The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), in partnership with CVS, has launched a new study to explore the effects of Equine Cushing’s disease in adult and older horses and ponies in the UK, and is calling for owner participants.

The two-year study aims to better understand the impact of the disease on horses’ and ponies’ quality of life and is hoped to improve monitoring and decision-making regarding treatment. 

In particular, the study aims to develop a validated equine quality of life tool to assess the impact of the condition on an individual horse’s quality of life objectively.

This, it is hoped, will help support decision-making related to treatment and euthanasia options for horses and ponies diagnosed with PPID.

The research team is led by Aline Bouquet, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant, and supported by Professor Nicola Menzies-Gow, Professor in Equine Medicine and Professor Christine Nicol, Professor of Animal Welfare.

Participants can have horses and ponies with PPID as well as those without the condition and they must be older than ten years of age (the horses, that is)

The survey will take no longer than 15 minutes to complete, providing an assessment of the animal’s quality of life, clinical signs associated with PPID and any additional veterinary-related problems.

https://rvc.uk.com/PPID-survey-2023-stage1 

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/research/projects/objective-assessment-of-the-quality-of-life-of-equines-with-pituitary-pars-intermedia-dysfunction 

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