Gastric Ulcers in Horses

Gastric, or stomach, ulcers are sores that form on the stomach lining. They are common in horses, and can affect any horse at any age but occur most frequently in horses that perform athletic activities or live a stressed life.

If you are looking for a nutritional supplement that can help prevent gastric ulcers and aid in recovery,  Ulzeraide Plus is a winning formula. This can be used in conjunction with veterinary treatment, (omeprazole) or after a course.

Acupuncture points for Horses with Ulcers and Gut Pain (pictured below)

From an equine therapist’s point of view, often after treatment, these points are still sore or the pain comes back. This can be due to gastric ulcers. Often the horse is sore on the right hind, may step short, or have an odd gait. Curves to the left and pushes out through the right rib cage.

The hindgut is on the right side. When there is pain due to gut pain and ulcers, the horse shows these symptoms and is very hard to straighten up with massage therapy. In the past Rachel scratched her head and wondered what was wrong,  she did not understand why the horse did not get better with Equine Therapy alone.

 

Typical Symptoms Of Gastric Ulcers:

  • Poor athletic performance.
  • Wind sucking.
  • Poor appetite.
  • Sensitive around girth region and averse to grooming.
  • Soreness over last rib and flank region, especially the right side.
  • Dropping through withers when pressure is applied on top of vertebrae, even though saddle fits.
  • Reluctant eating hay.
  • Reluctant to hold vertebrae adjustments and is muscle sore for no apparent reason.
  • Pain in the wither region is often a saddle fitting issue, but when the professional saddle fitter comes out numerous times and can’t find a problem with the saddle
  • Horse is sore on the right hind, may step short or have an odd gait.

Acupuncture points for Horses with Ulcers and Gut Pain (pictured below). This information comes from Kerry Ridgway DVM in the USA. When light pressure is applied to the acupuncture points marked in red, the horse will twitch, bite, kick, pull faces or drop back. This can indicate gastric ulcers, grass-related problems, incorrect feeding, or a badly fitting saddle.

Some Causes Of Gastric Ulcers:

  • Long periods of time without food.
  • High grain diet.
  • High sugar diet.
  • Stress.
  • Anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • Environmental pollution and pesticides.
  • Bad fitting saddle and the stress this causes.
  • High levels of pain.
  • Loss of a companion.
  • Stabling for long periods of time due to injury.
  • Fence walking and running.
  • A horse that does not get enough food or hay - they need food going through the stomach to soak up the gastric juices.
  • Avoid or decrease the use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Prevention Of Gastric Ulcers:

  • Manage stress.
  • Avoid your horse travelling on an empty stomach.
  • Avoid fence walking.
  • If your horse is on a restricted pasture diet, make sure they have hay to eat at all times.