Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), or Cushings disease, affects roughly 25% of horses and ponies over 15 years old. The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has released a study to understand the impact of the disease on equine quality of life.
Is Your Horse at Risk of Cushings Disease?
The college wants to hear from people who have horses and ponies with Cushing’s, as well as owners whose horses do not have the condition, but are older than 10 years.
The study aims to develop a validated tool, which can assess the impact of the disease on an horse’s quality of life. This will support equine vets’ decisions relating to treatment and/or euthanasia for horses diagnosed with PPID.
Cushing’s disease attacks the hormones. Symptoms include painful hooves, laminitis, weight loss and lethargy. As owners may associate these with ageing, they may not seek veterinary advice. As the disease is often left untreated, after a diagnosis owners must give increased physical care.
The RVC is asking horse owners to complete an online survey. Ther data will be used in a study involving over 100 horses recently diagnosed with PPID. They will be followed over two years.
Research Assistant and PhD candidate Aline Bouquet said: “The results from this project will improve our understanding in the ways that this disease and its treatments affect the quality of life for individual horses and ponies. This can hopefully help vets and owners to monitor the impact, guide decision-making and improve the welfare of horses and ponies that are affected.”
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