Hard to stomach
While an often frustrating condition, understanding of gastric ulcers has improved considerably in recent years. Vet Leona Bramall tells all
Photos: Jon Stroud. With thanks to XL Vets Equine member Oakhill Veterinary Centre for their help with this feature, oakhill-vets.co.ukxlvets.co.uk
Our expert
Leona Bramall MVB CertAVP(EM) MRCVS is an equine vet at Oakhill Veterinary Centre in Lancashire and an Advanced Practitioner in Equine Internal Medicine. She has a particular interest in gastrointestinal, respiratory, dermatology and foal medicine cases.
One of the horse world’s biggest buzzwords, almost all owners have either heard of ulcers – or equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) to use the condition’s full name – or know of a horse who’s experienced them. Once considered a disease of elite equines, affecting only those undergoing the most intense exercise regimes, these days we see increasing numbers of leisure and companion horses succumb to stomach ulceration. But does this mean there’s an increase in incidence? Or are we just getting better at recognising the signs? Let’s take a closer look.
Gastric anatomy
To understand why gastric ulceration occurs and the different types of ulcers that develop, it’s important to know a little about the normal anatomy of the equine stomach. It can be broadly subdivided into…
• squamous mucosa The lining of the top portion of a horse’s stomach. This part of the stomach doesn’t produce a mucus barrier to protect it from acidic secretions. In a normal horse, the squamous mucosa is white
• glandular mucosa The bottom portion of a horse’s stomach contains glands that produce gastric acid and other secretions in addition to mucus to protect the lining from acid damage. In a normal horse, this portion of the stomach is pink
• margo plicatus The name given to the sharp line separating the squamous and glandular mucosal surfaces
• pylorus The exit into the intestine from the stomach