February 09 midwest horse digest Page 21
attitude changes, ment to his normal diet, the acid in the fundic
Why Horses Get Gastric Ulcers
decreased per- portion of the stomach immediately breaks it
formance, poor down into a mix of reactive phospholipids. The
By Dr. Richard Shakalis Horses have
body condition, phospholipids in lecithin are both hydrophilic
evolved to eat
rough hair coat, weight loss and colic. and hydrophobic and interact with the cell
many small meals per day, almost on a contin-
Ulcer Formation Mechanism membranes of the mucosal epithelium to
ual basis. Even though the horse’s stomach is
Gastric ulceration in horses results strengthen the mucosa. Research has shown
only 8 percent of digestive tract (eight quarts
from an imbalance between offensive factors, that lecithin not only treats the symptoms of
or two gallons), the emptying time of the stom-
e.g. acid and pepsin, and defensive factors equine ulcers, it cures the ulcers as well by
ach can be a mere twelve minutes and the rate
such as mucus, bicarbonate, prostaglandins, making the stomach lining stronger at the cel-
of passage through the small intestine one
mucosal blood flow and epithelial restitution. lular membrane level. The beneficial effects of
foot per minute. The small volume of the stom-
Most of these ulcers occur in the fundic portion a diet supplemented with lecithin also
ach and the rapid passage of food to the small
of the stomach, which has a phospholipid rich, enhances the rest of the digestive tract as
intestine is the reason that horses can and are
protective epithelial layer. Disruption of this well. There has been much research to sub-
designed to eat almost continuously. Gastric
barrier (mucous, surface-active phospholipids) stantiate this. They also observed horses fed
pH can drop lower than 2 soon after a horse
is initial to the destruction of the stomach’s lecithin had reduced levels of excitability and
stops consuming food and the stomach will
surface epithelium. Because most domesticat- anxiety that was attributed to the healing of
continue to produce strong acid even if food is
ed horses do not feed constantly like nature gastric ulcers.
not present. Concentrate feeding can inadver-
designed them to, excess acid can ulcerate Summary
tently contribute to ulcer formation by its influ-
this protective layer. Unless the mucous lining A well studied health condition in
ence on increasing serum gastric levels, low-
is strong enough to withstand the powerful horses is gastric ulcers. The presence of these
ering the horse’s roughage intake and reduc-
acids produced ulcers is associated with poor
ing the amount of time spent eating. Imposed
here, ulcers condition, irritability and poor
feed deprivation, such as in colic management
often develop. performance. Treatment
cases, can result in erosion and ulceration of
Management options such as reducing stom-
the gastric mucosa as well.
of Equine ach acid production is expen-
In the case of racehorses, they are
Gastric Ulcers sive and can disrupt the normal
often not fed immediately prior to training or
digestive process by not allow-
racing. This could result in a significant
Various thera- ing the food to begin its initial
increase in stomach acidity. Also, horses can
peutic protocols breakdown as nature intended.
become excited during training and racing, fur-
have been sug- A less expensive and more
ther lowering gastric pH. These influences
gested for the effective treatment is to give
contribute to
control of equine horses a nutritional supplement
gastric ulcera-
gastric ulcers. of lecithin. It strengthens the
tion Studies
These include epithelial lining of the stomach
show that the
antacids, (think of products such Tums and treating and preventing gastric ulcers and
greater the
Rolaids) and H2 acidblockers such as the allow for the proper absorption of nutrients in
degree of
pharmaceutical products Pepsid and Prilosec. the small intestine.
training activi-
These treatments will reduce acid in the fundic Lecithin has proven a valuable nat-
ty, the increas-
portion of the stomach and will reduce the ural supplement for horses to treat and pre-
ing severity of
occurrence of ulcers, but there may be unin- vent gastric ulcers. Lecithin granules can be
gastric
tended negative consequences from these added quickly and easily to a horse’s daily
lesions.
treatments. Stomach acid is an extremely feed ration or to almost any homemade horse
Further,
important component of the initial stage of the treat recipe. Horse treats containing lecithin
lesions were
digestive process. If in this initial stage of given between feedings and after training can
induced and maintained in thoroughbred hors-
digestion there is not adequate acid present to help protect the stomach from the damaging
es during simulated training, using a diet of
break down food, it will pass into the small affects of excess acid which is a natural occur-
coastal Bermuda and concentrate. Although
intestine only partially digested. The nutrients rence in horses.
Dr. N. J. Vatistas stopped short of recommend-
won’t be in a form that can be absorbed in the
Special thanks to the contributions of Dr. Craig Russett,
Ph.D in Animal Nutrition.
ing all racehorses in training receive gastric
small intestine and the horse will not be ade-
References:
ulcer treatment, he did indicate that “The truth
quately nourished.
Geor.R.j. and Papich (1990). Medical therapy for gas-
may not be far from that”.
There is a better way to protect the
trointestinal ulceration in foals. Comp. Cont. Edu.
Adult horses with ulcers exhibit a
horse from and treat gastric ulcers. When the Pract. Vet. 12:403-412.
combination of poor appetite, dullness,
horse is given lecithin as a nutritional supple-
Ghyczy,M., E. Hoff; J. Garzib (1996). Gastric mucosa
protection by phosphatidylcholine (PC) Presented at:
The 7th International Congress on Phospholipids,
Brussels, Belgium.
Jones, W.E. (1999). Equine gastric ulcer syndrome. J.
Equine Vet. Sci. 19:296-306.
Murray, M.J.; C.M. Murray, H.J. Sweeney, J. Weld,
N.J. Digby Wingfield and S.J Stoneham (1996). The
prevalence of gastric ulcers in foals in Ireland and
England: An edoscopic survey. Equine Vet. J.
28(5):368-374.
Russett, J.C. (1997). Lecithin applications in animal
feeds. Specialty Products Research Notes. LEC-D-56.
Traub, J.L.; A.M. Gallina, B.D. Grant, S.M. Reed, P.R.
Gavin and L.M. Paulsen (1983). Phenylututazone toxi-
cosis in the foal. Am. J. Vet. Res. 44:1410-1418.
Vatitstas, N.J.; Snyder, G. Carlson, B. Johnson, R.M.
Arthur, Thurmond, and K.C.K. Lloyd (1994).
Epidemiological study of gastric ulceration in the
Thoroughbred racehorse: 202 horses 1992-1993. 40th
AAEP Convention Proceedings. pp 125-126.
Wright, B. (1999). Equine digestive tract structure and
function. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture.
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