Gastric ulceration and exercise intensity in standardbred racehorses in Czech Republic

Abstract

The objective of our study was to determine prevalence of equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in individual groups of Standardbred horses in the Czech Republic divided in accordance to training intensity, to determine association between training intensity and prevalence of gastric ulcers and severity of gastric ulcers in these horses. Fifty four 2-year-old or older Standardbred racehorses engaged in routine training and racing were selected for this study. Prevalence of gastric ulcers was 20.00% in Standardbred racehorses with no training intensity, 16.67% in horses in mild training, 68.42% in horses in intermediate training and 79.12% in horses in high intensity training. Significant association was proven between training intensity and occurrence of gastric ulcers. Positive correlation between training intensity and gastric ulceration severity was proven as well. From the results we concluded that gastric ulcers are common in Standardbred horses in training in Czech Republic. Their prevalence and severity is dependent on the training intensity.