Do you suspect Equine Cushing's disease or is your horse being treated for Equine Cushing's disease?

If so your horse may be eligible for a free* diagnostic or monitoring ACTH test. Participating veterinary practices can generate a free* voucher code on your behalf. Speak to your vet practice today to find out more.

Welcome to Care About Cushing’s

Equine Cushing’s disease (also known as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction or PPID) is a common hormonal disease in horses and ponies. Care About Cushing's is a community resource specifically developed to support horse owners in recognising the signs of Equine Cushing's disease, diagnosing it promptly, and supporting owners to create the best management plan for their horse in order to maintain their quality of life and reduce the risk of the suffering associated with this disease.

Care About Cushing’s provides free* diagnostic and monitoring ACTH tests for horses in the UK at participating veterinary practices.

Diagnostic tests are for horses not yet diagnosed with Equine Cushing's disease and these horses are eligible for one free* diagnostic ACTH test every 12 months

Monitoring tests are for horses already receiving treatment** for Equine Cushing's disease and these horses are eligible for one free* monitoring ACTH test every 12 months with the exception that the first free* monitoring test can be claimed 6 months after starting treatment**

Please speak to your veterinary practice to find out whether they participate in the scheme and remember to ask your vet/veterinary practice before or during your appointment to claim a free* Care About Cushing’s test so they can generate a voucher code for your horse. Voucher codes must be present at the time your vet submits your horse’s test to the laboratory as tests submitted without a voucher code cannot be backdated.

Owners of horses diagnosed with Equine Cushing's disease can choose to automatically receive their first 6-month monitoring voucher code** and any subsequent 12-month monitoring voucher codes** directly to their email inbox.

To set this up you must complete the following actions:

Enter your horse’s treatment dose to their profile in My Yard
Enter your horse’s treatment start date to their profile in My Yard
Provide consent to receive marketing emails by ticking the relevant box in your account settings

For more information and answers to any of your questions please visit our FAQ section.

For full terms and conditions click here. *Free basal ACTH test laboratory fees only. Veterinary practices may apply visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees. Available at participating veterinary practices. T&C’s apply. ** Only available to horses treated with a specific prescription medication.

What is Equine Cushing’s disease?

Membership

For expert advice and tools that will help you manage Equine Cushing's disease.

Finding out that your horse has Equine Cushing’s disease can be worrying - that's why 'Care About Cushing's' is here. We are here to support and guide you in sorting out the facts from the fiction, and provide a safe place for your horse's records and support you in making the best decisions for your horse.

Join the community

Care About Cushing’s offers you the opportunity to become part of a community of fellow owners of horses faced with Equine Cushing’s disease. Becoming a member of this community offers numerous benefits, such as:

Complimentary* annual monitoring test
Instant access to expert tips on diagnosing and managing Equine Cushing’s disease (PPID) in your horse.
Simple accessible recording system to monitor your horse’s progress.
Video and document library to teach you useful techniques such as body condition scoring.
A direct line to veterinary experts ready to answer your questions.
Option to receive summaries of scientific advances in Equine Cushing’s disease and laminitis direct to your inbox.
Option to receive personalised alerts when action may be appropriate for your horse.
Option to participate in a survey to advance the understanding of Equine Cushing’s disease.
Learn from other horse owners experiences of Equine Cushing’s disease

*complimentary laboratory fees only. Visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees may be applied by veterinary practices.

Features of membership

How to spot it?

The signs of Equine Cushing’s disease will vary from one horse or pony to another. It’s therefore important to monitor your horse for all the clinical signs that are associated with this disease.

Abnormal coat

Abnormal fat deposits

Abnormal sweating

Increased thirst/urination

Laminitis

Lethargy

Muscle wastage

Recurrent infections

Reduced fertility

If you recognise one or more of the signs of Equine Cushing’s disease in your horse, there are three simple steps you need to take to find out if they have the condition, and how to best manage the disease so that they continue to live a happy and healthy life.

Symptoms Checklist What to do

We encourage all horse owners, who are concerned about PPID in their horses, to speak with their vet and take up the complimentary blood test.

Emmeline Hannelly Welfare Education Manager at The British Horse Society

The Care about Cushing’s initiative continues to do sterling work in awareness-raising but also crucially in increasing the information we have about the disease and related conditions.

Nicky Jarvis Head of veterinary and care and senior veterinary surgeon at Redwings

PPID (Cushing’s disease) is a significant risk factor for developing the devastating disease of laminitis, but thanks to this initiative, more cases can be identified early.

Tony Tyler World Horse Welfare Deputy Chief Executive at World Horse Welfare