Sessions

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a collective term for diseases affecting the squamous and glandular mucosa of the stomach. Equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD), which damages the squamous epithelium, is particularly common in Thoroughbred racehorses in training. Equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) is less common but causessignificant lesions thatusually heal more slowly. Several weeks of medication for racehorses with gastric ulcers often entails financial difficulties. As an alternative, owners and trainers often consider doping-free feed supplements.

We investigated the efficacy of the Equinox Nonegus feed supplement – which is free from banned substances – in actively competingThoroughbreds. Initially,we included 32 horses exhibiting signs characteristic of gastric ulcers. During the first gastroscopy, 24 (75%) animals had gastric ulcers, so we began administering the product to these animals over an 8-week period, while they continued their usual training and competition regime.We examined the horses by gastroscopy on two occasions, at time points T0 and T1. We carried out the second examinationon 17 horses, as 7 animals were withdrawn from training for orthopaedic reasons and transported away from the study site. The interval between T0 and T1 ranged from 105 to 122 days (median: 110 days). We scored the ESGD on the internationally accepted 0–4 scale. We primarily described EGGD by its presence or absence, as well as lesion location and morphology. In addition, we used the 0–4 scale for glandular mucosaas an exploratory variable. We statistically analysed changes in total ESGD pairs, EGGD presence and differences in body weight.

The 24 horses included in the study (13 stallions, 3 geldings, 8 mares) had a mean age of 3.6±1.1 years. In the 17 complete ESGD data pairs, the median grade at T0 was 3 and at T1 was 2. In twelve horses (70.6%), the grade decreased; in four (23.5%), it remained unchanged; and in one (5.9%),it increased (p=0.0034). Of the 13 pairs with complete EGGD detection, ten (76.9%) were positive at both examinations, two (15.4%) changed from positive to negative, and one (7.7%) was negative on both occasions (p=0.50). The glandular grade decreased in four out of 12 individuals (33.3%), remained unchanged in six (50%), and increased in two (16.7%) (p=0.6875). The mean T0 body weight across the 17 body weight pairs was 473.8±36.7 kg, and the mean T1 was 481.2±42.9 kg. The mean change was +7.5 kg (p=0.093).

In the majority of the 17 horses with a control examination, the ESGD grade was lower at the second gastroscopy. For EGGD, no clear change was confirmed based on the available paired data.Based on our results,the Equinox Nonegus feed supplement may help reduce the severity of ulcers in the gastric squamous mucosa. A randomised, placebo-controlled trial would be required to investigate this further and to assess the effect more accurately.