Everywhere you look in horse publications, either print or online, you are bound to see an article about stomach ulcers or ad for a product that REALLY WORKS! The real questions are: Do horses get ulcers? How? Is it treatable/preventable? How is it diagnosed? If my horse has it–what do I treat with?
Yes, horses get stomach ulcers. Studies have shown that in some populations 70-100% of the horses may have ulcers at any time. Yikes! 100% is every horse in the barn affected by this. Not all these horses will have clinical signs but they will have damage in the stomach lining.
How do ulcers form in stomach of horses? Horses are monogastric. They have one main stomach, just like us. Compared to their large body size, their stomachs are small, holding only 3-4 gallons when full. Horses are designed to eat lots of small meals though out the day and night. The horse’s stomach has two very different areas.
- This shows the 2 areas of the stomach
The bottom part is the glandular portion. This is where the stomach acid is formed to help the digestion process. The bottom part is protected from the acid by the type of cells that line it and a secretion that helps to neutralize the acid and not damage the stomach wall. The top portion doesn’t have the protective secretions. This is the portion that is at risk from the acid. The trouble starts when horses are fed 2-3 larger meals each day instead of eating through out the day.
Ulcers happen when the stomach acid from the bottom portion of the stomach “sloshes” up into the top part. Remember, this part isn’t protected from the stomach acid. The acid will cause an erosion of the lining of this portion of the stomach. This erosion is the ulcer. The more the lining is damaged the larger and deeper the ulcer becomes.
There are some activities and management practices that will cause erosion of the stomach lining. Horses secrete acid 24 hours each and every day, so large, infrequent meals that don’t have enough roughage and too much concentrate (grain), together with exercise will cause the stomach acid to “slosh” up into the top portion of the stomach. A recent study showed that 11 of 15 horses developed ulcers after just 7 days. These horses were fed a larger meal, stalled for 4-5 hours then lounged for 10-20 minutes daily. This was enough to cause disease.
Signs of gastric ulcer disease in horses include, recurrent or acute bouts of colic, decreased appetite, decreased manure production, poor body condition and hair coat, poor performance or a generally crabby attitude. Horses with ulcers may not like to be groomed or saddled. The girth or cinch of the saddle could be a source of pressure on a painful stomach.
- this is an endoscope view of an ulcer
I see many horses that come in for body work (Acupuncture, adjustments and massage), who have ulcer disease. I routinely check for ulcers when I check acupuncture points for tenderness. After the therapy session, I recommend treating the ulcers. Healing the ulcer disease will decrease the constant inflammatory condition and the horse’s pain usually resolves. Most horses are treated based on clinical signs and the knowledge that this is a very common disease in our horses. An endoscopy exam can be done to image the lining of the stomach and see how much damage has been done.
Treatment of ulcer disease consists of two parts. Treating the immediate disease using medication. Currently, I’m prescribing Egusin for treatment. This will reduce the acid without interfering with the acid pumps like Gastroguard does. It also physical sticks into the ulcers and protects them from further acid damage. It also seems to works in 21 days to heal the ulcers.
Management is the other portion of controlling this disease. We NEED to feed our horses in a way that supports their digestion. Now, most of our horses are a touch on the heavy side so free choice hay is kind of scary. There are all kinds of feeders on the market designed to help slow down the eating process or mimics how a “wild” horse would have to eat most of a 24 hour period to get enough calories. Examples of these are Nibble Nets, Cinch Chix nets etc. Also, creating feeding stations and having multiple nibble nets scattered around your turn out area to increase movement will help too.
Windstar is an example of a horse with ulcer disease. He is a younger Arab gelding who has had lameness problems related to injury. He has had to have stall rest on occasion. I see him because his body is often really sore and I do body work for him. He had ulcers about 7 months ago and the owner wanted to treat with Gastroguard. He was doing much better. Then there were some changes at the barn where he lived and his exercise pattern was changed from driving in a straight line to lounging in (small–I thought) circle. He is painful again now. I just saw him and his TMJ is sore, his back is sore and his ulcer Acupuncture points are SORE and he is CRABBY. I treated him with Acupuncture and adjustments. We made some changes in his rehab exercises and how he is being fed. We also started him on Egusin. I will be checking him in 2 weeks. I let you know how we progress.
windhorsevet 