Abstract

Background:
Oral pergolide has become the mainstay of treatment for equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). It has a high success rate but some horses are, or become, refractory to the effects. Others have intolerable behavioral or gastrointestinal side effects. The only widely used alternative to oral pergolide has been injectable sustained-release cabergoline. There is scant published information on alternative oral therapies.

Case Descriptions:
Here we report on the response of five confirmed PPID horses to oral cabergoline. All horses failed to be controlled by oral pergolide and four of the five were also tried on injectable sustained-release cabergoline, but with intolerable side effects. It was only then they were tried on the oral cabergoline which is the subject of this report. No other changes in diet, drugs or management were made.

Conclusion:
Preliminary response seen in these five cases and the one in the literature indicates daily oral cabergoline has the potential to be a well tolerated and effective alternative.

Key words: Horses; PPID; Therapy; Oral; Cabergoline.