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Your horse has a low risk of developing Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) based on current management practices. Keep up your horse’s normal feeding routine and maintain the same environment and activity level to minimize the risk of ulcers in the future.
Your horse should be re-evaluated regularly to assess ulcer risk, especially if his/her diet, environment, stress level, training load or competition schedule changes.
Be vigilant for warning signs, including changes in appetite, body condition, comfort level, mood and performance. Learn about the most common signs of ulcers in horses here.
Top 5 Tips to Reduce Ulcer Risk
Help protect your horse’s digestive system. Follow these 5 tips to lower the risk of developing ulcers and support gastrointestinal health:
- Increase Meal Frequency: Horses that go a long time between meals have more acidic digestive tracts. Provide smaller meals with less time between feedings.
- Feed Less Grain and More Forage: Changes in dietary composition can significantly affect ulcer risk. Horses fed more hay and less grains or commercial feeds tend to develop fewer ulcers.
- Supplement your Horse’s Diet: Consider probiotics like those found in Visceral+ to nourish your horse’s microbiome and improve immunity. Addressing nutrient deficiencies can also enhance mucin production, building a natural defensive layer within the gut.
- Reduce Stall Confinement Time: Horses that spend too much time in confinement and not enough time grazing on pasture are more likely to have ulcers. Turnout with other horses is also correlated with decreased probability of EGUS.
- Prevent Excess Stress and Workload: Intense exercise and heavy work is strongly linked to ulcer risk. Trailering, changes in the environment, and other sources of stress can also increase risk. Manage your horse’s workload and try to minimize exposure to stress.
Supporting Gut Health
The gut plays an underappreciated role in the overall performance and well-being of your horse. It affects:
- Nutrient absorption
- Vitamin synthesis
- Immune health
- Skin and coat quality
- Weight management
- Stress response
- And more…
The digestive tract of a healthy horse is inhabited by trillions of beneficial bacteria. These microorganisms assist with a number of vital functions in the horse’s body, particularly digestive function and immune defences.
What you feed your horse has a significant impact on the equine microbiome. Consider adding a probiotic supplement or gut health formula to your horse’s diet to maintain good digestive function and reduce the risk of developing gastric issues in the future.
Support for Horses with Ulcers
If your horse develops ulcers or digestive upset in the future, consider using Visceral+, a clinically tested dietary supplement that provides nutritional support for horses with ulcers.
Visceral+ was developed in conjunction with veterinarians tired of treating ulcers with GastroGard (omeprazole) or UlcerGard only to have horses relapse post-treatment. Visceral+ provides complete coverage from stomach to colon.
Visceral+ is formulated with the highest quality probiotic ingredients, earth-grown nutrients, minerals and amino acids that your horse needs to naturally support the body’s own healing mechanisms and restore the integrity of the stomach and small intestines lining.
