Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), commonly called Cushings disease, causes distinctive coat changes in horses that affect comfort and require proactive management.
An unclipped horse with severe PPID-related hypertrichosis in summer suffers significantly from overheating and inability to thermoregulate effectively. The long, curly coat traps heat and moisture, preventing the normal evaporative cooling that horses rely on in warm conditions. Combined with the metabolic and endocrine dysfunction of PPID itself, these horses can experience chronic discomfort that owners sometimes mistake for normal aging. Timely diagnosis, appropriate medication, and proactive coat management through clipping represent high-welfare responses that meaningfully improve quality of life for affected horses.