Gastric Ulceration in Horses – What Can We Do?

Everyone seems to be talking about gastric ulcers (stomach ulcers) in horses, and the impact on wellbeing and performance. Is this justified? 

 Very roughly speaking, the stomach is situated halfway down between the back of the withers and the elbow of the horse. It sits behind the liver and in front of the intestines. Functionally it is a ‘balloon’ between the oesophagus (swallow tube) and the intestine, and food that was eaten is held here before it is being passed in a constant stream of small amounts to the small intestine. 

Consistent with the two different types of stomach lining, we divide equine gastric ulcers in squamous and glandular ulcers, depending on in which mucosal part we find them. 

 Every horse reacts differently, and some horses have horrendous ulcers and do not show many signs. Other horses might show all the signs or other more unusual signs. Signs that we associate with gastric ulcers are all fairly nonspecific, meaning it is impossible to know for sure if any horse has gastric ulcers (or how bad) just by evaluating clinical signs.  

Further information on both strategies can be found by click on the button below.

If strictly considering finances, there are two things to consider:

1. Is the expense for treatment worth the expected improvement in this horse?

2. Is a gastroscopy worth the cost or shall I just treat the horse?

There are four things to consider here:

1. Questionnaire

2. Starving

3. Your facilities and our equipment

4. The actual procedure