Endoscopic Finding of Gastric Ulcer in Rural Horse and Relation with Gasterophilus spp

BACKGROUND: Gastric ulcer is one of the most common diseases in racehorses. Colic, weight loss and poor performance are some of the clinical signs. The second and third larval stages of the bot fly Gasterophilus spp live in the stomach of the horse. This parasite is often found in large numbers of horses in all of the countries. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was assessment of gastric ulcer in the rural horse and relation with Gasterophilus spp. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study twenty rural horses were randomly selected for endoscopic finding for gastric ulcer. Gender, age, keeping situation, type of feed, history of colic, hair coat condition, deworming plan and presence of GasterophilussSpp. were recorded in a sheet. The horses were kept fasted for 12 hours before endoscopic examination by a VET3M OLYMPUS (Japan). Sedation was done by injection of Detomidine (Detomo Vet ® ceva-Spain) 0.1ml/100kg to look for presence of gastric ulcers with grading and Gasterophilus spp. Statistical analysis of the data was performed with 95% confidence interval and P RESULTS: Out of 20 horses, 13(65%) horses were mares and 7(35%) were males and Mean±2SE of age was 8.9±4. Endoscopic observation showed 9 (45%) of the horses suffered from gastric ulcer. All of the ulcers were in non-glandular part and near the margo plicatus. Overall, 4 (20%) head of the horses had Gasterophilus spp. and all of them were present in the horse with no deworming plan. Based on the results, there was no associ- ation between presence of Gasterophilus with occurrence of Gastric ulcer (P>0.05). Further study with high sample size is proposed. CONCLUSIONS: There was high frequency of gastric ulcer in non-glandular portion of stomach in rural horse and there was not any association between presence of Gasterophilus and gastric ulcer.