Tips for Managing Gastric Ulcers in Performance Horses

What is  Equine Gastric Ulceration?

A gastric ulcer is an injury to the mucosal lining of the equine stomach. The condition can affect horses of any age or discipline, but most commonly it affects performance horses such as race horses, endurance horses, and show horses.

Causes of Equine gastric ulcers

There are many reasons that cause equine gastric ulcers some are:

1. Diets high in grain
2. Diets low in roughage
3. Prolonged periods of fasting
4. Stress
5. Strenuous exercise
6. Irregular feeding times
7. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) like Bute

The clinical signs of a equine gastric ulcers 

Horses seem to be healthy but there are some signs that they are affected by gastric ulcers such as:

1. Poor appetite
2. Attitude changes
3. Decreased performance
4. Reluctance to train
5. Poor body condition
6. Poor hair coat
7. Weight loss

There are two types of equine gastric ulcers:

1. Glandular 

This refers to ulceration in the ventral glandular region. A few symptoms of glandular gastric ulcer are loss of appetite, weight loss, changes in hair coat, poor behavior, under performance, and stereotypes such as cribbing, weaving, or wood chewing

Risk factors of Glandular ulcers:

1. Long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) 
2. Limited turnout
3. Intense exercise
4. Presence of pathogenic bacteria
5. Low hay intake
6. High unprocessed grain intake
7. Feeding an unbalanced diet

2. Non- Glandular ulcers (squamous) 

This refers to ulcers of the upper squamous region of the stomach. Symptoms of squamous ulcers are poor appetite, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, increased aggression, decrease in performance, poor coat, behavioural changes, cribbing and teeth grinding.

Risk factors of Non- Glandular ulcers (squamous):

1. Intense training
2. High grain intake
3. Intermittent feeding regimen
4. Changes to social environment
5. Lack of routine
6. Travel and competition

Treatment of gastric ulcer

Omeprazole helps the equine stomach to recover as it suppresses the production of gastric acid and gives the tissue time to heal and prompts the horse to eat. Omeprazole is effective in the prevention and treatment of gastric ulceration in all types of horses.

Prevention of gastric ulcers

1. Reducing grain-based feed intake
2. Providing fats as a source of energy
3. Feeding multiple small meals throughout the day
4. Using hay nets to increase chewing and slow intake
5. Provide the nutrients to strengthen, repair, and replenish the lining of the gut wall 
6. Enhance the immune system for self-repair.
7. Avoid or decrease the use of anti-inflammatory drugs.
8. Limit stressful situations 

Conclusion

Equine gastric ulcers require a good understanding by owners of why they occur in horses, the clinical signs, and how they can be prevented. All these points should be highly acknowledged by the horse owners. By knowing all these facts owners can protect their horses from ongoing health issues . Ulcers are highly treatable but if proper care is not taken to treat the ulcer serious ongoing issues may develop. 

To get more information about ulcers you can visit our blog section or  browse our website https://abler.com/. Here you will get  information on the best equine gastric ulcer medication.