In the coming weeks, Merial will provide a series of columns from experienced veterinarians. These columns are based on questions Merial receives every day from horse owners across the country. Chances are, you or someone you know has the same question, such as:
QUESTION: Do certain horses have a higher risk of developing stomach ulcers than others?
ANSWER: No matter what breed
A wide variety of breeds are susceptible to stomach ulcers because h
In fact, stomach ulcers have been found in up to 93 percent of racehorses,4 63 percent of nonracing competitive horses5 and 75 percent of nonpregnant broodmares.6
Many h
On the other hand, h
Eliminating the stress from your h
All horses produce acid around the clock, no matter what breed
Dr. Knudson specializes in equine health care and has a special interest in sport horse lameness and internal medicine. She holds a doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of California-Davis.
*When treated for 8 to 28 days, ULCERGARD is proven to effectively prevent stomach ulcers in horses exposed to stressful conditions.
ULCERGARD® (omeprazole) can be used in horses that weigh at least 600 pounds. The effectiveness of ULCERGARD in the prevention of gastric ulcers in foals and weanlings has not been evaluated. ULCERGARD may be used safely in breeding stallions. Safety in pregnant mares has not been determined.
®ULCERGARD is a registered trademark of the AstraZeneca Group of Companies. ©2009 Merial Limited.
1ULCERGARD scoping event results. Data on file at Merial.
2Kitchen DL, Merritt AM, Burrow JA. Histamine-induced gastric acid secretion in horses. AJVR 1998;59(10):1303-1306.
3ULCERGARD product label.
4Murray MJ, Schusser GF, Pipers FS, Gross SJ. Factors associated with gastric lesions in Thoroughbred racehorses. Equine Vet J 1996;28:368-374.
5Mitchell RD. Prevalence of gastric ulcers in hunter/jumper and dressage horses evaluated for poor performance. Association for Equine Sports Medicine, September 2001.
6le Jeune SS, Nieto JE, Dechant JE, Snyder JR. Prevalence of gastric ulcers in Thoroughbred broodmares in pasture: A preliminary report. The Veterinary Journal (2008). doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2008.03.020
7McClure SR, Carithers DS, Gross SJ, Murray MJ. Gastric ulcer development in horses in a simulated show or training environment. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2005;227(5):775-777.