This article originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of EquiManagement. Sign up herefor a FREE subscription to EquiManagement’s quarterly digital or print magazine and any special issues.Short-distance transport can alter endocrine responses depending on horse age and immune function. | Adobe Stock
Horse owners commonly have to transport their horses to a veterinary clinic for diagnostic testing for endocrine disorders. Most studies about transport’s effects on horses’ endocrine responses focus on long-distance transport. Here, we’ll recap studies examining the stress responses of cortisol, insulin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in horses transported less than three hours to determine whether short-distance travel might affect lab results for equine endocrine testing and diagnosis of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) or insulin dysregulation (ID).
Effects of Transport on Insulin Concentrations of Aged versus Young Horses
This study compared serum cortisol to salivary cortisol as a biomarker as well as the differences between aged and young horse responses to road trips lasting less than three hours. Erica Jacquay, MS, PhD, reported on the study as part of her PhD thesis during a July 2024 Gluck Equine Research Center webinar.
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