The national ‘Talk About Laminitis’ initiative is back with free lab tests for horse owners

The national ‘Talk About Laminitis’ disease awareness initiative is back for a third year, running until the end of October. The initiative works to drive awareness amongst horse owners that up to 90 percent of laminitis cases may have EMS or PPID at the root of the problem.

During the initiative, which is supported by Redwings, The British Horse Society and World Horse Welfare, Boehringer will once again be offering free ACTH laboratory tests for horse owners. To participate in the scheme, veterinary surgeons and horse owners can download ACTH blood test vouchers from www.talkaboutlaminitis.co.uk.  Simply attach the voucher to the ACTH sample submission form and the ACTH laboratory fees will be charged to the sponsors of the scheme.

Over the last two years, Boehringer Ingelheim’s hugely successful campaign has generated valuable data from over 15,000 cases that have been tested for PPID by measuring basal ACTH. The research has confirmed that PPID is not just a disease of veteran animals.  Indeed, where vets have a clinical suspicion, over a third of 10-15 year olds tested positive for PPID. The clinical signs that represented a significant increased risk for being PPID positive were: current and/or previous history of laminitis, hypertrichosis and/or abnormal moulting, supraorbital fat and muscle wastage. Therefore, animals with any of these clinical signs should be tested so that PPID can be treated and managed appropriately.

Jo Ireland, veterinary epidemiologist at the AHT, comments on the relevance of this data: “The ACTH results from over 15,000 horses and ponies are from the vet-visited population in the UK. This means that the results are highly significant for UK vets and reflect the clinical signs that are being observed in practice.”

‘Talk About Laminitis’ will also be sponsoring a new veterinary advice television series - Vet Essentials - on Horse & Country TV (Sky 280 and online with H&C TV Everywhere) focusing on the most commonly encountered and debilitating equine diseases - laminitis, PPID and colic.

Due to premiere in July, the series will follow Horse & Country TV’s Jenny Rudall as she investigates each condition. Jenny will gain an understanding from world leading veterinary experts about laminitis and the latest thinking on this serious condition; she will unravel the link between laminitis and PPID and finally take an in-depth look at colic.