Boehringer Ingelheim highlights need for PPID testing among older horses

Boehringer Ingelheim is calling for veterinary surgeons to routinely test older horses for signs of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID).

The call comes after data collated as part of Boehringer Ingelheim's Talk About Laminitis disease awareness initiative revealed that a horse aged 15 to 20 is three times more likely to have PPID compared to a horse under ten, a risk that increases with age, regardless of whether clinical signs have presented.

Compounding this problem is the fact that the disease can be hard to spot. One study involving a single population of horses aged over 15 found that only 1.6 percent of owners reported signs of PPID. However, when the same horses were examined by a vet, 21 percent were found to have signs of the disease.

As such, vets are being urged to routinely test for PPID during annual health checks or vaccination visits for all horses over the age of 15.

Dr Jo Ireland, veterinary surgeon at the University of Liverpool, said: "It is often difficult for owners to spot the signs of PPID, as they frequently associate them with the ageing process. However, PPID is now the fifth most commonly diagnosed disease in horses in the UK."

The Talk About Laminitis scheme has seen more than 47,000 horses tested for PPID since it was launched in 2012.

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