How to help your horse recover from stomach ulcers

GastroAID Recovery is the ultimate supplement that helps your horse’s gut during recovery from gastric ulcers.

Stomach ulcers or Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is one of the most common medical conditions in horses, affecting pleasure-riding ponies and racing-fit Thoroughbreds and every type of equine in between.

But just how do you treat stomach ulcers in horses without compromising your horse’s health or performance during recovery?

 

How can you help your horse recover from stomach ulcers?

Kelato Animal Health’s GastroAID Recovery is a scientifically formulated and proven supplement to help support your horse’s recovery from stomach ulcers, once he’s been treated with a vet-prescribed treatment.

Feeding GastroAID Recovery leads to better gut health and is ideal to use in times of stress or in the recovery period after stomach ulcers.

 

Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome

First things first, let’s talk about what EGUS actually is.

EGUS is an umbrella term for Equine Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD) – which one your horse suffers from depends on where the ulcerations are located within the stomach.

We now know that different factors can cause the development of each type of ulcer.

As grazing animals, horses’ stomachs are meant to be constantly filled with food. But when a horse doesn’t have enough to eat or isn’t eating the right kind of food, stomach acid can slosh around and start to eat away at the stomach lining. This causes squamous ulcers (ESGD) which are painful and can cause all sorts of behavioural and health problems.

Stress is a major cause of glandular ulcers (EGGD) and often racehorses or competition horses confined to stables or travelling away from home suffer stress-related issues.

Symptoms for both types can be changes in behaviour, such as girthiness when tacking up, and physical symptoms, such as poor appetite, weight loss, diarrhoea, or colic. If left untreated, both squamous and glandular ulcers can become a chronic problem that can lead to further complications.

 

Initial treatment of stomach ulcers

If you think your horse could be suffering from stomach ulcers, it’s important to involve your vet. The signs can vary between horses and the only way to reach a definitive diagnosis is to gastroscope the horse.

If the scope shows stomach ulcers, the best course of action is to treat the horse with a vet-prescribed medication, which is the most effective treatment for ulcers. Some of these medications can work by giving the ulcers an opportunity to heal by restricting acid production in the stomach.

After treatment has shown a clear improvement, it is the ideal time to introduce GastroAID Recovery to your horse’s diet. This will give the best chance of optimising gut health, in a way that is safe for the sensitive digestive system.

 

How does GastroAID Recovery work?

GastroAID Recovery works on the whole digestive system and maintains a healthy environment in the all-important hindgut.

It all comes down to the ingredients and their role in the process. Some of them might surprise you.

  1. Wholegrain oat flour – this helps to slow down the passage of food through the digestive system, which allows for better absorption of nutrients. This helps your horse get the most out of their food and promotes healthy digestion, which is essential for good gut health.
  2. Antacids – these help to stabilise the pH in your horse’s stomach, which reduces the irritation to the stomach lining caused by gastric acid (like heartburn for horses). GastroAID Recovery’s antacids such as sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide may help to relieve some of the discomforts your horse may be experiencing.
  3. Coating agents – in low-pH environments (the condition of a gut recovering from stomach ulcers) pectin forms a gel-like layer that coats the stomach lining, shielding it from the corrosive effects of gastric acids. Lecithin helps by forming a barrier between the stomach lining and acid, and the two work perfectly together in combination with the antacids to create an ‘alkaline slime’ – promoting a healthy, robust stomach lining.
  4. Prebiotics – these are well-known must-haves in looking after gut health, and have many benefits, such as stabilising the hindgut microflora balance in favour of good bacteria and strengthening the gut’s natural defences.
  5. Probiotics – these are also well-known in healthy gut optimisation. GastroAID Recovery contains Levucell® SC, a natural, concentrated live yeast that helps to maintain a healthy environment in the hindgut. This then helps to stabilise the pH in the hindgut, which reduces the amount of lactic acid produced, which in turn, improves your horse’s feed conversion efficiency.

GastroAID Recovery

GastroAID Recovery can save you money!

When your horse’s gut health is optimised your feed can go a long way.  By adding GastroAID Recovery to your horse’s diet, feed conversion efficiency goes up.

Optimised feed conversion = Less wastage = Money saved.

GastroAID Recovery isn’t just about the ingredients – it’s also super easy to use. Simply add the recommended dosage to your horse’s feed.

And it doesn’t contain any prohibited substances, so it’s safe for use in competition horses.

By slowing down the digestive process, stabilising pH levels, coating the stomach lining, strengthening the gut’s natural defences, and maintaining a healthy hindgut environment, GastroAID Recovery can help support your horse’s gut, especially if they have a history of ulcers.

 

What next?

You can find out more about GastroAID Recovery and other effective Kelato Animal Health products HERE.

And be sure to join our mailing list to keep up with all our latest news, products, and information to keep your horse happy, healthy, and in peak performance. Sign up here 

 

To Note

If your horse has been diagnosed with gastric ulcers, it’s important to work with your veterinarian to develop a treatment plan. This may include medication, dietary changes, and other measures. But by adding GastroAID Recovery to your horse’s diet, you can help to support their recovery and improve their overall health and well-being.

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