Effect of a Dietary Supplement on Gastric Ulcer Severity

There is no statistically significant difference in the effect of omeprazole or a dietary supplement^a in the treatment of squamous gastric ulceration in horses in active race training, with neither treatment resulting in improved ulcer scores following 90 days of treatment. Authors’ address: University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK G61 1QH; e-mail: n.kerbyson.1@research.gla.ac.uk.

1. Introduction

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of a dietary supplement containing polar lipids (oat oil), soluble fiber (-glucan), and amino acids (LGlutamine and L-Threonine) on the development and treatment of squamous gastric ulceration in racing Thoroughbreds.

2. Materials and Methods

Sixty-seven Thoroughbreds in race training or prerace training were recruited to the study on the basis of having ≥ grade 1 gastric ulceration (The Equine Gastric Ulcer Council, 1999) on day 0 of the trial. Of this group, 39 horses completed the trial, which involved repeat gastroscopy on day 30, 60, and 90. Each horse was randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups; omeprazole^b or the dietary supplement^a ; treatments were administered according to label dosage for the duration of the trial.

3. Results and Discussion

Chi-squared tests were used to assess the difference between treatment groups in terms of the proportion of horses improving by 2 or more grades: sixteen horses in each group improved by less than 2 grades or worsened (P = 0.53). McNemar’s tests were applied to assess the effect of each treatment on gastric ulcer score. There was no significant improvement on gastric ulcer score with either omeprazole (P = 0.38) or the dietary supplement (P = 0.50) when a clinically significant gastric ulcer score of ≥ 2 was used. 

Acknowledgments

Conflict of Interest

This study was funded by Freedom Health LLC.

Footnotes

^a SucceedTM, Freedom Health LLC, Aurora, OH 44202. 
^b GastroGard®, Merial Animal Health Ltd., Harlow, Essex, UK.