty hard to see to drive through the wall of teardrops falling all the way home. So I know, 24+ years with a buddy that has been my best cow pony, I'll be running and bawling the fences, pining for him. Somebody close the gate!