‘Care and connect’ online service launched as part of Talk About Laminitis campaign

The national ‘Talk About Laminitis’ (TAL) disease awareness initiative has introduced a new interactive online aftercare service called TAL Care and Connect which will enable horse owners and their vets to manage and monitor horses with PPID (Cushing’s disease) post diagnosis.

Underlying cause

Although grass can be a trigger for laminitis up to 90% of cases are caused by an underlying hormonal disease such as PPID (Cushing’s disease) or Equine Metabolic Syndrome.

Over the past three years Talk About Laminitis has highlighted this link and sponsored the testing of over 40,000 horses and ponies for PPID. Vets now routinely test for both hormonal diseases when dealing with their laminitic patients.

This has contributed to PPID becoming the sixth most frequently encountered disease affecting horses in the UK.

Offer

TAL Care and Connect is a complimentary service that will be automatically offered to horse owners who take advantage of this year’s free laboratory fees* for the equine ACTH test (PPID blood test) available from July to October and also for all owners of horses previously diagnosed with PPID.

“PPID is a progressive disease so it is vital that horses are monitored carefully following their initial diagnosis ” comments Liz Barrett from Talk About Laminitis. “TAL Care and Connect provides an interface for vets and horse owners to ensure that the ongoing treatment and management of the disease is as effective as possible.”

Results

Owners who join TAL Care and Connect will be able to set up a profile for their horse which allows all their ACTH results to be stored in one place so they can easily monitor their horse’s progress over time.

They will also automatically receive relevant reminders when follow up ACTH tests are due. In addition a PPID owner information pack written by a panel of expert veterinary surgeons can be downloaded to provide horse owners with comprehensive information on the condition.

Edited by Prof. Catherine McGowan with contributions from Dr Jo Ireland Prof. Andy Durham David Rendle and Dr Teresa Hollands the pack includes advice on monitoring and follow-up ACTH tests feeding general care of the PPID patient and the link between laminitis and PPID.

Questions

Owners will also be able to use TAL Care and Connect to pose specific questions to a PPID expert panel. In addition to laminitis horses suffering from PPID can show a wide range of clinical signs including an abnormal hair coat loss of muscle and/or abnormal fat distribution which can result in a pot-bellied appearance increased drinking and urination lethargy and recurring infections. If owners are suspicious of any of these clinical signs they should contact their veterinary surgeon.

Charity backing

Talk About Laminitis is supported by Redwings The British Horse Society and World Horse Welfare.

World Horse Welfare deputy chief executive Tony Tyler says: “PPID is a significant risk factor for developing the devastating disease of laminitis but thanks to this initiative more cases can be identified early and provided with more treatment options and support for both horses and their owners. “If they haven’t already done so I’d urge horse owners to take advantage of the free ACTH test and support offered by the scheme.”

Nicky Jarvis MRCVS head of veterinary and care at Redwings comments: “At Redwings we are fully supportive of this new initiative. While diagnosis and treatment of PPID are the crucial first steps it is essential to continue monitoring your horse or pony as it’s a progressive disease and some patients may need their medication levels adjusted over time to ensure the symptoms of PPID are controlled adequately.””

“We are delighted to hear of this excellent service being introduced by the ‘Talk About Laminitis’ (TAL) initiative. We would encourage all owners of horses with PPID to make use of the valuable support being offered by TAL Care and Connect ” concludes Gemma Stanford head of welfare at The British Horse Society.

* Cost of laboratory test

Owners can find out more and obtain their free ACTH voucher code at www.talkaboutlaminitis.co.uk