What should you feed a horse with gastric ulcers?

A horse with gastric ulcers should receive a high-fibre, high-forage diet which contains little or no whole cereal grains. Their total daily forage intake should be a minimum of 1.5% of their bodyweight.

What is equine glandular gastric disease?

Equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) is an increasingly recognized disease of the glandular mucosa of the equine stomach. Diagnosis is confirmed by gastric endoscopy and scored based upon one of several different endoscopic scoring systems. Prevalence appears to be variable, depending upon breed and discipline.

What causes equine gastric ulcer syndrome?

Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in foals and horses results from a disequilibrium between mucosal aggressive factors (hydrochloric acid, pepsin, bile acids, organic acids) and mucosal protective factors (mucus, bicarbonate).

Is alfalfa good for horses with ulcers?

Alfalfa is a popular forage choice among horse owners for a variety of reasons. It comes in a variety of forms (such as hay, pellets, chaff, and cubes), delivers more nutrients than a grass hay, and has been shown to benefit horses suffering from gastric ulcers due to its natural buffering capacity.

What is misoprostol used for in horses?

In horses, misoprostol has been shown to decrease gastric acid secretion, increase recovery of ischemia-injured equine jejunum, and is currently used to treat NSAID-induced colitis and ulceration (24–26). The anti-inflammatory properties of misoprostol, however, have yet to be studied in equine neutrophils.

What type of hay is best for horses with ulcers?

Lucerne hay has been shown in multiple studies to be effective in reducing the severity of ulcers in horses by providing superior buffering capacity compared to other forages. Gastric ulcers are very common in performance horses, affecting more than 90% of racehorses and 50 to 70% of other performance horses.

How long can a horse stay on omeprazole?

omeprazole (Gastrogard/Ulcergard?) In general, the omeprazole dosage for a horse undergoing TREATMENT for gastric ulcers is 4mg/kg (which for an average sized horse is one tube per day) for 30 days.

Can nutrition help prevent diseases in horses?

Research shows that many diseases in horses have a nutritional component. While some diseases may be caused by improper feeding or inadequate nutrition, others, not directly related to nutrition, can be helped greatly when the horse’s need for certain nutrients is met.

What are the causes of intestinal disease in horses?

Any disease that causes damage to the intestinal wall increases the need for specific nutrients for tissue repair. Colic due to gastroduodena ulcers and enteritis are examples of a disease or condition that puts the horse’s digestive system at risk and requires special nutrients both to cure and repair the damage.

What happens if a horse eats too much grain?

Over-feeding can become a problem in growing horses because of excessive weight gain and spurts of growth that may cause developmental orthopedic disease. Feeding more than 6 to 8 pounds of grain is not necessary unless hay quality is poor.

What does it mean when a horse has diarrhea?

Diarrhea in Horses. Diarrhea is not in itself a disease, but instead a symptom of many diseases, recognized when a horse’s feces change in consistency.