Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome

If youve ever had a gastric ulcer youre familiar with the burning or gnawing feeling in your stomach area that is typical of peptic ulceration of the stomach lining. This pain may last for anywhere from half an hour to four hours and can occur after eating or even during the night disrupting sleep. Nobody wants to live with pain or discomfort and the average person would not hesitate to seek treatment for gastric ulcers. That being said it is interesting and worth noting that generally speaking you would never know that a person has gastric ulcers just by observing their attitude or professional performance.

But what happens with horses afflicted by Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome EGUS? How do they show us that they are suffering? What causes their gastric ulcers in the first place? And how can we ease their discomfort and prevent its recurrence? These are all questions that warrant further discussion.
Prevalence of Gastric Ulcers in Horses
In a recent study The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Esophageal and Nonglandular Gastric Lesions in Thoroughbred Racehorses in Saskatchewan conducted at Marquis Downs racetrack in Saskatoon Saskatchewan by Marqués F. Epp T. Wilson D. et al. 94 Thoroughbred racehorses in active training were assessed by gastroscopic examination during two racing seasons. Out of the 94 horses 79 84 percent had nonglandular squamous gastric lesions 70 74 5 percent had gastric ulcers and 9 9 6 percent had hyperkeratosis abnormal thickening of the stomach lining andor hyperemia increased blood supply to a specific area of the stomach lining. None of the horses had esophageal lesions. Interestingly 34 48 9 percent of the 94 horses had won at least one race and 46 36 1 percent had finished in second place during the twomonth period prior to gastroscopic examination.
The incidence of gastric lesions in nonracing horses although variable is also quite high. Around 58 percent of active show horses have gastric ulcers and approximately 67 percent of endurance horses 40 percent of Western performance horses 67 percent of pregnant Thoroughbred broodmares and 77 percent of nonpregnant broodmares also have gastric ulcers.
The Equine Stomach and Ulcer Formation
In relation to its size and overall feed consumption the horse has a relatively small stomach that consists of two distinct regions. The proximal portion of the stomach is the gastric squamous mucosa also called the nonglandular or esophageal region. The distal portion of the stomach is the glandular