Has your horse decided that gobbling his grain is no longer as fun as\n it once was? Has he slowed his eating so much that he requires hours to\n finish a meal he once would devour in mere minutes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horses lose their appetite for a variety of reasons. One lesser-known\n cause is gastrointestinal discomfort emanating from gastric ulcers and \nhindgut acidosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers have documented the pervasiveness of gastric ulcers among\n horses. Because of this, many horses, especially those in performance \ncareers, are monitored closely for gastric discomfort, which typically \nmanifests as loss of appetite, teeth-grinding, dull coat, and changes in\n disposition. Similarly, more and more horses are being diagnosed with \nhindgut acidosis, a pH imbalance that specifically affects the cecum and\n colon. These horses tend to have loose or inconsistent manure, \noccasional colic, and stereotypic behaviors such as wood-chewing and \nstall-walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diagnosing gastric ulcers can be achieved through endoscopic \nevaluation of the stomach. If found, ulcers can be treated with \nprescription-strength omeprazole, which must be purchased through a \nveterinarian. Once a follow-up endoscopy reveals an ulcer-free stomach, a\n research-proven supplement can be used to keep ulcers from reforming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitively diagnosing hindgut acidosis is more complex, as an \nendoscope cannot be threaded into the cecum or colon. Diagnosis is \nusually based on the aforementioned clinical signs, and clearing of \nacidosis depends on moderating the pH with a nutritional buffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can horses be affected by both gastric ulcers and hindgut acidosis at\n the same time? Yes, many horses have both problems simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, a product that addresses both gastric ulcers and hindgut acidosis is the best choice. RiteTrac, developed by the scientists at Kentucky Equine Research (KER), contains ingredients that keep ulcers from forming through stabilization of pH and through protectively coating the stomach wall, and keep hindgut acidosis at bay through time-released buffering. Twice-a-day feeding of RiteTrac will help maintain the health of the gastrointestinal tract, and once the discomfort subsides, appetite will likely return to normal. In Australia, look for EquiShure\u00a0or Neigh-Lox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horses involved in heavy exercise may also benefit from Triacton, another product formulated by KER. Triacton provides three research-proven benefits to horses: increased bone density, improved gastric health, and enhanced hindgut stability. Triacton can be fed with RiteTrac to provide horses with ultimate gastrointestinal and skeletal support.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Has your horse decided that gobbling his grain is no longer as fun as it once was? Has he slowed his eating so much that he requires hours to finish a meal he once would devour in mere minutes? Horses lose their appetite for a variety of reasons. One lesser-known cause is gastrointestinal discomfort emanating …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions\/79"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.brooksfeeds.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}