GASTRIC ULCERS ISSUE 21_Jerkins feature.qxd 20/07/2011 12:01 Page 2
STOMACH ULCERS
Adaptogens and Stomach Ulcers
contributing factor with EGUS, and it simply cannot be avoided in horses in race training. Why are racehorses prone to ulcers? Why galloping increases the risk for EGUS is still not fully understood, probably because it encompasses a number of different factors. One of the most interesting factor involves an increase in pressure within the abdomen that occurs
during exercise at any gait above a walk. When horses move, their abdominal muscles contract to help support the back and pelvis, and perhaps also to limit movement of the intestines and other abdominal organs. This muscle contraction increases the intra-abdominal pressure, and the amount of pressure parallels the gait or speed at which the horse is moving, increasing from the walk to the trot to the gallop. Not only is the pressure increased within
the abdomen, but also within the stomach itself. Compression of the stomach persists until the horse slows to a walk. This pressure effect is thought to squeeze the highly acidic contents in the lower portion of the stomach up into the upper portion, where erosions are most commonly seen in horses. In horses, this upper portion of the stomach – the squamous mucosa – is lined with several layers of flattened cells called squames, similar to the outer layer of the
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