Gastrsocopy is the term used to describe the procedure of looking inside a horse’s stomach with a 3metre long gastroscope. It allows us to look for diseases of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. The most common reason for this examination is to detect the presence of gastric ulcers.
Gastric ulceration is extremely common in horses and will be found in over 90% of racing thoroughbreds, 60% of competition sports horses and up to 37% of non-competition horses. Clinical signs are often vague but can include:
Weanlings and foals are also at very great risk of the development of ulcers, particularly at times of stress such as illness.
Due to the variety of presenting signs accurate diagnosis is essential. Our video-gastroscope allows us great visualisation of the stomach even in the biggest of horses. This is linked to a DVD recorder so that the degree of ulceration may be recorded and used a reference to assess response to any treatment protocol initiated.
Treatment is very effective and consists of medicine to limit the production of stomach acid, along with essential changes in diet and management regimes. For any further information please contact the clinic.
