Gastric Ulcers
Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) describes the erosion of the horse’s stomach lining, due to prolonged exposure to the acid produced by the stomach.
EGUS spans a wide spectrum of severity, from an inflamed but intact stomach lining, through to widespread erosion and bleeding. In extreme circumstances the condition develops to such an extent that perforation of the stomach can occur, and this can be fatal. Such fatalities most commonly occur in foals, rather than adult horses.
To check if ulceration is present we use an endoscope to obtain images of the stomach lining and then dependant on the severity we can offer treatment options for the ulcers and management advice to prevent it occurring again in the long term.
For more information about gastric ulcers please see our information sheet on EGUS.