Gastric Ulcers

It is a surprising fact that one in three horses experience gastric (stomach) ulcers, but this increases to 93% for racehorses in training. Signs that a racehorse may have gastric ulcers include weight loss (or lack of weight gain), loss of appetite, poor performance, or even changes in behaviour.

They way horses have evolved means they should ideally forage for 16 hours a day, either grazing in a field or consuming hay (high fibre, low starch food) during this period of time. Modern requirements of horses in many equestrian disciplines make this foraging period difficult to achieve. Horses competing at high levels are in hard exercise, meaning they need an enhanced level of nourishment, often through hard feed rations, being fed several times through the day, combined with restricted hay portions. Some do not have access to paddocks to graze in whilst training.

Saliva is produced when a horse grazes to neutralise stomach acids. Most racehorses are fed a limited amount of forage (hay), as it is very hard to achieve peak fitness if the horse is allowed to eat all day long (as with many sportsmen or women). Therefore, prolonged periods without forage, combined with diets that are high in concentrates (e.g. the horse's hard feed ration), mean the horse may have periods where insufficient saliva is produced to neutralise gastric acid. Illness and stress are also associated with increased risk of developing stomach ulcers. Even situations such as transport, periods of box rest, or the introduction to new surroundings, can cause a horse to experience gastric ulcers.

Gastric ulcers are diagnosed using an endoscope with a three-metre long cable with a camera at the end. This is placed into the horse's nostril, down the oesophagus into the stomach. The camera can view inflammation, ulceration etc., to provide an instant diagnosis. Quite often experience alone prompts a trainer to administer a remedy when gastric ulcers are suspected, as is the case with Genesius.

Gastrogard is one of the leading products in the UK for treating stomach ulcers. It is a paste administered through the mouth, and is given daily. Racehorses cannot actually race while being treated with Gastrogard, as it contains substances banned by the British Horseracing authority as they are seen to be performance enhancing. There is an advised withdrawal period of around eight days, meaning the treatment should end eight days before you plan to race the horse. To give owners an idea of the extra costs involved, Gastrogard costs Owners Group around £20 per day per horse, so it is an expensive remedy! Naturally, if this expensive treatment helps the horse to return to peak condition and to be comfortable, this makes the extra cost worthwhile.