Articles & Education

Could your horse have gastric ulcers?

Cheshire Equine Clinic signs up as a Vet REACT Colic Champion as part of the REACT Now to Beat Colic campaign devised by the British Horse Society and The University of Nottingham Vet School to help horse owners combat the life-threatening condition of colic.

Choosing the right horse or pony can be a long process with many miles travelled and opinions sought. Once you are ready to make the final decision to buy, a pre-purchase examination (“vetting”) is sensible.

Recent research indicates that resistance to many of the wormers available to us is becoming a serious problem. As there are no new wormers in “the pipeline” it is important that we preserve the efficacy of the wormers we currently have. An integrated approach including good management practices and an individual approach to worming for each horse or pony is needed. This will help to reduce our reliance on wormers to prevent disease associated with high worm burdens.

It is well known that our population of racehorses are commonly affected by equine gastric ulceration (EGUS). This troublesome condition needs to be addressed and managed on all race yards as it is a welfare concern, and can negatively affect performance. But, our performance horses also suffer, as 60% are reported to be affected by EGUS as well as 40% of our general riding horses.