Fort Dodge (makers of Equest equine worming brands, and Deosect), is launching a new Equine Parasites Reference Manual.

The manual, which is supported by AHDA, AMTRA and BEVA, is billed as 'an objective and comprehensive reference guide covering endoparasites and ectoparasites and their control, as well as offering prescribing tips, a glossary of terms and reference sources'.

Fort Dodge has produced the manual to provide an ‘all in one’ guide to support veterinary professionals and Suitably Qualified People (SQPs) involved in prescribing equine parasite treatments. It brings together, in an A5 spiral bound booklet, all the information they may need on the full range of licensed veterinary medicines to control equine parasites of concern in the UK. It will be launched at BETA (17-19 February at the NEC).

For further information about the manual (or to get a copy), please contact Fort Dodge on 01489 781711.

The London Vet Show has announced its most extensive equine programme to date at this year's show (17-18th November, London Excel), with an additional equine lecture stream and 50% more equine content than last year.

There are three full equine streams running for the duration of the two days, programmed by the Royal Veterinary College and the British Veterinary Association in partnership with the British Equine Veterinary Association. Organisers say the programme has been designed to ensure it caters for both mixed and equine only veterinary surgeons. 

The lecture streams are complemented by the show’s ‘Meet the Professor’ equine sessions, where a number of the speakers are able to have more intimate discussions with a smaller group of delegates.

Topics covered in the 36 sessions include:

• ‘Strangles – panic on the yard?’ by Philip Ivens MA VetMB Cert EM (Int. Med.) DipECEIM MRCVS, European and RCVS Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine
• ‘Case based approach to intelligent wound care’ by Georgie Hollis BSc, Director of Intelligent Wound Care Ltd and Derek Knottenbelt OBE BVM&S DVM&S DipECEIM MRCVS, Professor/Consultant at Equine Medical Solutions
• ‘Advanced dentistry: decision making and techniques’ by Chris Pearce BVSc CertEM(IntMed) CertES (Soft Tissue) Dipl.EVDC(Equine) MRCVS, European Veterinary Specialist in Equine Dentistry, The Equine Dental Clinic Ltd and Equine Dental Services and Referrals
• ‘Beyond mud fever: pastern dermatitis complex’ by Rob Pilsworth MA VetMB MSc MRCVS, Associate at Newmarket Equine Hospital
• ‘What more is there to LRT disease then IAD and RAO?’ by Dr Scott Pirie BVM&S PhD Cert EP Cert EM (Int. Med.) DipECEIM FRAgS MRCVS, Senior Lecturer, equine medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

For more information on the BVA/BEVA Equine Theatre, RVC Equine Theatre 1 and RVC Equine Theatre 2 programmes at the London Vet Show or to register for the event visit londonvetshow.co.uk.

Viennese biotech company BlueSky Immunotherapies says it has used its viral vector platform delNS to treat sarcoids in horses successfully, paving the way for a new cancer therapy in humans.

BlueSky says that conventional treatment for equine sarcoids, which are induced by tumour antigens E6 and E7 of the bovine papillomavirus, have only limited effect and typically result in the recurrence of the tumours.

However, research published by the company in PLoSONE¹ showed that sarcoids treated with delNS/E6E7 were completely and permanently eliminated.

For the study, 29 horses were treated with different regimes involving direct injection into the tumours over three years. 

Visible and very significant regression of the sarcoids was achieved in 20 of the treated horses, and 100% regression of the sarcoids in 10 equine patients.

Thomas Muster, CEO of BlueSky Immunotherapies said: "The complete elimination of very aggressive and difficult-to-cure equine sarcoids is yet another important proof of the potential offered by our delNS platform."

In addition, the systemic delNS-mediated immune stimulation eliminated non-injected sarcoids and the papillomavirus that caused the sarcoids.

Thomas added: "We are therefore confident that we will also be able to successfully heal and/or eliminate the cervical tumours of the women enrolled in the clinical trials currently under way."

