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GERIATRIC retired horses are frequently kept by their owners as a companion for their current riding horse or simply as a much loved 9lawnmower9. With age, horses experience specific clinical problems, including osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), weight loss, pituitary hyperplasia and related conditions. These common causes of debility in the older horse are often insidious in onset and usually progressive but, when managed appropriately, animals can maintain a reasonable quality of life. This article discusses the diagnosis and clinical management of these conditions in the older horse and pony.

A 23 year old man presented with classical hypothyroidism of 9 years duration. This was associated with pituitary enlargement, documented on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and abnormal half-field visual evoked responses (VERs). Following the initiation of thyroxine therapy the pituitary enlargement and the VER abnormalities resolved. The final diagnosis was of primary hypothyroidism with secondary pituitary hyperplasia.