>>My other Morgan gelding Onyx has me wondering if he is developing early PPID symptoms... He shed his coat a little late and never lost all of the long facial hairs, even now there are some, not many. His coat is shiny. Now I am looking at his crest and it seems to be larger.... I had ACTH and insulin done on him in 2011 and April 2014 and numbers were normal... When I read the symptoms of PPID, it seems like it doesn't fit him, so I am not sure.
My 23 year old Morgan mare (controlled IR for the most part) did not have the typical symptoms of PPID, and so I delayed in testing/medicating a bit too long. Her typically long winter coat was getting slightly longer, and in 2013, she took longer to shed out, and some longer hairs remained on her neck.
In May 2013, her ACTH was 35 (top of "normal", but I thought this higher ACTH was due to discomfort rather than an accurate reading. In Dec. 2013, her winter coat was so long, it was clear she was either PPID or werewolf. Her crest and eye bulges were larger. In January 2014, she tested at 50, so that 35 back in May 2013 was a true reading and was indeed an indication she had PPID and it was progressing.
What threw me off was that she did not have most of the symptoms they list for PPID (and some being in denial). And, I took her slowing down as a sign of aging rather than PPID. Her coat remained mostly shiny (albeit longer/wavey); most other things seemed unchanged. But a dullness was descending, and it was not, I would eventually discover, from aging.
Once she was treated for PPID, her brightness returned, energy recovered, and her summer coat shed shorter than it had it years and became dappled & incredibly shiny.
In hindsight, I should have tested her again in Aug/Sep 2013 to see where she was going. I regret not knowing and treating her 6 months earlier, but grateful she was able to rebound. I think it's important to not count on seeing multiple symptoms - I used it as a reason to not act sooner.
Best of luck,
Claudia & Silhouette 2014 California
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/echistory8/files/Claudia%20%26%20Silhouette/
