Stomach Ulcers in Horses present with signs such as going off their feed, and sometimes also becoming grumpy, twitchy and girthy. Horses on unsuitable forage, especially cool season pastures (rye-grass, cocksfoot, timothy, all clovers) when they are in growth mode, or in spring and autumn also get grumpy, twitchy and girthy.
Girthiness or Ulcers?
How can you tell which it is?
The scoping procedure to verify the presence of ulcers isn’t the most pleasant experience and can be costly.
Here are a few points to consider:
Horses with gastric ulcers usually go off their feed, it is like they want to eat but can’t bring themselves to.
They can have an aversion to salt (because it stings open wounds which is what ulcers are) and possibly GrazeEzy for the same reason.
The root cause of ulcers is most often a lack of fibre which is most commonly due to:
- Going too long without forage (more than 4 hours) as in when hay runs out too soon, travelling long distances, being tied to the float/trailer or yarded for hours without hay.
- Or the horse is living on very short grass (eg Jenny Craig or wearing a grazing muzzle for too many hours of the day) or young, lush grass (neither of which provide enough fibre compared to mature grass or hay).
- Whatever the reason there is a lack of ‘chew time’ – vital because chewing produces saliva which contains a buffer which, when there is a continuous trickle into the stomach, keeps the pH of gastric juice at the ideal level of acidity.
In a nutshell, the equine stomach is divided into two regions – the lining of the lower region contains the glands which produce the gastric juices including stomach acid and protective mucosal substances, while the non-glandular upper area is relatively unprotected except by the ‘fibrous mat’ that should lie on top of the gastric juices thereby helping to prevent gastric acid ‘splash’.
This is the reason for making sure you don’t exercise the horse on an empty stomach. The top section is therefore most prone to ulcers, especially when there is insufficient fibre to form the ‘fibrous mat’.
Stress is a by-product of a diet or lifestyle which involves any form of food deprivation, even for short periods. For a horse, things are OK in the world when he has another equine for company and forage on which to chew. That ‘empty stomach’ feeling is a major cause of stress in horses and is why, in the worst cases they start wind-sucking for relief.
It is easy to see how ‘solutions’ tend to focus on adjusting the acidity of the gastric juices when in fact this is the last thing you want to do. Not only because the gastric juices need to be acidic (can be as low as pH 1.5) in order to begin the process of digesting the fibrous material but because neutralising it in any way is antagonistic to the very nutrients needed for the horses nervous system to function so that he can be calm and happy rather than twitchy, grumpy and girthy.
Girthiness/Grumpiness can also be due to a disturbance to basic bio-chemistry. The horses skin is densely populated with nerve endings which, when the fluids bathing the nerves aren’t composed of the right minerals, can malfunction and become hyper-sensitive.
Understandably the horse will dislike being girthed and other normal activities like being brushed or rugged.
Lucerne/alfalfa is often recommended for horses suspected of having ulcers because of the ‘buffering’ effect of its high calcium content. We do not advise this ever because the even higher crude protein and potassium content of Lucerne overwhelms that aspect when horses are already grazing cool season grasses and clovers.
Adding lucerne to feeds has its place but it pays to be aware it is not always appropriate, as many people, where pastures consist of cool season grasses and clovers, have experienced.
The combined effect of cool season grasses plus Lucerne has far-reaching consequences including where horses and ponies become unsafe to be around let alone ride. There are better, safer options.
The irony here is that feeding lucerne can easily cause horses to be ‘girthy, twitchy and grumpy’. Removing it from the diet is often all that is needed.
It is well worth trying dietary adjustments. Feed ad lib grassy hay, eliminate potassium rich feeds like Lucerne, soy & molasses and add SOS to their plain feed twice daily until the issue has resolved. Click here for dietary advice.
Money spent on good grass hay is always money well spent. For the Symptoms of Gastric Ulcers and more information on maintaining digestive health go to: https://www.calmhealthyhorses.com/digestive-health
For more advice, complete our complimentary Horse Questionnaire.
