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Revealed: How to handle gastric ulcers

Revealed: How to handle gastric ulcers

23 June 2017

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- Posted by Simone McConnell

How’s the stomach health of your horse?

Because it’s estimated that up to 90% of racehorses, 60% of sport horses, and 50% of foals suffer from gastric ulcers, even though they can be rather difficult to detect. 

Read on to learn more about the causes and management of gastric ulcers...

Causes of gastric ulcers

In horses, there are a number of possible causes for gastric ulcers, including;

  • Low roughage
  • Intensive exercise
  • High grain based diet
  • Limited turn out time
  • Intermittent feeding

And training, travel, hay fluctuations or other changes in the normal daily routine can also upset your horse’s digestion.

The impact of gastric ulcers

It’s no secret that poor digestive health leads onto other problems, like poor performance, attitude and behavioural challenges, colic, reduced appetite – to name a few. So if you’re concerned about gastric ulcers, or you’ve noticed undigested grain in your horse’s manure, then read on to learn how to handle them.

Managing gastric ulcers

The good news is that gastric ulcers can be dealt with.
 
Yes, antacids are a short term fix, they’re sometimes necessary to get your horse eating again. But a word of caution, antacids do nothing to help with the long term healing or prevention of gastric ulcers. 
 
For long term stomach health, you need a supplement that contains slippery elm, marshmallow root or aloe vera to help reduce inflammation, and ingredients that improve gut flora and help to alkalise stomach acid – and you’ll find these in G.U.T. supplement.
 
And depending on the gastric ulcer cause, another solution is to increase fats in the diet as a source of energy and calories, because this helps to reduce the reliance on high grain diets. Now I’m a bit biased, but our Body Builder is worth a look for increasing fats, as it has pharmaceutical grade, easily digested rice bran oil – but most importantly, everyone I’ve supplied it to raves about it.
 
If you ask me, the secret to a healthy stomach and gastrointestinal (GI) tract is to maintain a healthy pH balance and good stomach flora, I personally believe that natural products are the best choice for the long-term prevention and treatment of ulcers. What do you think?
 
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