Re: Ulcers

[LEEVALLONE@aol.com]

I found out that ulcers can be very difficult to pin down.  I have owned my
mare since birth.   She has turn out on bermuda grass pasture about 12 hours a
day and when confined to a stall she has free choice of hay.  She is in a
quiet environment and is a very laid back horse, i.e. no racing around for
her.  Her first year of endurance (4 yrs old) she did four 25 mile rides, nice
and slow.  She received one BC.  The following year (5 yrs old) she went to a
ride and showed evidence of colic.  I pulled.  Two weeks later two more
episodes.  The local vets shook their heads.  I put her in the trailer and
went to the Gilbert Equine Hospital.  An endoscope showed the ulcerations.

They performed the test for helicobacter - it was negative.  They stated all
the normal factors, none of them fit her profile.  She never had bute, etc.,
etc.  They told me that 50% of horses with ulcers have a recurrence.  It's
been two years now, and she finished two 50s this year, and no sign of a
recurrence (thank God!).