Reference

1. Jindra, C., Hainisch, E. K., Rümmele, A., Wolschek, M., Muster, T., & Brandt, S. (2021). Influenza virus vector iNS1 expressing bovine papillomavirus 1 (BPV1) antigens efficiently induces tumour regression in equine sarcoid patients. PloS one, 16(11), e0260155. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260155 

BEVA has opened the box office for its 60th Congress, taking place from 8th–10th September 2022 at the ACC in Liverpool.

This year’s programme includes five live streams running in parallel throughout the conference with clinical research presentations also returning after the Covid-enforced hiatus.

The first plenary lecture will be presented by Pat McCue who will review events that have shaped current practice in equine reproduction before looking at what the future holds.

The second plenary lecture, being delivered by Celia Marr, will look at 'evidence in perinatology'.

David Lloyd, Congress Scientific Programme Chair, said: “Whilst we are sure most delegates will be clamouring to attend the lectures and discussions in Liverpool in person, the programme also includes a virtual stream available live online. 

“Also, to help reduce our carbon footprint, we are holding one virtual session concurrently across all lecture theatres.

"Global leaders in the field of infectious disease, imaging, nursing, reproduction and sports medicine and rehabilitation, will present virtually to the lecture hall rather than travelling to the congress.

"This session will have 25 of the “best of the best” speakers, presenting and discussing topics that challenge us in practice.”

Early bird tickets for BEVA Congress are available from 28th February 2022.

Early bird BEVA member prices are £499 for vets and £187 for vet nurses for all three days (with concessions available for those in their first three years post graduation or on a lower salary).

Virtual tickets are £199 for vets and £40 for nurses.

BEVA has a 'peace of mind' bookings policy to reassure those who are concerned that the Covid-19 situation may change between booking their ticket and the event.

For more information, or to book, visit http://www.bevacongress.org/ 

Veterinary Evidence, RCVS Knowledge’s flagship journal, has launched an initiative that will allow practitioners to submit questions on the evidence gaps they encounter.

Dubbed the PICO Project, the scheme will initially run via a series of specialism-specific surveys that let respondents select individual species or topics and input the research questions they would like to see covered within Veterinary Evidence. 

Knowledge will make the list of submitted questions available online for the veterinary community to answer as Knowledge Summaries (Critically Appraised Topics), which will be peer-reviewed and published in the open-access journal.

Professor Peter Cockroft, recently appointed Editor-in-chief of Veterinary Evidence, said: "The practice of evidence-based veterinary medicine is an empowering process for practicing veterinarians that enables important gaps in knowledge to be identified. It is the bridge between research and clinical practice.

"If you have a clinical question that may shape the care of a patient, Veterinary Evidence may have the best current answer or will add the question to the growing archive of important information needs."

The first survey to launch – open now – will focus on equine practice, with possible subjects ranging from the likes of husbandry or vaccination to infectious diseases. 

To ask for the evidence on a particular area, choose your topic in the survey’s drop-down menus and fill in up to five related questions, preferably in Population Intervention Comparison Outcome format.

Livestock will be the focus for the next survey, due to open alongside the BCVA Congress in October. Further surveys will look at canines, felines and other specialisms.

To keep up to date with the list of PICO questions being answered or available to be answered, visit Veterinary Evidence and follow @RCVSKnowledge on Twitter.

If you wish to become an author of a Knowledge Summary for publication in the journal, contact the Managing Editor at Bridget@rcvsknowledge.org.

Mrs Jill Nute has been invested as president of the RCVS at the AGM and Awards Day, held on 4th July in London.

Mrs Nute graduated from Liverpool University in 1970 and initially assisted in mixed practice in the Lake District, Droitwich and Leominster. In 1976, she established a mixed practice with her husband Geoff, a fellow Liverpool graduate, in Wadebridge, Cornwall. 

The practice is now an eight-veterinary surgeon concern, a veterinary nurse Training Practice, an RCVS Accredited Tier 2 Small Animal General Practice and Farm Animal General Practice, and an equine practice accredited to Tier 1; it is also a Meat Hygiene Service approved contractor. 

