By Jackie Bellamy-Zions  

What differentiates Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) from Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) or “Cushing’s Disease”?

A) Laminitis

B) Obesity or regional adiposity ("fat pads")

C) Delayed shedding

(Answer – see end of article).

This is just one of the 20 questions in Equine Guelph’s free interactive, Senior Horse Challenge quiz, designed to help horse owners recognize changes that may impact the health of their elderly equines. This online healthcare tool goes beyond testing general management knowledge of hoof care, nutrition, and dental care. Understanding health challenges including diseases, disorders, and conditions that are common to the aging equid are all part of becoming an educated horse owner. There is also a special section geared toward becoming adept at pain recognition. 

The Senior Horse Challenge assists horse owners in understanding health challenges common to the aging equid.

Whether your senior still has plenty of spunk under saddle or is grazing the grass paddock, a daily hands-on approach is important in order to spot conditions that need special treatment sooner rather than later. Noticing subtle changes in behaviour, sensitivity to touch, new lumps, bumps, cuts, heat or swelling should be part of the daily routine. All too often, horses that are not ridden frequently end up being skipped for grooming, hoof picking, consistent farrier care, and regularly scheduled dental care and vaccinations. The attention to routine care, body condition scoring, and seeking input from your veterinarian and farrier is crucial to maintaining the health of a senior horse.

“Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. is very pleased to be able to partner with Equine Guelph on the Senior Horse Challenge project,” says Alison Brodie, Brand Manager for Cattle and Equine at Boehringer-Ingelheim. “We believe that this educational tool will be highly valuable for those who own or care for senior horses. By increasing the awareness of health issues and management of aging horses, we hope this will result in improved health and animal welfare for these seniors.”

For more information on this new online tool, visit: http://www.equineguelph.ca/Tools/senior_horse.php

(Answer: C)

Reprinted with kind permission of Equine Guelph. www.equineguelph.ca

Main Photo: ©Canstockphoto/Kruwt