Gastric ulcers in horses: a comparison of endoscopic findings in horses with and without clinical signs.

The research article studies the occurrence and severity of gastric ulcers in horses, comparing those with clinical signs of gastrointestinal issues to those without any apparent issues.

Research Method

• The study involved gastroendoscopic examinations of 187 horses aged between one and 24 years. These screenings involved inspecting the internal lining of the horse’s stomach for signs of gastric ulcers.
• Among the horses, 87 of them had various clinical signs including chronic, recurrent, or acute colic, reduced appetite, bad physical condition, or chronic diarrhea. These horses made up the group with gastrointestinal issues.
• The remaining 100 horses showed no signs of gastrointestinal problems and were part of a independent gastroendoscopic survey. These comprised the group without clinical signs.

Scoring the Severity of Lesions

• The researchers assessed the severity of lesions found in various parts of the horse’s stomach such as the squamous fundus, margo plicatus, glandular fundus, and the lesser curvature.
• A grading scale from 0 to 4 was used to score the lesions, with 0 representing no lesions and 4 representing the most severe lesions.

Findings

• The mean scores for the squamous fundus, margo plicatus, and the lesser curvature were significantly higher in horses with clinical signs than those without. This suggests that horses with clinical signs had more severe gastric lesions.
• There were also more horses with lesions in the symptomatic group than those without signs. Among the 87 horses with clinical signs, 80 had lesions, whereas amongst the 100 horses without signs, only 52 had lesions.

Impact of Training

• The study found that among the 74 horses in race training, there was a significantly greater prevalence and severity of lesions at all examined sites except the glandular fundus. This indicates that training can exacerbate existing gastric lesions or make horses more prone to developing one.
• Out of the 37 horses in training, further differences were found between those displaying clinical signs (indicating gastrointestinal issues) and those without clinical signs. Gastrointestinal problems were more frequent and severe in training horses that displayed clinical signs.