October's issue of Equus magazine arrived the other day. What a surprize to see that there was an article titled "Understanding Ulcers". Equally as surprizing to me was that the author is Heather Smith Thomas. This surprized me because she has been writing horse related articles since I was a kid(a million years ago), and I didn't know she was still alive! Does this mean that ulcers are as common as I thought? Why would a leading magazine bother with an article unless it would draw its' readers interest?
Of course I read every word, and have been enlightened. The 5 major risk factors for developing ulcers are: Long periods between meals; diets high in grain/low in forage; Intense high-speed training; Stress; and Illness. 90% of racehorses have ulcers, as do high performance athletes, and show horses kept in stalls being fed large amounts of grain, and subjected to travel, training and competition. The most effective long term way to prevent ulcers is to make changes in the horses'lifestyle. Lets keep stall confinement at a minimum, stick to a routine, and provide lots of forage. In otherwords, let horses be horses!
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