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Whoopee.You'll see that some lines on the chart are highlighted in yellow; others in blue. The yellow indicates my ideal ranges for the last 50-miler I rode on Aaruba; the blue indicates what I deemed to be an acceptable margin. The grey areas mean "I don't want to be in this range."
The spreadsheet is not locked, so feel free to make any changes suitable to your personal use. If you have ideas for its improvement, let me know and I'll be happy to consider them.
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I started this series on Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in an effort to help my ulcer-prone endurance horse.
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I rode twenty miles on Sunday, shrouded in goretex and fleece and stillness. Aaruba's boots muffled his hoofbeats on the gravel. An occasional train whistle echoed weirdly. Unseen dogs barked from afar. Hardly a car passed. No one stirred outside the farmhouses whose yellow interiors glowed like nebulas in the mist.
I'm up for workouts in some pretty nasty conditions, but I also remember last winter. We saw more snow than anyone in our corner of Idaho can remember. It stayed on the ground for over a month, crusted with ice and riddled with unseen hazards. If this winter is like the last, Aaruba will get at least a month off.
Me, I'm going for miles next year -- sound, steady miles that will build my horses' bodies and minds in preparation for faster efforts in the future. I hope to attend every ride in Idaho, but even if I don't, I should be able to achieve the following:
Aaruba: Reach the 500 AERC endurance mile mark. He currently has 105 miles, so we have just 395 to go. I think this is quite attainable; we might even manage 500 miles next year alone. I'd also like to increase our speed a little, from end-of-the-line to mid-pack. Of course, all this depends on our ability to keep his ulcer-prone tummy content. More on that in an upcoming post.
Consolation: Earn 200 AERC miles, LD and endurance combined. This is a touch ambitious as it might require her to do two 50's with one rest day between them at the last ride of the season, but if all goes well, I think we can do it. Obviously, training is more important than conditioning at this point in her career, and I'll gladly sacrifice this mileage goal in favor of spending more time on the basics if necessary.
Myself: Expand my understanding of equine nutrition and exercise physiology. Learn to trim hooves so I can touch them up when Travis is unavailable. Be less shy, so I can make more friends at rides.
By spring, you can bet I'll have a much longer list of goals. Acey will be on it, as will Sandstorm and Tuetano and Insider and Ripple and CJ.
By fall, I will be very tired. And content. And busy planning for 2010. _________________________________________________________
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But, in the years since I attended weekly lessons, I have learned something Mona never mentioned during all those don't-look-down moments: It's remarkably easy to tell which lead you're on without looking down.
Kessira!
Anyway, he just sent me a copy of his new CD. A set of "horse inspired songs for horse inspired people," Many Ponies contains some songs I'd already laughed and cried to as I listened via Spartacus Jones' MySpace page, plus nine or ten new ones. It's all I've listened to since Saturday morning.Intense physical conditioning. Consumption of feed concentrates. Long trailer rides. Frequent change of venue and companions. Is it any wonder that equine endurance athletes are prone to the development of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome?
Obviously, the stress of travel and competition can scarcely be avoided in the life of an endurance horse. Furthermore, although exercise is known to promote beneficial intestinal motility, prolonged exercise -- particularly at a canter and/or on an empty stomach -- can result in ulceration due to splashing of gastric acid onto the non-glandular portion of the stomach. Prolonged exercise also draws blood circulation away from the stomach and stimulates acid production, further increasing risk of ulcer formation, and the electrolytes many endurance riders administer to ward off metabolic problems may exacerbate existing ulcers [Holbrook, et al, 2005].
It is possible that many of the mild colics experienced in association with endurance racing are actually caused by gastric ulcer pain, not impactions or gas. Fortunately, no major blood loss seems to occur as a result of EGUS in endurance horses, and I found no evidence that gastric ulcers may perforate the wall of the stomach or otherwise result in equine fatality.
Little research exists on EGUS in endurance horses because race day isn’t conducive to endoscopy, which requires 12-18 hours of fasting followed by sedation. However, a 2003 Pride Project research study of 140 endurance horses indicated that 51.09% of the participating horses had gastric ulcers. A study by J.E. Neito, published in 2004, found that 67% of the endurance horses tested suffered from EGUS. Both studies concluded that endurance horses tend to have milder cases of EGUS than are commonly suffered by Thoroughbred racehorses. Neither study indicates a percentage of afflicted horses that is dramatically out of line with the 60% incidence of EGUS in performance horses across the spectrum of disciplines.
Though a substantial percentage of equine endurance athletes suffer from EGUS, omeprazole -- the drug most recommended and proven to cure and prevent gastric ulcers -- is banned by the AERC. Considering that omeprazole is not considered to be performance enhancing, and that the AERC actively promotes the welfare of horses participating in the sport of endurance, omeprazole's presence on the prohibited substances list may seem incongruous.
In 2005, the AERC issued a letter expressing its reasons for prohibiting the use of omeprazole during endurance competition. The letter is included in its entirely in the minutes from the June 27, 2005 meeting of the AERC’s Board of Directors. An excerpt is quoted below:
After much discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of such a modification, the veterinary committee has come to the decision not to recommend a modification of the current drug rules to allow the use of omeprazole while competing.
This decision is based on several factors:
1) Allowing the use of a testable drug during competition is a far deviation from AERC’s long-standing policy of absolutely opposing the presence of drugs during endurance ride competition.
2) The reasoning for allowing omeprazole during competition could, and we anticipate will, be used for other existing drugs such as anti-inflammatory agents. For example, flunixin (Banamine) certainly has beneficial, protective effects in the horse and is not considered performance enhancing in the normal horse.
3) The affects of long-term use of omeprazole are not known and the veterinary committee will not recommend nor endorse off label (very long term) use of the drug.
4) Horses symptomatic for gastric ulcers should not be competing.
According to its manufacturer, Merial, GastroGard's beta blocking effect lasts only 24 hours. Because an endurance competition officially begins upon pre-ride vetting, which usually takes place the evening before the ride itself, it seems unlikely that Smith's recommendation would benefit an endurance horse during a race, though of course there is value in lowering stomach acidity during travel to the ride venue.
AERC publications recommend that horses with gastric ulcers (at least, those that are symptomatic) be voluntarily suspended from competition. Preventative measures such as frequent feeding of roughage and application of antacids during stressful circumstances are encouraged, though the ingredients in some antacid products marketed for use in horses are also on the AERC's prohibited substances list. Sucralfate is specifically listed as a permitted substance in Appendix C of the AERC's drug rule, and may be beneficial in easing the discomfort of an endurance horse suspected of having gastric ulcers.
It seems that, if we wish to participate in endurance riding (or almost any equine sport), our horses are more likely than not to suffer some degree of gastric ulceration. We must, therefore, either choose not to participate -- perhaps even to avoid domestic horse keeping altogether! -- or else commit to doing our best to prevent the onset of EGUS, cure it when possible, and manage symptoms as necessary to keep our equine partners comfortable and content.
The final post of this series will cover the specifics of how I have chosen to deal with the subject of EGUS right here at In the Night Farm.
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Related Posts
Introduction: Equine Gastric Ulcer Series
Strategies for Prevention of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome
Pharmaceutical and Alternative Treatment Options for EGUS
Equine Ulcer Supplement Options
A Fair Question: Equine Athletes, Equine Ulcers
Bringing it Home: EGUS Prevention at In the Night Farm
Sheer Brilliance: Aloe and MSM as Alternative Therapy for EGUS
Q & A: Aloe and MSM as Alternative Therapy for EGUS
The Good Bad News: Gastric Ulcers in Equines
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