Mrs Nute has been an RCVS Council member since 1993, serving on all of its committees. She has chaired many of these committees and additional working parties, including the Advisory and Public Affairs Committees. She served on the Officer team as Treasurer for three years, from 1996-1999, and is currently Chairman of the Practice Standards Group. Spending several years on the Councils of the British Veterinary Association and the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS), she was elected President of SPVS in 1991.

RCVS Day also brought other changes to the RCVS Officer team: Dr Bob Moore, outgoing President, became Senior Vice-President, and Professor Sandy Trees took up the role of Junior Vice-President. 

Professor Sheila Crispin stood down as Senior Vice-President, with Dr Moore commenting that: “The veterinary profession is privileged to have such a knowledgeable and committed advocate.”

Retiring Council members included David McDowell, Debby Reynolds, Neil Smith and Wendy Harrison. New lay observer to the Preliminary Investigation Committee, Catherine Harvey, will replace retiring observer Diane Mark. The President paid particular tribute to long-standing Council member and past-President Stephen Ware, who retires from Council but will remain active in veterinary politics as Vice-President and Treasurer of the Federation of Veterinarians in Europe, he also remains Chairman of the RCVS Trust. 

As part of the AGM, newly-elected Council members Richard Stephenson, Charles Gruchy and Bertie Ellis were welcomed. A fourth new member, Catherine Goldie, was not present. It was also announced that Professor Michael Herrtage and Professor Duncan Maskell have been reappointed for further four-year periods by the University of Cambridge, and Professor Sandy Tress has been reappointed for the same term by the University of Liverpool.

Dot Creighton was re-elected to the Veterinary Nurses Council and Katherine Kissick was elected for the first time. New lay member Penelope Swindlehurst and appointed veterinary surgeon Helen Torrington were also welcomed to the VN Council and the President thanked retiring VN Council members Diane Guinan, Donna Hunter and Neil Smith.

President Dr Bob Moore conferred a range of awards, including an Honorary Associateship upon Petplan and Petplan Trust founders Mrs Patsy Bloom and Mr David Simpson who, he said, have had a “remarkable effect on the veterinary profession, animals and their owners.” 

Honorary Associateship was also awarded to Mr Geoff Davies, who has dedicated his 30-year career at the University of Bristol Veterinary School to the training, support and development of future veterinary surgeons. He has also served as a valued member of the RCVS Extra-Mural Studies Committee for many years. “It is his enormous contribution in supporting and encouraging the students that is being recognised today,”
said Dr Moore. 

Honorary Fellowships were awarded to Mr Gary Clayton Jones, Professor Paul Flecknell and Dr Christine Gibbs, and the Dame Olga Uvarov Award, a cash prize for a researcher under the age of 40, was awarded on behalf of the RCVS Trust to Dr Harriet Smythe (in her absence)

Spillers has announced that its Equine Clinical Nutrition Specialist, Pat Harris MA, PhD, VetMB, DipECVCN, MRCVS & RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Clinical Nutrition (Equine), will be continuing to share her knowledge and expertise with equine vets around the world this year, through a series of CPD courses, book publications and discussions on equine nutrition.

Pat is the head of the Equine Studies Group at Waltham Petcare Science Institute and an internationally renowned authority on equine nutrition from both veterinary and academic perspective. 

Her courses, book publications and webinars are aimed at providing practising equine vets with the latest knowledge and essential know-how on equine nutrition, whether for performance horses, leisure animals or the retired family pony.

Earlier this month Pat was one of several speakers at the British Equine Veterinary Association’s CPD course: From superfoods to supplements: How to know more than the owner. 

Earlier this year she co-edited and co-authored two chapters of Veterinary Clinics Equine Practice: Nutrition: 1) What would be good for all veterinarians to know about equine nutrition, and 2) Nutritional considerations when dealing with an obese adult equine.  

