Clinical Indications and Symptoms of
Equine Gastric Ulcer

Indications of ulcer
There are many clinical indications and symptoms, which can be associated with equine gastric ulcers.

It is important to realize that some horses, with inflamed mucosal epithelium, do not show any specific symptoms at the beginning of the onset.

An alert trainer/owner will notice a change in the condition of the horse such as, lethargy and apparent bad appetite.

Foal
Research shows that very young foals have symptoms of, or have developed gastric ulcers.

The foal is often fed with pellets and that type of feeding starts an allergic reaction and different kind of symptoms start.

The most common symptoms are:

• Diarrhoea
• Colic
• Poor growth
• Dull coat,
• Pot belly,
• Grinding of teeth,
• Excessive salivation,
• Swollen glands under the jaw bone
• Interrupted nursing
• Low iron value

Also, the foal can show symptoms of thyroid problems and a reduced immune defense system. The foal may also react very badly to vaccinations because of reduced immune defense system.

The Adult Horse
The first symptoms of a stomach problem in an adult horse often starts on the right side.
The horse shows symptom of:

• Stiff neck and shoulder muscles
• Problems with the knees and front vertebra joints
• Tension in the groin.

After the horse develops a stomach ulcer the symptoms become much more noticeable.
Examples of these symptoms may include:

• Poor and dull coat
• Colic
• Sluggishness in the muscles
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss.
• Significant increases in the production of saliva or dry mouth
• Swollen glands under the jawbone
• Thyroid gland problem
• Low iron value

Causes of Gastric Ulcer

• Diet and feeding management
• High level of concentrate (mixtures of grain, vitamins and minerals and preservatives in various form of textures e.g. sweet-feed, pelleted feed)
• Feed-deprivation
• Meal-feeding
• Allergic reaction
• Heated feed
• Treatment with NSAID medicine
• Treatment of corticosteroids
• Bile acid reflux
• Stress