15/04/2025
ULCERS ARE A TERTIARY ISSUE
I believe we tend to worry too much about ulcers. In most cases, it is really just something that is a result of other issues and it’s those that we really need to focus on. I really don’t understand why we are still at the stage where we insist on starving our horses for min 12 hours (which is likely to cause ulcers anyway…) just to see something that we can just already assume that’s happening. There are other, easier ways of confirming inflammation and discomfort in the gut.
Here are some other factors that are almost guaranteed to cause ulcers in your horse:
-multiple homes in a short space of time
- if you have been feeling that something hasn’t been quite right with your horse for a while and then your vet or bodyworker suspects and/or confirms joint or other physical issue in the horse
- doing too much too quickly
- horses trained and backed in Ireland
- ex-racers or TBs that have only done training
- your horse is ‘difficult’ to ride
- being ridden in ill-fitting tack for some time
The reason why gut ulcers are a tertiary issue and not only secondary, is because our ways of handling and training them are almost always the main issue. This includes us doing anything with them that causes them stress.
The secondary issue is then usually pain somewhere in the body, causing a spike in cortisol, which causes inflammation in the whole body which then causes ulcers. When you throw the gut biome imbalance in the mix, you actually get an even longer string of issues, making ulcers the fourth or fifth issue, being right at the end of that chain. It’s like having a problem with your teeth and analysing the stool only…
Here’s my Momo, who had multiple issues and came to me basically unrideable at the time. Teeth never done, horrible feet, suspected kissing spine at T16-T18, walking like a duck due to arthritic hocks and obviously ulcers were a given so I fed her accordingly to that from day one. We are now slowly starting ridden work and building up strength in the back and she’s just doing fab.
Just a bit of common sense goes a long way, guys.