|
May 2008 • VOLUME 33 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
Ulcers. Just like their owners, horses can suffer from gastric ulcers. Gastric ulceration is the loss of the protective membrane lining the stomach. Horses have two different kinds of lining in their stomachs: 1) Squamous epithelium or lining: lies nearest to where the eosophagus enters the stomach. 2) Glandular epithelium or lining: lies nearest to where the stomach empties into the intestine. This portion of the stomach produces the acid that starts the digestion process. The squamous portion of a horse’s stomach is most susceptible to the development of ulceration. There is a range of severities of ulcers in horses, from superficial loss of the stomach lining to severe heamorrhage and perforation of the stomach wall. Thankfully perforating ulcers are not that common. However, mild to moderate ulceration of the stomach lining of many sport horses is common. For example, at a racetrack in the U.S.A, 94% of horses in training had ulcers (Murray et al., 1996). Another study found that 58% of show horses had ulcers as well (McClure, et al., 1999). A more recent review of ulcers in horses suggests that the prevalence in race horses is almost 90% and in pleasure horses participating in exercise regimens is 60% (Bell et. al., 2007). Keep in mind though that there are many factors that contribute to the formation of ulcers. Some of the most notable risk factors for equine gastric ulceration include:
|
|||||||
|
