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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Body Condition Score Is Not Correlated to Gastric Ulcers in ...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2022; 12(19); doi: 10.3390/ani12192637

Body Condition Score Is Not Correlated to Gastric Ulcers in Non-Athlete Horses.

Abstract: Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is a worldwide disease of the stomach that can be found in different categories of horses. Different clinical signs may be present, but a large number of horses are asymptomatic. The aim of this study was to identify a possible correlation between body condition score (BCS) and EGUS in a population of horses. A total of 203 non-athlete horses were submitted for gastroscopies, and the presence and severity of lesions of the glandular and squamous mucosa were recorded. A board-certified veterinarian blinded to the gastroscopy results assessed the BCS of the horse. In the study population, no correlation was found between BCS and the presence of gastric lesions in either the glandular or the squamous mucosa. The disease of the squamous or glandular mucosa cannot be excluded based only on the presence of normal or increased BCS in non-athlete horses.
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Publication Date: 2022-09-30 PubMed ID: 36230378PubMed Central: PMC9559310DOI: 10.3390/ani12192637Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research investigates the relationship between body condition score (BCS) and gastric ulcers in non-athlete horses, finding no significant correlation between the two.

Study Purpose and Methodology

  • The study aimed to discover if there was a correlation between body condition score (BCS) and Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS), a global equine stomach disease, in non-athlete horses.
  • The research involved 203 non-athlete horses, all of which underwent gastroscopies. This allowed the researchers to observe and record any lesions present in the horses’ glandular and squamous mucosa.
  • To prevent bias, a board-certified veterinarian blind to the gastroscopy results was responsible for assessing the horses’ BCS.

Key Findings

  • The research found no evidence of a relationship between the BCS and the presence of gastric lesions in either the glandular or squamous mucosa of the horses.
  • Thus, the researchers concluded that the condition of the squamous or glandular mucosa cannot be determined solely by observing a horse’s BCS, regardless of whether it is normal or increased in non-athlete horses.

Conclusions and Implications

  • The results suggest that BCS, which is typically used as an indicator of a horse’s overall condition, cannot be relied upon as a predictor for gastric ulcers in non-athlete horses.
  • Therefore, this research indicates the need for alternative methods of early detection for EGUS in horses, as it cannot be inferred solely based on their body condition score.

Cite This Article

APA
Busechian S, Turini L, Sgorbini M, Bonelli F, Pisello L, Pieramati C, Orvieto S, Rueca F. (2022). Body Condition Score Is Not Correlated to Gastric Ulcers in Non-Athlete Horses. Animals (Basel), 12(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192637

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 19

Researcher Affiliations

Busechian, Sara
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Turini, Luca
  • Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-Environmental Sciences, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Sgorbini, Micaela
  • Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Bonelli, Francesca
  • Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Pisello, Lorenzo
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Pieramati, Camillo
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Orvieto, Simona
  • Independent Researcher, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Rueca, Fabrizio
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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