Research has shown that 90% or more of high-level performance horses have gastric ulcers, and that lower-level show horses also can get ulcers, but at a lower rate. The Horse and Merial (manufacturers of GastroGard and UlcerGard, ulcer treatment and preventive) joined forces with Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., to have some pleasure and low-level show horses examined for ulcers to see if the average horse suffers from stomach ulcers.

Fifteen low-level show horses (shown a few times a year) that “weren’t doing quite right” in Central Kentucky were recommended by their veterinarians to take part in an endoscopic survey on April 16. Some horses were recommended because they ate a lot of feed and never gained weight, while others displayed nervousness, teeth grinding, and a poor hair coat. These 15 horses were turned out every day, with fairly stress-free lives.

Each horse was trailered to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and examined with an endoscope by internal medicine specialist Bill Bernard, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM. Also on hand was Stephanie Thompson, DVM, manager of veterinary technical services at Merial.

The actual scoping procedure for each horse lasted less than 10 minutes and was done under sedation using Boehringer-Ingelheim’s new tranquilizer Sedi-Vet. The sedative causes less ataxia (incoordination) than other sedatives currently available and helps the horse wake up faster; the horses stand quietly, but can walk away after the procedure without stumbling