Gastric Ulcers

[paulineh]

has anyone had a horse that has had Gastric Ulcers but not really shown any signs.

My boy has always been laid back only doing what is needed of him. He is now 19 is an Advanced Endurance horse standing 15.2hh. He is not a fine Arab a bit chunky so always takes a bit longer to warm up. He looks fab, eats well, not particularly lethargic but not just right. He has always been a bit grumpy when being girthed up and for a long time has grinded his teeth. He is turned out 24/7 all year, fed a fibre based diet with plenty of hay. The only added things he has are Magnesium, salt and NAF Flex.

In the last few weeks he has not felt as forward going as he should be so I am getting my vet to look at him with a view of having him gastro scoped to see if he has any Gastric Ulcers.

 

[deicinmerlyn]

There are many horses that don't show all of the classic signs but have ulcers. Usually if all else is good, ie feed, environment etc, low grade pain is often the cause.

 

[shergar]

There is a video on Youtube ULCER DIAGNOSIS BY MARK DEPAOLO, worth a look as some ulcers are beyond the scope.

 

[almostthere]

Yes - mine has recently been scoped and discovered something similar to ulcers but not quite (basically the result of her probably having ulcers a long time ago that weren't treated). She had NO classic symptoms - not girthy, good weight, shiny coat etc but quite stressy and difficult to work through over her back on flat. Her management is not "ulcer friendly" ie good turnout, adlib hay and very little hard feed mostly unmolaased chaff and low cal balancer. Physio, trainers, full vet (lameness) examination revealed nothing so I insisted on her being scoped and got a diagnosis. I was there at scoping so I saw what is affecting her and vet believes she will have been in constant low grade pain. She is now 3 weeks into the treatment and is definitely more accepting and starting to become a tiny bit better on flat. The vet (at a well known equine hospital so sees a lot) said that the symptoms vary hugely - he said they have stressy, thin TBs in that scope clear and laid back cobs that come in and are riddled with them. Trust your instincts. Good luck!