Welcome to the FAQ section. We have organised the questions which horse owners most regularly ask about Equine Cushing's Disease under three section headings to help you find the right information according to your stage in your journey.
Participating veterinary practices can generate a free* voucher code for a diagnostic test for Equine Cushing’s disease on your behalf.
Participating veterinary practices can generate a free* voucher code for a diagnostic test for Equine Cushing’s disease on your behalf.
Diagnostic tests are for horses not yet diagnosed with Equine Cushing's disease. These horses are eligible for one free* diagnostic test every 12 months.
In order to claim a free* diagnostic test simply book an appointment with a participating veterinary practice and make them aware that you would like to take advantage of the Care About Cushing’s scheme. They will then be able to generate a free* voucher code for a diagnostic test on your behalf.
This test is called the basal ACTH test, and is the most common first line diagnostic test for this disease.
If you have a Care About Cushing’s account, the result from this test will automatically be uploaded into your Care About Cushing’s account so that you can keep a record and track your horse’s progress.
If you would like to find out more about the basal ACTH test, you can read more here.
Please note, you must ensure your horses veterinary practice details are updated and correct within your profile in order to receive your voucher.
*free basal ACTH laboratory fees only. Visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees may be applied by veterinary practices. Available at participating veterinary practices. T&C’s apply
All horses being prescribed a specific licensed medication to treat Equine Cushing’s disease are eligible for a free* annual monitoring test.
This monitoring test is provided to support your vet in assessing whether the disease is under control, and to ensure that each horse being treated is receiving the most appropriate dose of the medication.
In order to claim a free* monitoring test, simply book an appointment with a participating veterinary practice and make them aware that you would like to take advantage of the Care About Cushing’s scheme. They will then be able to generate a free* voucher code for a monitoring test on your behalf.
Free* voucher codes for monitoring tests can initially be generated 6 months after your horse starts treatment with a specific prescription-only medication for Equine Cushing's disease. Thereafter horses are entitled to a free* monitoring test every 12 months.
If you have a Care About Cushing’s account, the result from this test will automatically be uploaded into your Care About Cushing’s account so that you can keep a record and track your horse’s progress.
Alternatively, you can configure your Care About Cushing’s account to automatically generate and email you your free* monitoring voucher codes when your horse is due a monitoring test.
In order to receive a free* voucher code for a monitoring test, you need to ensure the following:
Please note, you must ensure your horses veterinary practice details are updated and correct within your profile in order to receive your voucher.
*free basal ACTH laboratory fees only. Visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees may be applied by veterinary practices. Only available for horses prescribed a specific prescription-only medication to treat Equine Cushing's disease. Available at participating veterinary practices. T&C’s apply.
Becoming a member of Care About Cushing’s and creating an account provides you with:
*free basal ACTH laboratory fees only. Monitoring tests are only for horses treated with a specific prescription-only medication for Equine Cushing’s disease and under the care of a participating veterinary practice in the UK. Visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees may be applied by veterinary practices. Available at participating veterinary practices.T&C’s apply
Participating veterinary practices can generate voucher codes for free* diagnostic and monitoring tests for Equine Cushing’s disease through the Care About Cushing’s website.
When your veterinary practice generates the voucher, they will provide Care About Cushing’s with your name, email address, horses name, horses year of birth and horses clinical signs (once you have given permission).
Care About Cushing’s will then send a subsequent email to you to advise that your veterinary practice has requested a voucher on your behalf, along with an invitation for you to create a Care About Cushing’s account.
The email will also contain our privacy policy and terms and conditions.
If you choose to create an account, your horse’s details and their test results will automatically be uploaded to your account. This includes all future ACTH tests carried out through the Care About Cushing’s scheme, so that you can keep track of your horse’s progress.
Care About Cushing’s is operated by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd, Ellesfield Avenue, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YS
*free basal ACTH laboratory fees only. Monitoring tests are only for horses treated with a specific prescription-only medication for Equine Cushing’s disease and under the care of a participating veterinary practice in the UK. Visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees may be applied by veterinary practices. Available at participating veterinary practices. T&C’s apply.
The Care About Cushing’s scheme is provided to support the appropriate use of Prascend® 1mg for horses.
The Care About Cushing’s scheme is provided to support the appropriate use of a specific prescription-only medication to treat Equine Cushing's disease and therefore not all veterinary practices participate in the Care About Cushing’s scheme.
Please speak to your veterinary practice to understand if they participate in the scheme.
Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) is the correct name for Equine Cushing’s disease. It is a common hormonal disease of horses and ponies and affects one in five horses over the age of 15.
Horses with PPID produce abnormally high levels of hormones from their pituitary gland and this causes a range of clinical signs including laminitis, hair coat changes, recurrent infections and a loss of topline. You can find out more about what causes this disease here.
The majority of horses with PPID respond well to treatment and many will return to their previous use. By working with your veterinary surgeon to ensure that your horse receives the appropriate treatment and management, your horse or pony can still have a useful and good quality of life. You can find out more about managing PPID here.
All horses and ponies being prescribed a specific licensed medication to treat Equine Cushing’s disease are eligible for a complimentary* annual PPID monitoring test.
This is provided in order to support your vet in checking whether the disease is under control and to ensure that each horse and pony is being treated with the most appropriate dose of the medication.
In order to receive a complimentary* monitoring test voucher you can simply ask participating veterinary surgeons to generate a free* monitoring test voucher on your behalf.
*free basal ACTH laboratory fees only. Visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees may be applied by veterinary practices. Only available for horses prescribed a specific prescription-only medication to treat Equine Cushing's disease.
Some horses will have a ‘grey zone’ result which means that their ACTH hormone levels are somewhere between ‘normal’ and ‘high’.
The basal ACTH test is considered to be the most appropriate available test for PPID but it is by no means a perfect test. In most cases a high level of the hormone ACTH means that the patient has PPID, and a normal level of the hormone ACTH means that the patient does not have PPID. However, in some cases the result is not so easy to interpret.
Some horses with grey zone results will subsequently be diagnosed with PPID and others will not. There are a number of factors which should be considered in combination with the actual test result to determine whether the next step is further testing, monitoring only or treatment to assess the response to treatment.
If you receive a grey zone ACTH test you should discuss this with your vet who will be able to advise you on what the next appropriate step may be.
If you would like to read more about grey zone basal ACTH tests please click here.
The basal ACTH test is considered to be the most appropriate available test for PPID but it is by no means a perfect test. In most cases a high level of the hormone ACTH means that the patient has PPID and a normal level of the hormone ACTH means that the patient does not have PPID. However, in some cases the result is not so easy to interpret.
One limitation of this test is that some horses with PPID will have normal levels of the hormone ACTH when it is measured using this test: we do not fully understand why this is.
Since PPID is a progressive disease, it’s also possible to get a negative result during the early stages. As the disease progresses over the course of time, a subsequent test would return a positive result.
Therefore, if you receive a negative ACTH test result for your horse, you should discuss this with your vet who will be able to advise you on whether further testing is required or not.
If you would like to read more about negative basal ACTH tests please click here.
The correct nutritional support can help your horse or pony cope better with the consequences of PPID. Understanding which aspects of the disease can be supported nutritionally will help you put together a suitable nutrition plan for your horse or pony.
For most horses and ponies with PPID the nutritional requirements are very similar to older animals in general. However, some horses with PPID have weight loss, obesity or a predisposition to laminitis. There are important additional factors to consider when planning the nutrition for horses with each of these signs.
If you would like to learn more about the nutrition of horses with PPID please click here.
In addition to PPID, there are a wide range of common diseases associated with ageing that horses and ponies are at risk of developing as they get older. These include dental, musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiac and skin disorders. There are therefore several management and preventative healthcare measures that are important aspects of keeping PPID patients in the best possible health, whether or not they are receiving any medication.
These measures involve paying careful attention to the hoof care, dental care, vaccination, wormer administration and nutrition of your horse.
If you would like to read more about these measures please click here.
Many horses with PPID continue athletic careers and exercise is always helpful with their metabolism. If your horse is sound you can continue with regular exercise. If your horse has a history of laminitis it is advisable to plan an exercise regime with your vet in order to ensure that the exercise does not cause your horse any pain or exacerbate their laminitis.
If you would like to learn more about exercising horses with PPID please click here.
The treatment for Equine Cushing’s disease is a prescription-only medicine, known as a POM-V, and can only be prescribed by your vet. This section of the website is provided as an information service for owners of horses who have been prescribed the POM-V medicine, Prascend® 1 mg tablets for horses, by their vet. Please click 'OK, I accept' to confirm that you are either a veterinary surgeon or an owner of a horse that has been prescribed Prascend by your vet.
If you are an owner of a horse who has not been prescribed Prascend® please click ‘Go back’