Stomach ulcers are common according to various studies: 10% in horses that do not work to 50-90% in horses that do workout or work very intensively. That means that in the average stable yard, perhaps half of the horses have some form of stomach ulcers! Well, usually half of the horses don’t show symptoms, small stomach ulcers can develop unnoticed and disappear again. Problems arise when they take up a lot of surface area or become too deep.
Very deep stomach ulcers that are heavily infected can damage the stomach wall to such an extent that a hole is created and the stomach contents leak to the abdominal cavity, which could lead to death. So stomach ulcers are certainly not harmless!
There are a lot of risk factors that can cause stomach ulcers: nutrition, management, stress, pain.
- Horses that get too little hay and / or too much concentrate, stand too long without roughage (straw can also be roughage),
- Horses that stand alone a lot or in a busy stable or in a herd with a lot of change
- Horses that often go on transport / competition
- Pain from the saddle
- An injury or being trained incorrectly.
When one of these factors is present, it is of course not too bad
But….when several things pile up, you have the perfect recipe for the development of stomach ulcers. The solution for curing (and preventing) stomach ulcers in the first instance lies in removing as many of these risk factors as possible. The treatment of stomach ulcers must be complete, just changing the feed or just giving medication is not enough.
Symptoms of stomach ulcers are varied: sensitive at the girth, pressure pain on the back, losing weight or not being able to gain weight, a horse that does not like to eat concentrates, grinding the teeth, flehming and / or yawn after eating or while working, not properly digested manure and colic-like complaints. Grumpy behavior or not wanting to move can also be part of this.
Of course, an official diagnosis can only be made by a veterinarian and the only way to really confirm gastric ulcers is through a gastroscopy.
We can get a suspicion of stomach ulcers from a herbal measurement by the choice of herbs and supplements. Mastic Horse Treatment is also included in the test set, which is often chosen in combination with such a suspicion. With the good combination of herbs and possibly Mastic Horse we see a change in the external symptoms (which may not have been clearly indicative of stomach ulcers or were not noticed before), which confirms the suspicion.
Here is a list of herbs that we at The Horse Therapist have in our range that help or can help with stomach problems.
-Aniseed (cramps / colic, appetite, intestinal flora and intestinal resistance, digestion)
-basil (cramps, appetite, intestinal flora and intestinal resistance, digestion, stress)
-blackberry leaf (resistance, anti-inflammatory, detoxification, de-acidification)
-dill (cramps / colic, appetite, intestinal flora )
-raspberry leaf (resistance, anti-inflammatory, detoxification, digestion)
-marshmallow leaf (resistance, detoxification, mucous membrane, intestinal flora)
-chamomile (resistance, anti-inflammatory, mucous membrane, intestinal flora, digestion, de-acidification, stress)
-milk thistle (appetite, digestion, anti-inflammatory)
-peppermint (cramps / colic, appetite, digestion, anti-inflammatory, neutralize stomach acid, stress)
-rosemary (cramp, digestion, anti-inflammatory, stress)
-sage (detoxification, anti-inflammatory, resistance)
-thyme (resistance, detoxification, appetite, cramps, intestinal flora, digestion)
-fennel seed (intestinal flora, digestion, anti-inflammatory)
-plantain (digestion, appetite, detox)
-licorice (cramps, anti-inflammatory, detox, protects stomach, mucous membrane).
As you can see, the effects are very diverse. Stomach ulcers are described in the literature as a syndrome - gastric ulcers in one horse can therefore occur in a completely different place in the stomach with a different cause than in the other horse. The location, the surface, the depth and the amount of infection (bacteria are also in the stomach!) Make a difference for the treatment. Therefore it makes no sense to just pick out some herbs and start giving them. Herbs also work in combination with each other, so one mix can focus on a certain effect, the other mix has a broader effect. We see from experience that horses with stomach ulcers also choose herbs that have effects on the intestines and intestinal flora plus inhibiting inflammation and detoxifying and de-acidifying the body.
A little deeper into Mastic Horse Treatment, written by the Mastic Horse team:
What is Mastic Horse Treatment and what makes it so special:
Mastic Horse offers with Mastic Horse Treatment a new and unique product that can be used for stomach and intestinal problems in horses and promotes intestinal health. MHT is a 100% natural product with a history of Mastiha from centuries ago. MHT consists of Mastiha resin (in powder form) and inulin from the chicory root. Mastiha has been known for centuries for its beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal system and many other positive effects on the body. This Mastiha resin (from a unique location in Greece, the island of Chios) has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. Inulin contributes to a good intestinal flora. MHT leaves the pH value of the horse's stomach untouched and is also completely doping-free.
Experiences Mastic Horse Treatment in practice:
User experiences are very important to us. Every horse has its own problems. Nevertheless, it appears that Mastic Horse Treatment offers a solution for many problems. Think of: staying lean, sensitivity when girthing, coarse or just weak manure and colic. Often these problems give an indication of stomach ulcers, which can be successfully treated with Mastic. Other problems such as pressure pain on the back under the saddle, sensitive skin, poor condition or health and stiffness during training can be solved with MHT, if it originates from the stomach and intestines. All kinds of vague complaints disappear when you restore intestinal health and the intestinal flora is back in balance.
Frequently heard comments are:
"Horses have fully recovered from their stomach ulcers after about 6 weeks after a course of MHT"; "Ensures the absorption of minerals and nutrients in the regular feed"; "Wonder drug, to be used for all kinds of complaints"; “Can be used preventive as a stomach protector during stress moments such as competitions, visits to farrier, tight stables, moving house”; “Good to combine with other products”
"No side effects"; "Profitable price; Better eating behavior; "Doping free".
Knowledge and experiences:
Scientific research in the field of Mastiha can be found in large numbers on the internet. Reports from around the world indicate that the therapeutic benefits seen in humans are also replicated in horses. It has been used successfully in horses with stomach ulcers, where conventional medicines have not been effective or long-lasting. Studies and observations of horse owners who have given Mastic Horse Treatment indicate that a consistent pattern is apparent between 3 and 21 days after treatment initiation (even in horses where no apparent health problems were known). In short, Mastic Horse Treatment, unique in its kind!
The Horse Therapist experience
Since we started testing Mastic together with our herbs, we have discovered that in cases of horses and ponies with a heavier stomach and / or intestinal problems, MHT benefits greatly from a combination of the right herbs with MHT. Of course in combination with adjusting the feed and adjusting the management of the horse where necessary. So we get a treatment that really suits the horse and that is not just symptom relief!
Written by Anouk Wiertz & Jente Driessen in collaboration with Mastic Horse Treatment and translated by Sharon Bronsveld