Next month she will chair a panel discussion titled Nutritional Management of the Competitive Equine Athlete for Vets through VetPD.

In the autumn she will be one of several speakers at the Mars Equestrian Equine Veterinary Continuing Education Series focusing on senior, obese and laminitic horses.

For more information, visit: www.spillers-feeds.com

Zoetis has produced new guidance to help veterinary surgeons develop successful strategies for controlling worms in foals and youngstock.

According to the company, information on best worming strategies for foals and yearlings remains largely anecdotal, making it difficult to develop a clear plan for this age group. Zoetis veterinary surgeon Wendy Talbot has therefore reviewed the recent literature to develop an eight-point plan. 

Explaining the guidance, Wendy writes:

Foals and yearlings are usually more susceptible to worms than are adult horses because they have had little chance to develop any immunity. They are more vulnerable to related diseases and tend to have higher egg shedding, which increases the risk of infection. The main parasitic culprits in the UK for foals less than six months of age are large roundworms (ascarids). In older foals and weanlings, small and large strongyles, tapeworms (and pinworms) are the main considerations.¹ Yearlings may also have a second wave of large roundworm infection at 8-10 months of age.² Any control strategy will need to take into account the individual circumstances such as stocking density, pasture management and previous disease history.

Guidelines for parasite control in foals suggest a first treatment with fenbendazole at 2-3 months of age, targeting large roundworm, followed by another treatment at 5-6 months. Alternatively, pyrantel may be considered for these doses; however, there may be resistance in some areas and foals with large adult ascarid burdens may be at higher risk of intestinal rupture when this drug is used.⁴ At weaning (approximately six months of age), it is advisable to perform a faecal worm egg count (FWEC) to determine if treatment for strongyles is also required; the macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics (ivermectin or moxidectin) are expected to have the highest efficacy. At 9 and 12 months of age treatment for stronglyes and a larvicidal dose for encysted stages of small strongyles (moxidectin or a 5 day course of fenbendazole) are indicated.  A tapeworm treatment should be included with one of these doses.^2,3

For yearlings, two methods have recently been proposed for worm control: the first involves using faecal worm egg counts (FWECs) at more frequent intervals than for adults to guide dosing for strongyles in the grazing season.¹ The second suggests three baseline treatments targeting strongyles in spring, summer and late autumn, with FWECs in between to identify and treat any still shedding high numbers of eggs, up to a maximum of six treatments per year.² Macrocyclic lactones have the highest expected efficacy against small strongyles and should form the basis of treatments; however, pyrantel can be considered for some treatments where it has been shown to have continued efficacy. Both strategies include a larvcidal treatment for encysted small redworm combined with testing or treating for tapeworm in late autumn. The inclusion of one or two doses of a macrocyclic lactone each year (usually already used for small strongyle control) should be sufficient to prevent large strongyle related disease.³

The wide differences in the circumstances of foals and yearlings, together with geographical variations in resistance patterns and a lack of consensus on best practice in this group means it is not possible to define a single approach to a worming plan. An important point to note is that FWECs may give surprising results because higher counts are generally seen in youngstock.

Eight ways to keep clients' youngstock worms controlled:

1. Clean pasture is key to keeping foals and youngstock healthy. Regular removal of droppings is crucial to a successful worm control plan.
2. All foals are considered to be susceptible and at risk of acquiring ascarid infection. Some degree of anthelmintic intervention should be considered and in most circumstances administration at 2-3 months of age and again at 5-6 months of age is advisable.⁴
3. Older foals are primarily at risk of strongyle infection; macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics have the highest expected efficacy.
4. Worm egg counts are likely to be higher in yearlings compared to adults and interpretation of them requires good knowledge of all the circumstances including management, clinical history, previous worm control and test results. Cut-off values for treatment have been suggested to be between 100-500 epg.
5. Moxidectin for the treatment of encysted small redworm is advised for all youngsters (> 6 months of age) in late autumn.¹
6. Faecal worm egg counts are advisable in late winter/start of spring to identify high shedders. These should be treated as necessary with moxidectin particularly after a mild winter.¹
7. New arrivals should be dosed with moxidectin and then quarantined for three days.¹
8. A yearly faecal egg count reduction test is advised to check efficacy against strongyles and ascarids for all class of drugs used on the premises.¹

