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Gastric Ulcers In Horses: Search For Biomarkers, Treatments Continues

Are you considering having your horse's stomach scoped again? Is there any other way to verify the presence of gastric ulcers? Right now, there isn't, but researchers are working on noninvasive ways to diagnose and monitor horses with equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS).

Many performance horses have gastric ulcers, which are defects in the surface of the stomach lining that occur in either the glandular or nonglandular (squamous) regions. Thought to be largely due to management factors—stress due to training or competition, social isolation, diets high in concentrates or low in forages—gastric ulcers often cause poor performance, decreased appetite, and weight loss.

After diagnosing and grading ulcers via gastroscopy, veterinarians typically recommend treatments geared to decreasing the acidity of the stomach. Treatment plans for EGUS typically include diet modifications, management changes, and medications such as omeprazole, sucralfate, and ranitidine. Nutritional supplements designed to control the pH within the stomach could also be included.

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“Triacton supports gastric health by moderating acidity using ingredients shown to have greater buffering capacity. Those include a seaweed-derived source of calcium and several other highly bioavailable minerals,” said Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research. “The form of calcium in Triacton offsets the negative effects of omeprazole on calcium digestibility compared to other commonly used sources of calcium in feeds and supplements.”

Because gastroscopies play a key role in ulcer management, repeated procedures are a necessary evil as horses may be resistant to treatment or the ulcers may return rapidly following cessation of pharmaceutical treatments like omeprazole.

Veterinary researchers recently suggested that identifying blood or salivary markers, or perhaps a combination of both, could help create a diagnostic panel for EGUS. This tool would screen patients for EGUS and monitor response to treatment, which would limit the frequency of gastroscopy.^*

Blood collected from eight mature geldings with gastric ulcers was evaluated for total antioxidant capacity. A moderate but significant correlation between blood and salivary antioxidant capacity was identified, potentially indicating that oxidative stress decreases as ulcers heal.

“The role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in EGUS requires further exploration, but these very preliminary findings suggest that antioxidants may play a role in the future management of this condition,” said Whitehouse.

While horse owners wait for this research to advance, Whitehouse suggested using diagnostics and treatments, including gastrointestinal buffers, currently recommended by veterinarians.

^*Svagerko, P., W. Bridges, E. Jesch, S. Pratt-Phillips, and K. Vernon. 2021. Equine gastric ulcers; a pilot study: Associated biomarkers and polysaccharide supplementation as a solution. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 100:103518.

Reprinted courtesy of Kentucky Equine Research. Visit ker.com for the latest in equine nutrition and management, and subscribe to Equinews to receive these articles directly

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TVG ‘Friends Month’ Promo Raises Over $44,700 For Old Friends Retirees

As hundreds of horseplayers will try to renew their racing luck wagering through TVG for the first time, the retired racehorses at Old Friends in Georgetown, Ky., are already winners.

Marketing experts at TVG have long found success with their 'refer a friend' program, which delivers existing users a personalized sign-up link and then gives them a bonus if a friend uses their link to open a new account. This summer, FanDuel Vice President of Racing Andrew Moore believed the program could use a new twist.

“As people have been getting to see friends again, we were ideating on how to give the program an extra push for August and the outcome was Friends Month,” said Moore. “Bringing Old Friends Farm in was a natural fit, so not only would we give a referral bonus to you when the friend you referred signed up to TVG, but we would also give to Old Friends. This is a great cause and it was a fun way for racing fans not only to give to their friends, but also to raise money for their retired racing friends they have so much affection for.”

Moore and the TVG team hoped for 400 referrals in the month of August, which would have raised $20,000 for Old Friends. They were surprised when the program brought in 894 referrals for a total of $44,700 in donations.

“Credit must go to our marketing team and the talent on the TVG network who really got behind the promotion but of course the biggest thanks goes to all the fans who supported it,” said Moore.

If TVG was pleasantly surprised by the results, Old Friends founder and president Michael Blowen was ecstatic.

“It was amazing, and it was all their idea,” said Blowen. “TVG has been great to us, I have to say. Most of the broadcasters on TVG have been to the farm. When a horse is running in a race and is named after one of our horses, they'll talk about the Old Friends connection and show pictures of the farm.

“You put away the tin cup and good things happen.”

The tie-in was all the more poetic for Blowen, given his entry to racing as a horseplayer himself.

“I got into this because I love handicapping,” he said. “I love watching TVG, so it was perfect.”

Blowen said he already has plans for the windfall — the farm will use the money to construct a new paddock, which will be named after TVG and dedicated to “hard-knocking geldings” like the ones favored by TVG commentators. As always, Blowen says he has a waiting list of horses preparing to retire to Old Friends, and as always, he's as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve about every one of them — particularly Zulu Alpha, whose retirement was announced officially on Friday.

