GASTROENTROLOGY
Gut-Performance
CONNECTION Gastric Ulcers Can be a Reason for Poor Performance
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Although many people immediately look at the limbs when a horse is not up to par, poor performance can be multifactorial, warned Frank M. Andrews, DVM, the clinical service chief of large animal medicine at Louisiana State University College of Veterinary Medicine. And 1 of those factors is the gut, particularly gastric ulcers, he said during a presentation at the 67th
Annual Convention of the AAEP, in Nashville, Tenn. “Horses are basically the GI tract on 4 legs,” joked Dr. Andrews, whose research area is the gastrointestinal tract. “So, they are hindgut fermenters. They eat a variety of feeds that we give them, which can contain a lot of carbohydrates. Horses weren't meant tp be in stalls and eat high-grain diets. They were meant basically to be out on the pasture grazing and
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Issue 4/2022 | ModernEquineVet.com
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