For further information on worming together with some equine specific CPD visit: https://blog.vetsupportplus.com/

1. Matthews www.vettimes.co.uk/article/helminth-control-programmes-for-equine-yearlings-at-pasture/
2. Nielsen (2017) Endoparasite Control. 9^th ECEIM congress proceedings, 63-64
3. AAEP (2016) Parasite Control Guidelines
4. Nielsen (2016) Evidence-based considerations for control of Parascaris spp. infections in horses. Equine vet. Educ.  28 (4) 224-231

New research from the Royal Veterinary College has revealed that a chromosomal defect is the reason why a significant proportion of horse pregnancies fail within the first two months of development.

The College says this will pave the way for new diagnostic tests for what could be one of the most common causes of pregnancy loss in mares.

The researchers, led by Dr Mandi de Mestre (pictured right), Reader in Reproductive Immunology and Head of the Equine Pregnancy Laboratory at the RVC, collaborated with seven different veterinary practices to gain access to samples from across the UK and Ireland and found that around 20% of the pregnancies lost were aneuploid, which is when a copy of a whole chromosome is either duplicated or lost (similar to Down's).

Charlotte Shilton, RVC PhD, the student who performed the analysis, applied three different genetic approaches to confirm the results.

Work is now underway to identify the underlying cause of these aneuploid pregnancies, with early data from this study suggesting it is most commonly introduced via the egg or sperm. Until now, chromosomal defects such as aneuploidy have only been reported as a rare condition in young horses with developmental disorders. 

The researchers say the study explains why the condition is so rare in horses, with most embryos and foetuses possessing this genetic change dying very early in development, as is also observed in human pregnancy. The study highlights the need to reconsider this genetic condition both in pregnancy loss but also for early developmental disorders.

Dr Mandi de Mestre, Reader in Reproductive Immunology at the RVC, said: “Early pregnancy loss remains a very frustrating condition for clinicians to treat as the underlying cause is unknown in around 80% of cases. These findings will allow researchers to develop new diagnostic tests for pregnancy losses, which would offer hope to thousands of owners of breeding mares that suffer this condition.

“A diagnostic test would allow them to make informed decisions on treatment strategies and to advise on whether they should invest in further attempts to breed their mare benefiting both horses and their breeders alike in the future. I would like to thank both the Thoroughbred Breeders Association and our collaborators at Texas A&M University and the participating veterinary surgeons for their support on this project.

Reference

1. 10.1038/s41598-020-69967-z "Whole genome analysis reveals aneuploidies in early pregnancy loss in the horse" www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69967-z

Lanes Health, manufacturer of the mobility supplement, LitoVet, has announced the nominees for the inaugural Litovet Equine Scientific Achievement Award, part of the annual Animal Health Trust (AHT) awards.

The award which has been set up to recognise a person or group whose clinical or scientific work has made a substantial difference to the equine veterinary world will be judged by a panel of leading veterinary surgeons and scientists.

The nominees are:

Peter Clegg - MA VerMB PhD CertsES DepEVCS MRCVS.
Dr Clegg is Professor of Equine Surgery and Deputy Head of the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, The University of Liverpool. Peter's current research focus is equine orthopaedics, in particular identifying the basic mechanisms of injury and repair in equine joints and tendons. He has supervised 13 successful PhD students and is currently supervising a further nine.

Andy Durham BSc, BVSc, DEIM, Dipl.ECEIM, MRCVS (RCVS & European Specialist in equine internal medicine).
Liphook-based Andy Durham exemplifies the premise that veterinarians in practice can maintain an active interest in current research, undertake clinically relevant research projects, interact with researchers on an international stage and  contribute to CPD through scientific papers, book chapters and lectures.

