4 Take-Homes From the 2025 AAEP Kester News Hour

The Kester News Hour is a perennial favorite on the AAEP Convention program, and this year’s news hour did not disappoint. Drs. Katie Seabaugh, Carrie Finno, Laurie Goodrich, and Karen Wolfsdorf led a spirited discussion of journal reports. Here are a few of the medicine literature reviews we found particularly interesting. 

Effects of Long-Term Firocoxib Use in Horses 

Horses with chronic pain problems are often put on relatively long-term firocoxib. In a recent study, researchers looked at bloodwork values for 79 horses receiving firocoxib for 2-52 months compared to 153 control horses.¹ 

Most (56%) of the study horses were receiving firocoxib for osteoarthritis. Ages of the firocoxib group averaged 19 years compared to 15-year-old controls; most were Arabians. The amount of time horses were on firocoxib during study is as follows: 

• 2-4 months: 17/79 (22%) 

• 5-11 months: 28/79 (35%) 

• 12-24 months: 17/79 (22%) 

• > 24 months: 17/79 (22%) 

Overall, the blood results did not show clinically significant values for firocoxib-treated horses, though their total protein was higher, sodium was slightly higher, and white blood cells were slightly lower. 

The take-home message is that prolonged use of firocoxib causes minimal changes in bloodwork. Seabaugh emphasized the importance of asking, “Who are we treating when using this drug? The horse or a high-maintenance owner?” 

Assessing Headshaking Horses’ Pain Levels at Rest 

Exercise or environment typically trigger trigeminal-mediated headshaking episodes in affected horses, but a research group looked at whether these horses experience pain in between headshaking episodes  in the absence of common triggers.²   

The study included 20 healthy horses, 20 trigeminal-mediated headshaking (TMHS) horses, and 20 colic cases. Three observer groups assessed the horses’ pain levels using the facial-expression-based Horse Grimace Scale: Final year veterinary students, veterinarians with limited experience, and veterinarians with experience.  

Medical colic horses had the highest expression of pain (median grade 6.6), healthy horses averaged 1.2, and the THMS horses averaged a 2.6 across all three observer groups. However, the experienced veterinarians scored headshaking horses about the same as those with medical colic. Therefore, they concluded these horses are painful in between bouts of headshaking. 

With this in mind, the researchers recommended owners and veterinarians carefully evaluate horse pain between TMHS episodes and also consider the ethics of pasture retirement. 

PPID Horses’ Long-Term Response to Pergolide Treatment 

In another recent study, researchers surveyed horse owners about their satisfaction with pergolide treatment of PPID-affected horses over 14 years.³ They interviewed owners of 28 horses and two ponies every three months and reevaluated the horses annually over 14 years. The pergolide (Prascend) dose for each case ranged from 2-4 ug/kg orally every 24 hours. 

All owners reported sustained clinical improvement, but only 75% achieved normalization of endocrine test results. 

Inappetence was reported in 33%, even for horses that had been on pergolide for some time. Ninety-six percent of owners agreed that Prascend improved their horse’s quality of life, while 100% agreed the medication prolonged their horse’s life span. There were no differences in overall survival time relative to endocrine test results for response to Prascend. 

Cost considerations were a factor, with 57% saying they would pay $1,000 annually for pergolide support of their horse, whereas only 17% would pay more than $1,500 per year for treatment. 

Pergolide’s Effect on Insulin Dysregulation in PPID Horses and Ponies  

Another pergolide study looked at its effect on insulin sensitivity and postprandial insulin responses in horses with insulin dysfunction (ID) with or without concurrent PPID.⁴ 

In the study, eight horses (median age 19.5 years) had PPID/ID while eight (median age 18) had only ID. Four horses were placed in each group for four weeks and given a four-week washout period in between treatments and evaluations. Horses receiving pergolide were dosed at 2 ug/kg orally every 24 hours. A combined glucose-insulin test checked tissue insulin sensitivity; a standard meal test with a high-starch diet was used. 

The results showed no effect of pergolide on tissue insulin sensitivity in any group. Pergolide might dampen insulin responses following a high starch meal in horses with PPID/ID. 

References 

1. Buzelato Carli I, Fielding L. Long-Term Firocoxib Use in Horses. J Vet Intern Med. 2025 May-Jun;39(3):e70117. doi: 10.1111/jvim.70117 

2. Franzen V, Reisbeck D, Leibl Y, Schoster A, May A. Pain Assessment of Horses With Trigeminal-Mediated Headshaking (TMHS) at Rest Between Episodes. J Vet Intern Med. 2025 May-Jun;39(3):e70064. doi: 10.1111/jvim.70064 

3. Schott HC 2nd, Strachota JR, Marteniuk JV, Refsal KR. Long-Term Response of Equids With Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction to Treatment With Pergolide. J Vet Intern Med. 2025 May-Jun;39(3):e70109. doi: 10.1111/jvim.70109 

4. Galinelli NC, Bamford NJ, Erdody ML, Mackenzie SA, Warnken T, Harris PA, Sillence MN, Bailey SR. Effect of pergolide treatment on insulin dysregulation in horses and ponies with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. Equine Vet J. 2025 Nov;57(6):1612-1622. doi: 10.1111/evj.14468 

Related Reading

• New Technology Might Help Diagnose Trigeminal-Mediated Headshaking in Horses

• Measuring ACTH and CLIP for PPID Horses

• Groundbreaking Equine Endocrine Research

Stay in the know! Sign up for EquiManagement’s FREE weekly newsletters to get the latest equine research, disease alerts, and vet practice updates delivered straight to your inbox.