“I'm hoping when everybody's here for Keeneland, we can get some of the men and women over here for a special presentation with a sign and the check,” said Blowen. “Couldn't come at a better time, either. I've got this one spot picked out that's really nice.”

Old Friends is a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited facility founded in 2003 and remains one of few retirement organizations equipped to house intact stallions whose breeding careers are finished. The organization now encompasses a 236-acre main campus and over 200 retirees.

The many Old Friends fans at TVG all have a favorite retiree somewhere on the property. For Moore, it's Soi Phet.

“What a fun horse!” he said.

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Zulu Alpha Out Of Kentucky Downs’ Turf Cup, Retired To Old Friends

Zulu Alpha, the 2019 winner of Kentucky Downs' $1 million Calumet Turf Cup, will scratch out of Saturday's Grade 2 stakes and has been retired, owner Michael Hui said today. Trainer Mike Maker also confirmed the defection to the Kentucky Downs racing office.

“I'm going to scratch Zulu,” Hui said by phone. “He's going to be retired to Old Friends. There's not a whole lot that's physically wrong with him. After consultation with Mike this weekend, he just believes he will not be competitive at this level.”

Maker, who has won a Calumet Turf Cup a record four times, still has four horses in the 1 1/2-mile stakes in Tide of the Sea, Bluegrass Parkway, Ajourneytofreedom and Glynn County, with a fifth potential starter if Dynadrive draws in from the also-eligible list. Dynadrive needs one more scratch to run after the defections of Zulu Alpha and Fantasioso.

Hui said he long ago worked out an arrangement with Old Friends to send Zulu Alpha to the Thoroughbred retirement home in Georgetown, Ky., when the now 8-year-old gelding's racing career was over. Hui had Hogy, his 2017 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint winner, at Old Friends until his death earlier this year.

Zulu Alpha retires with 12 wins out of 37 starts, along with five seconds and six thirds, for earnings of $2,269,118. Hui claimed the gelding almost exactly three years ago for $80,000 with the 2019 Calumet Turf Cup in mind. That became one of seven graded stakes Zulu Alpha won for Hui, including the 2020 Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf.

After coming in third in last year's Calumet Turf Cup, Zulu Alpha raced only twice this year, finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes and seventh in the Grade 1 Mr. D (formerly the Arlington Million). Maker conceded a couple of weeks ago that age might have caught up with the grand gelding, but added that two races was too small a sample to not give Zulu Alpha another shot over a course he loves as long as he was doing well.

“I'm not really a true horseman; I'm more of a racetrack guy,” Hui said. “I was very blessed to have Hogy, and unfortunately he passed. But Zulu, at the racetrack he was at a different level. Very competitive but he also liked attention from humans. His race record speaks for itself. He took me to a level I had never dreamed of. The right thing to do is while he's good, he deserves the utmost in retirement.

“I have all the faith in Mike. He's guided me on this path several times now. But Zulu was a special one. When Mike says he's not competitive at this level, I have to believe it.”

Hui doesn't expect to have another horse like Zulu Alpha, but he's going to keep trying, including via high-priced claims. “We have the mindset that we point toward Kentucky Downs, mark the calendar and work backward,” he said.

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Study: Majority of Horses Considered ‘Lefties’

Wither measurements of 490 horses taken with a flexible tracing tool have shown that the majority of horses have larger measurements on the left side of their withers as compared to their right, suggesting they are “lefties.” Dr. Katrina Merkies, with the University of Guelph, and a team of undergraduate students digitized and compared years of measurement data to come to this conclusion.

The study included a variety of breeds, including finer-boned breeds like Thoroughbreds and Arabians to heavier breeds like Warmbloods and draft horses. Overall, 60 percent of study horses had larger muscles on the left sides of their withers.

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Merkies and her team considered laterality as a possibility for why horses have a tendency to build muscle on the left. Laterality refers to a horse's preference for using one side of his body. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and this is where fearful stimuli are processed, the team reported. Merkies noted that horses will often look at an object they are afraid of out of their left eye or step off trailers with their left front leg first, both of which reinforce the notion that these horses are “lefties.”

While examining differences in body sizes and shapes, the scientists also found that horses of medium height were more likely to have more-curved backs than their brethren of other sizes. The team hypothesize that this is because medium-sized horses are often ridden by adults, whose saddle might not properly fit, being too long in the seat and applying pressure to the lumbar region.

Pressure from an ill-fitting saddle can cause pain and affect performance, as well as prevent the muscles from building in a symmetrical way. Merkies stated that proper and twice-yearly saddle fittings are imperative for equine comfort and the development of balanced muscles.