Etiopathogenesis and diagnosis of gastric ulcers in horses

K. Kubiak, M. Jankowski, J. Spu?ak, A. Nied?wied?, J. Nicpo?, V. Vlizlo, K. Michlik, M. Grzegory, I. Maksymovych

Gastric ulcers is a common problem in horses. In the past few years, it seen a worsening of the problem, both in adult horses, as well as in foals [1, 3]. Increased diagnosis frequency of peptic ulcers is associated with the introduction of endoscopy of the stomach (gastroscopy) [2, 5, 6, 7]. Underlying to the increased incidence of gastric ulcers, are wrong nutrition, stress factors and the type of work, as well as the overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) [4, 8, 13, 14, 16]. Currently the horses, because of the specific keeping way, and increased participation of ground feed (pellets, ground feed), spends less time eating, and extended or irregular intervals between meals compounded by the adverse effect of food is poor in fiber. Taking into consideration this aspect of the nutrition and heavy use in sport, the horses are exposed to the negative processes in the stomach, leading to ulceration of the mucosa. According to the Polish and foreign literature, gastric ulcers in horses depending on use, are in the following frequency: racing horses (mostly thoroughbreds) - 60-90 %, trotting horses - 50 % (94 %), jumping and dressage horses - up to 58 %, recreational horses-about 15 % [17, 20, 21].

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