Understand the horse's endocrine disorders: types, symptoms and treatments

Disorders of the endocrine system can significantly affect the health and performance of the horses. Understanding the endocrine system and what happens when things go wrong is important for horse owners to support their horse's long -term health.

What is a horse endocrine disorder?

The endocrine system consists of different glands, including the adrenal glands and the pituitary gland. These glands produce hormones, which are signaling molecules that give messages to tissues and organs in the body. They help control and regulate many critical body functions of the horse, including:

• Metabolism

• Immune response

• Reproduction

• Stress

• Growth

An endocrine disorder is any disease or dysfunction in the glands in the body that produces hormones. Hormones affect almost all tissues, including:

• Gastrointestinal

• Reproduction channel

• Skin

• Muscles

• Immune cells

Disruption of the function of these hormones may have many negative side effects in horses, including:

• Poor healing

• Low energy

• Weight gain

• Infertility

• Laminit

Common endocrine disruptions in horses

CYPUITARY PARS INTERMEDIA DYSFUNCTION (PPID / EQUINE CUSHINGS DISEASE)

Cituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), also known as Equine Cushing's disease, is a dysfunction in the pituitary gland.

The pituitary gland primarily secrete a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Acth plays a role in the body's response to stress.

Ppid is an age -related syndrome where a benign tumor grows within the pituitary gland on the horse, which causes it to produce more acth than it should.

Excess amounts of this hormone circulating in the blood may have different side effects. Some common clinical characters may include:

• A long and curly hair coat

• Weight and muscle loss

• Reduced energy

• Frequent infections

• Regional Fat (or “Cresty Neck”, fat pads)

• Laminit

• Frequent tendons and ligament damage

• High intestinal mask burden

Diagnosis of PPID involves a thorough physical examination and history performed by a veterinarian, followed by blood samples. The most common tests used to diagnose ppid include:

These tests are intended to decide whether too much ACTH is produced by the pituitary gland.

There is no cure for ppid in horses, so when a diagnosis has been made, the treatment focuses mainly on managing symptoms. The primary treatment for PPID is a medicine called Prascend (pergolidmesylate).

The horse will need this medication for the rest of life when PPID has been diagnosed, and the dose may need to be adjusted regularly when the pituitary gland changes forward.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a rare condition in horses where the thyroid does not produce enough thyroid hormones.

Hypothyroidism has historically been over -diagnosed in horses. Many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism are similar to those seen in EMS (poor hair rock, weight gain) and veterinarians often believed that some of these symptoms were at least partly due to low circulating thyroid hormone levels.

However, blood tests for thyroid hormone have shown that these levels vary greatly during the day and therefore may be unreliable to diagnose hypothyroidism.

The most reliable tests to determine if a horse really has hypothyroidism includes:

These tests mainly exclude the thyroid function as part of a horse's endocrine disease.

In rare cases where hypothyroidism is diagnosed in an adult horse, a veterinarian can prescribe levotyroxine (thyroid) and recommend diet management.

Hypothyroidism in foals

Hypothyroidism, although not a significant factor in the adult horse, is more common in foals.

Folorn to mares that have been fed with diets high in iodine while pregnant is susceptible to hypothyroidism as their thyroid is immature in the uterus and cannot process the iodine appropriately. This can lead to:

• Delayed ossification (hardening) of small legs in the limbs

• Mandibular prognathism (inappropriate jaw development)

• Respiratory distress

• Dysmature (underdevelopment)

• Goiter (an enlarged thyroid)

Since the hypothyroidism is experienced in the uterus, most of the damage is done even before birth. The only possible care when the foals are born is supportive care, including supporting bandages and oxygen therapy. These conditions can be life -threatening in severe CASE.

Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is similar to EMS, as both are related to insulin control.

With EMS, the pancreas produces insulin normally but the body's tissues do not respond to it and leaves too much insulin circulating in the blood. In DM, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, resulting in too much glucose in the blood.

DM is very rare in horses and usually occurs secondary to other conditions, including:

• Ppid

• Chronic pancreatitis

• Granulosa cell tumors

• Pregnancy

Clinical signs of diabetes mellitus in horses may include:

In confirmed cases of DM, the treatment includes diet management, exercise and insulin administration.

Diagnosis of endocrine disorders

Endocrine disorders are common in horses and can play a major role in a horse's welfare and performance. Early discovery is extremely important to avoid some of the more serious consequences, such as laminitis.

Diagnosis usually involves a thorough evaluation of a veterinarian and routine screening of blood samples including insulin, glucose and ACTH testing.

Treatment and handling strategies

In addition to the aforementioned treatments, nutritional management is one of the most important elements in the treatment of PPID and EMS in horses. Especially in obese horses, low-SC diets, exercise and calorie handling are often recommended.

All horses with endocrine disorders should be carefully monitored for:

Routine veterinary checks help to ensure that your horse remains as healthy as possible during life.

Preventive action and ownership training

Although endocrine disorders cannot be completely avoided, there are some things you can do to keep your horse healthy for as long as possible. These include:

Monitor your horse carefully for early signs of illness including:

If you have any new problems, it is always a good idea that your horse is evaluated by a veterinarian.

Endocrine diseases are common among horses, and many horse owners will deal with one at some point during their horse career. These are lifelong conditions that require lifestyle management and sometimes medicines.

It is important to treat every horse as an individual and to work closely with your veterinarian to ensure that you can make the best care plan possible for your horsemate.