Appropriate preventive and therapeutic measures to avoid and/or treat gastric ulcers in endurance horses might improve performance.

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is extremely common in competitive horses involved in show jumping, dressage, and Western disciplines. One recent study reported that more than 90% of racehorses had EGUS.

"Unlike these other types of athletic horses, the prevalence of gastric ulcers in endurance horses is less well-studied. One group found that two-thirds of horses examined after a 50 or 80 km endurance ride had gastric ulcers, but no data on horses competing at higher levels (i.e., 90-160 km) are currently available," said Youssef Tamzali, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECEIM, of the Ecole Veterinaire de Toulouse (National Veterinary School) in France.

Tamzali and his research team, therefore, performed two separate gastroscopes in 30 high-level endurance horses: one during the off-season period and the second during the competition season within 2-3 days of competing in a 90-160 km ride