Tim Mair BVSc PhD DEIM DESTS DipECEIM MRCVS.
Dr Mair ha been innovative in veterinary practice (e.g., an early adopter of standing magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), has an extensive publication list recently focusing on evidence-based medicine for colic, but spanning the full breadth of common medical disorders in horses. He has made an enormous contribution to veterinary practice within both Europe and America in his role as Editor of Equine Veterinary Education.

Chris Proudman MA VetMB PhD CertEO FRCVS.
Dr Proudman is Professor of Equine Studies at the University of Liverpool.  His research interests are related to the aetiology and surgical management of acute intestinal disease (colic) in the horse: specifically, the diagnosis of intestinal parasites associated with colic and understanding dietary determinants of colic.  Most recently this has involved using metabolomics and molecular microbiology to investigating the intestinal microbiota and its response to dietary change.

The LitoVet Equine Scientific Achievement Award can be granted to any individual or group that is currently undertaking, or has successfully implemented within the past ten years, one or more clinical or other research projects which has, or will, make a significant contribution to equine health and welfare.  

The award will be presented to the recipient, or recipients, at the UK Equestrian Awards held at the Lancaster London on Thursday 3 November 2011.

The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials has announced a £15,000 bursary to the Animal Health Trust. The bursary will be used to help fund the development of a rapid result blood test to identify horses infected with Strangles.

The AHT has already developed a test that can detect the disease, however the result is not known for 48 hours. The aim of the new research is to develop the test to produce a result within 10 minutes. The test, which is being developed in conjunction with Forsite Diagnostics Ltd, will be a useful tool for disease screening at sales and competitions.

"As an independent charity we receive no government funding and this bursary is extremely important to us and we are delighted to be working in partnership with The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials on this specific project," said Dr Richard Newton of the AHT who is carrying out the research in partnership with Professor Andrew Waller. "Without this vital funding to carry out the painstaking work that will give us the confidence to launch the test, it will remain no more than a theoretical possibility."

The Bursary will be presented at this year's Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (1- 4 September 2011) - in recognition of the 50^th Anniversary of the event.

"With increasing horse movement, not only world-wide but closer to home between competitions and livery yards, preventing the spread of disease is an increasingly important challenge facing the horse world," said Elizabeth Inman Director of the Trials. "We are delighted to be able to play a part in this challenge and hope that this anniversary bursary will help to fast-track this new test out of the laboratory and into the field and thereby help reduce the spread of what is a horrible disease for horses and owners." 

The Equine Veterinary Journal has published a special early view article reviewing the science behind enhanced equine influenza vaccination schedules, in particular the replacement of annual boosters with a mandatory bi-annual vaccination programme.

The article argues that as the equine influenza (EI) vaccine supply returns to normal, there is sound scientific evidence why bi-annual vaccination schedules should be re-implemented promptly.

Whilst the scale and number of outbreaks has been relatively small since the introduction of mandatory EI vaccination by most competitive equestrian disciplines in the 1980s, disease events such as those experienced in the UK in 1989, 2003 and most recently in 2019 have demonstrated EI’s epidemic potential, even in vaccinated horse populations.

In their article 'Equine influenza bi-annual boosters: what does the evidence tell us?' Victoria Colgate and Richard Newton discuss what has been learnt from previous outbreaks and explain the evidence from mathematical models to show why bi-annual boosters are beneficial.

The authors say that epidemiological data from previous natural EI outbreaks have repeatedly demonstrated the impermanent nature of the protection provided by vaccination and observational field studies have repeatedly highlighted the potential for 12-monthly boosters to leave a vulnerable immunity gap at both the individual animal and population level.

Mathematical models of EI transmission confirm that six-monthly rather than annual EI booster vaccinations are preferable to establish and maintain effective population level immunity to EI.

Ideally vaccine strains should be updated in a timely manner to ensure inclusion of the most epidemiologically-relevant strains, however, this is a slow and expensive process for equine vaccine manufacturers.

