Gastric ulcers - a reader's story

This piece was written by a client, in the hope that her story will inspire others to consider gastric ulcers as a potential cause of problems.

My lovely horse B has always been a bit ‘special’ – he has always had grumpy moments, and has been difficult to tack up. He is a really sensitive soul who just worries about everything so much – any changes to routine/feed/field mates generally cause him to stress and his behaviour can become erratic and sometimes extreme. He is a nightmare to get weight on, and while he can look poor at times, he always tries his best for me when we’re out competing.

Following a talk by Sue at Derby College Equestrian Centre, our yard arranged for her to come out to assess and treat our four horses, all with different issues! Sue came out and saw my horse – she immediately asked whether he had been treated for gastric ulcers by the vets and I replied that it had been discussed, but was never really ‘pushed’ as an option. Sue’s assessment was thorough and she was able to see the bigger picture in terms of not just treating the muscle soreness and imbalances that my boy has. I watched Sue used a whole range of different treatment methods, however she treated my gorgeous boy so beautifully – I could see him relaxing and ‘letting go’ of lots of his stress before my eyes, and I’m not ashamed to say that I was really emotional too!

Following Sue’s advice, I contacted my vets and booked him in for a gastroscopy to establish whether he had ulcers which were causing him pain. The results were that he did indeed have mild ulceration of the stomach lining and we put him straight onto a course of Gastrogard. Thankfully, my insurance company have agreed to pay for treatment, since it is rather expensive stuff… As soon as he went onto this treatment, B’s whole outlook changed, almost immediately. He relaxed his body, became far more loving and cuddly, and his grumpiness virtually disappeared. I was over the moon – having spent years trying to get him to put weight on (and keep it on) with good grazing he became just a little rounder. I know that he will never ever be a fat horse but it was so lovely to see him looking more ‘normal’ and less ‘knobbly’!

Sue has continued to monitor his progress throughout and has treated him a number of times since, with positive feedback.

We are currently going through a slightly difficult phase, as he has become extremely grumpy again since coming off the Gastrogard (under veterinary advice), and we have been through a tricky period of not eating the lovely, expensive completely organic feed which I decided to put him on, and an upset tummy due to haylage which was far too rich for him, and his refusal to eat the gastric supplement that the vets have prescribed for him, so I’m in liaison with the vets again to see if he can go back onto treatment for a while.

I know it will be an on-going battle between reducing the risk of ulcers reappearing and finding a suitable feed that will enable him to keep putting weight on (that he will actually decide to eat!), however with amazing support and encouragement from Sue and our vets at Pool House Equine Clinic, I’m really hopeful that between us we can get B to a point where he is healthy and happy.

Thanks Sue! xx