Question
My Arabian mare is a worrywart. She’s an intelligent and willing partner, yet she seems to hold much of the anxiety inside. As you might expect, this has manifested as gastric ulcers and likely hindgut acidosis. We are starting her on omeprazole today. Can we simultaneously treat for gastric ulcers and hindgut acidosis? Time is of the essence as she will be off the omeprazole in a couple weeks, and I don’t want ulcers to recur. Help if you can, please!
Answer
A course of prescription-strength omeprazole is often used to heal gastric ulcers. Most veterinarians and nutritionists would suggest continuing protective therapy with a research-proven supplement to keep new ulcers from forming. This can begin immediately after the cessation of the omeprazole.
An effective time-released buffer, such as EquiShure, neutralizes excessive acid in the hindgut. Moderating the pH of the hindgut will create an environment that fosters the development and maintenance of a diverse microbiome, which is necessary for optimal digestion.
Nutritional supplements have been game-changers in the sphere of gastrointestinal health. They should not, however, take the place of sound feeding practices, which will also help stave off the development of gastric ulcers and hindgut acidosis, notably:
- Providing appropriate forage for much of the day. When allowed access to forage, horses will graze for up to 15 hours each day, rarely taking a break for longer than three hours. Selecting the best forage for the horse’s age, workload, and metabolism will help maintain moderate body condition. For easy keepers, measures should be taken to limit intake and avoid excessive weight gain, including the use of grazing muzzles or haynets with small openings. Hydrochloric acid is secreted in the stomach, regardless of whether it is full or empty. The risk of gastric ulceration increases when exposure to acid is not offset by regular access to forage.
- Offering small concentrate meals. Despite their size, horses have a relatively small stomach, and digesta spends little time there in comparison to other portions of the digestive tract. The size of the stomach is one reason why horses are anatomically engineered for almost continuous consumption of small meals, such as those provided by grazing bouts. When large meals overload the digestive capacity of the stomach and small intestine, undigested soluble carbohydrates land in the hindgut and, as aforementioned, this can lead to hindgut acidosis as well as other problems, such as colic and diarrhea.
The combination of conscientious management and nutritional supplementation can make an incredible difference in the gastrointestinal health of many horses.