In the absence of updated vaccine strains, bi-annual vaccination is strongly recommended to help compensate for antigenic drift between vaccine and circulating EI viral strains

Professor Celia Marr, Editor of the EVJ said: “Although the recent EI vaccine shortage has necessitated a temporary relaxation of competition vaccine schedules, we must now renew the message that six-monthly boosters are optimal and necessary.”

The Editorial can be found at https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13898 and is free to view.

Two related articles can be found here: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13874 and here: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13885 

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, manufacturer of the equine pergolide Prascend, has joined forces with the British Horse Society, Redwings Horse Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare to launch the 'Talk About Cushing's (TAC)' campaign.

The initiative, which will take place throughout September and October 2011, is aimed at raising awareness of Cushing's Disease and its clinical signs, perhaps the most familiar of which is hirsutism (abnormal hair growth, or delayed shedding). Horse owners can download a £15 money-off voucher from http://www.talkaboutcushings.co.uk/ throughout the TAC initiative, which can be redeemed through their veterinary practice against blood test costs.

Boehringer says Equine Cushing's Disease, also known as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), is the most common endocrine disorder in older horses and ponies¹ ,and that some estimates suggest over 15% of horses and ponies over 15 years of age are affected².

Unfortunately, the initial stages of Cushing's Disease are often difficult to detect, delaying the maximum benefit of early diagnosis and intervention.  Blood testing is increasingly used to detect the disease and confirm diagnosis, however many horses with clinical signs, including recurrent laminitis, still go undiagnosed.

Craig Beck, vet and equine sales and marketing manager at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica said: "More than 80% of horses suffering from laminitis may have an underlying endocrine disorder, such as Cushing's Disease³.

"The TAC campaign will raise awareness of Cushing's Disease amongst both veterinary professionals and owners. It should make it easier for vets to go ahead with endocrine testing in horses and ponies with recurrent laminitis, diagnosing and treating earlier in the course of the disease."

Lee Hackett, head of welfare at the BHS, added: "Cushing's Disease is relatively common in horses yet in our experience it frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated.  This is why we are fully behind the 'Talk About Cushing's' campaign - anything that raises awareness and understanding of this disease has to be of benefit to equine welfare."

Redwings' head of veterinary services Nicky Jarvis said: "At Redwings we have many horses over the age of 15, all living very happy and healthy lives. 'Old age' is not in itself a disease so when a geriatric horse loses condition or appears unwell there is always an underlying cause.  If a horse continually succumbs to laminitis or loses weight, Cushing's Disease could be one explanation. However, with early diagnosis, good management and the correct treatment a horse with Cushing's can live comfortably for many years."

"Early diagnosis of Cushing's Disease can be of great benefit, other conditions such as laminitis are often associated with it and it is important that clinical signs are recognised and treated appropriately.  World Horse Welfare supports the 'Talk About Cushing's' campaign as it will help people to recognise the signs and take the right action to prevent horses from suffering," concludes Tony Tyler, deputy chief executive, World Horse Welfare.

Backed by an advertising and PR campaign in the equine consumer media, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica has produced a marketing pack for veterinary practices to use in the run up to, and during TAC. This includes leaflets, invoice stickers, a veterinary practice toolkit featuring an owner evening presentation, editorial copy for newsletters and websites and images to support the campaign.

For further information on TAC or Prascend, the first licensed product for the treatment of Cushing's Disease, please visit http://www.talkaboutcushings.co.uk/, contact your Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica territory manager or call 01344 746959.

References

1. Donaldson et al.  “Evaluation of suspected pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction in horses with laminitis”.  JAVMA, Vol 224, No. 7, April 1, 2004
2. McGowan. “Diagnostic and Management Protocols for Equine Cushings Syndrome” In Practice, November/December 2003
3. McGowan. “Epidemiology and Clinical Perspectives of Endocrinopathic Laminitis”, BEVA Congress 2009