How To Reduce The Risk Of Gastric Ulcers In Horses

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is one of the most common health problems with horses worldwide. Many studies have proven that 90% of ulcers occur in performance horses. These ulcers cause pain and discomfort in horses, even affecting the horse’s ability to perform. 


Gastric ulcers are a major health issue in horses but many horse owners are not aware of what causes them, and how they can be prevented. 


Let’s Dig in,


What are Gastric Ulcers?

These are the sores that form on the stomach lining. The horse stomach has two major regions namely the upper ‘squamous’ area and the lower ‘glandular’ area. Ulcers mainly occur in the ‘squamous’ area of the stomach or at the junction of the squamous and glandular regions.


Why do gastric ulcers mainly occur in the upper section of the stomach?

Horses evolved as grazing animals which means they are constantly chewing and salivating which means their stomach is always full. Due to this, their stomach doesn’t have an on-off switch for gastric acid production. So, their stomach secretes gastric acid 24 hours whether they are eating or not.  


When horses eat they produce saliva and that helps to buffer the gastric acid in the stomach. This means when they are not eating they aren’t salivating. But they are still secreting gastric acid and this results in a pool of unbuffered gastric fluid collecting in the lower section of the horse’s.


The lower section of the horse stomach can protect itself from gastric ulcers; as it produces enough sticky mucosa to protect itself from acid secretion. But the upper part of the horse’s stomach doesn’t have the same type of protection. 


When a horse has an empty stomach the gastric fluids splash up into the upper section of the stomach. This acid starts to burn holes in the lining of the stomach wall. If this occurs on a repetitive basis ulcers will develop. 


Reasons that increase the risk of gastric ulcers in horses:

Gastric ulcers can be caused by many reasons. Researchers have found some of the reasons mentioned below:

  1. Exercising on an empty stomach

  2. Intense training 

  3. Travel 

  4. Stress

  5. Forage type

  6. Feeding Frequency

  7. Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs)


How to reduce the chance of gastric ulcers:

To reduce the risk of gastric ulcers you need to assess your horse management and review feeding management practices that may help to reduce the gastric ulcer:

  1. Never let horses exercise on an empty stomach

  2. Feed a small meal of alfalfa hay immediately after exercise

  3. Provide turnout time as often as possible

  4. Provide a regular small meal and constant access to quality hay & water


In case if your horse has ulcers you immediately need to treat them with ulcer medication. 


Conclusion

Gastric ulcers are one of the common and serious health issues in horses as it affects their overall well being and performance. There are many reasons why gastric ulcers occur. Horse owners need to have good management skills and know their horses. Using the above-mentioned methods can reduce the risk of gastric ulcers in horses. 

If your horse is suffering from gastric ulcers, shop for the best equine gastric ulcers medication from Abler. Our ulcer products are available in paste, tablet, and granule form that are pre-measured and easy to administer, including the pickiest of horses.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Omeprazole | Assisting Horse Ulcer Treatment

Image
Omeprazole functions admirably to assist gastric horse ulcer treatment with recuperating in light of the fact that it eliminates causticity in the abdomen. In any case, essential administration of taking care of the horses can make omeprazole much more powerful, prompting higher achievement rates for squamous ulcer types. How Are Stomach Ulcers Caused In Horses? In particular, when ponies abstain for the time being and afterwards provided with hay an hour after their morning horse ulcer treatment by omeprazole, the states of the stomach of these ponies are ideal for upgrading the treatment's techniques for activity This fasting convention is especially significant with glandular ulcers— the ones that are developed in the base segment of the stomach that is fixed with glandular mucosa rather than the top segment that is fixed with squamous mucosa Glandular ulcers react generally ineffectively to oral omeprazole and thus, omeprazole granules for   horse ulcer treatment is likely...
Read more

Providing Your Horse With Slow-Feed Hay Has Many Benefits

Image
As horses have evolved to graze on the ground almost continuously, limiting this natural behavior is known to result in many health and behavioral problems. Horses are trickle or slow feeders by nature. Slowly feeding hay at a naturally low rate is the best way to ensure your horse remains happy and healthy if he cannot access pasture 24/7. Are You Slow-Feed Savvy? The following are seven slow-feeding benefits you may not be aware of…… Reduced risk of ulcers The equine stomach produces acid 24 hours a day, and it can empty in as little as 15-20 minutes. Chewing stimulates the production of saliva (an alkaline material), which helps to buffer stomach acid.  The horse will create roughly five gallons of saliva per day in natural conditions with free-choice feed, and will eventually "recycle" much of the water content via re-absorption prior to outflow.  Effective Weight Management If your horse is overweight, slow feeding will help regulate insulin levels, metabolism, and corti...
Read more