Fever Leading to Gastric Ulcers in a Young Horse

Q. - My filly picked up a fever while at the trainer’s getting started under saddle (bloodwork indicated an infection, which my vet said probably caused by a virus). She then went off feed for nearly four days, so I brought her home to rest and recoup. While we didn’t scope her to verify the diagnosis, my vet suspected she had gastric ulcers after the combination of not eating and receiving Banamine paste (flunixin meglumine, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID) for the fever. A course of GastroGard (prescription-strength omeprazole used to treat ulcers, rather than prevent them) helped—she started eating again almost immediately after the first dose. I’m now worried about sending her back into training. Is it likely she will suffer gastric ulcers again when put under the stress of moving to the barn and training? If so, is there any way to prevent ulcer onset?

A. - Your veterinarian is right! The initial onset of fever and loss of appetite at the trainer’s barn was likely due to a viral infection, such as equine influenza (often called flu), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), or equine rhinitis virus.  These viruses usually cause a fever and variable cough, nasal discharge, and loss of appetite, but in some cases horses show very mild signs.

Gastric ulcers can be a primary disease or can occur secondary to another disease or stressor, such as flu, fever, being off-feed, phenylbutazone (Bute, another NSAID) or Banamine administration, painful musculoskeletal injury, colic, etc.).  It sounds like your horse might have had ulcers secondary to the combination of fever, loss of appetite, and NSAID treatment, and that omeprazole was effective. Also, whatever caused her fever and loss of appetite (probably a virus) ran its course, and the horse improved from infection. 

If you are concerned about reoccurring gastric ulcers when your horse goes to the trainer, then I would recommend treating your horse with UlcerGard (over-the-counter omeprazole at 1 mg/kg, orally once daily meant for ulcer prevention) to prevent the ulcers while your filly is with the trainer. 

Also, be sure that your horse is immunized against the common respiratory viruses (flu, rhino [the respiratory infection caused by EHV-1]), equine rhinitis virus) that occur at horse stables. Horses should be vaccinated at least two weeks prior to being shipped to a training stable to allow for immunity to develop. 

Good luck with your horse and all the best with the training!

Q: My performance mare seemed to change after having a foal. Before the foal, she was hot and sensitive but straight forward to train. After the foal, when we put her back to work, she became moody, spooky, and stubborn. Can being used for breeding change a mare’s personality?

A: Can a mare's personality change after being used for breeding? That is a great question and one I can't answer definitively. Pregnancy hormones and then the presence of a foal at her side might temporarily change a mare's behavior. I have not found any research on point here about long-term changes, particularly with regard to training and performance behavior.

The "common wisdom" is that breeding a mare will make her mellower, but lots of anecdotal reports out there go either way--yes, she changes, or no, she goes back to her old personality after the foal is weaned. But I have some thoughts and questions to consider that might help lead you to an answer about your mare's apparent change in her behavior during training.

I am answering this under the assumption that your foal has been weaned. If not, it is possible your mare's change in behavior is due to leaving her foal behind during her training sessions. Mares are highly individual in their anxiety when separated from their foals, even as the foal ages and they both appear more independent. 

In any mare who has some kind of behavior change, we should always first consider disease of the reproductive tract. Certain ovarian tumors or persistent ovarian structures can definitely cause a behavior change. Uterine infections, even quite severe ones, might not cause any general physiologic or behavior changes, but that's worth considering too. So you might want to have your veterinarian do a reproductive examination on your mare.

Past experiences can affect current behavior, and apparent personality changes could actually be just learned responses. So it's worth thinking about your mare's behavior in detail and how she was handled throughout the time she was being bred, pregnant, and had a foal at side. Were there any changes in who was handling the mare during pregnancy and after foaling? Could she have learned some undesirable behaviors from her interactions with other people? Was she an extremely protective mother? If so, perhaps she learned some behaviors to get people to leave her be, which she's transferred effectively to her riding career. 

Perhaps even a typical level of protectiveness has earned your mare some experience in attention and vigilance that translates to being spooky or stubborn. Consider your mare's current environment. Perhaps now that your mare has experience with a stallion (if she was bred naturally) and having a foal at side, she might behave differently now if she is in proximity to stallions and foals. This might even vary with her estrous cycle.

There are also some simple changes that might have happened over the past year or two that you've probably thought of. Has your skill and experience changed? Do you have a new trainer or instructor who has different expectations of your mare or a different style of training? Has this mare's career changed pre- and post-breeding? A mare coming off of a racing career might show quite dramatic changes in behavior over time with or without being bred. It’s possible your mare's behavior change might just be coincident with another year or two in age and maturity.

I don't think what we know about free-running mares helps much with your specific question. A mare's affiliation with others in her group certainly changes after foaling, with her own foal, as well as her older foals if they are still in the group, generally becoming her closest frequent companions. Mares in a natural breeding group don't usually change their dominance status by virtue of having a foal. Their dominance status might change over time after many foals, but this might just be due to their being older and residing in the group longer.

For New Non-Clients ~

Annual Equine Health Care Planning Guide:

What's It Going to Cost for a Year's Worth of Good Veterinary Preventative Health Care?

Let me just say this first.....  I HATE price shopping!  I try to make decisions in my life for purchasing ANYTHING on quality, value and customer service.  But there is a component of evaluation that boils down to dollars, and everyone wants to get the most value and the best care for the money they spend - even ME!  The veterinary things you can compare:  farm call fees, coggins test fees, vaccine costs, emergency fees, and others.  The things you can't quite put a $ value on:  the relationship with your veterinarian, their 24-7 availability to you, their commitment to constant improvement to provide the best possible care to your horses, their own personal horse experience and level of proficiency... and lots more.

That being said, as the owner of this practice - it's up to ME to meet your expectations and provide the best care for the best value for YOU.  So please allow me the chance to EARN YOUR BUSINESS by outlining the plans we have to SAVE you MONEY and PROVIDE EXCELLENT CARE FOR YOUR HORSES.

Before we tell you how much it's all going to cost for a whole year, let me tell you about the programs we have to SAVE you some money where we can.

VIP Client Program:

Scheduling all 3 Annual Preventative Care Appointments for the year before end of February gets you 3 free FECAL EGG COUNT EXAMS (value $60 total). Spring Vaccines:  Feb 15 - Apr 15; Fall Vaccines: Aug 15 - Oct 15; Annual Dental Discount Period: Nov 15 - Feb 15 (weather permitting).  Program gets you 20% dentals during discount period and entrance into drawing for 3 $100 Visa gift cards.

Multi-Horse Discount:

For owners with 5 or more horses at one location, save 10% on ALL YOUR VACCINES. Multiple horses at one location save us driving time and allows us to work more efficiently.  

Client Referral Program:

When you (a regular client) refer a new client and they make an appointment, you get your next farm call FOR FREE!  When you refer 5 people who make appointments in one month, you get a $50 Panera Gift Card. For referring 10 people in a year, you get a $100 Gift Certificate to Claire’s in Warrenton. Because I have never believed in general advertising, I rely on satisfied clients to spread the word about my practice.  If you’re happy with my services, please do me the greatest honor, and share your experience with people you know who would also appreciate excellent care and competitive rates.

Spring Vaccines:

So, here’s what a set of Spring vaccines cost the client: Generally we give EWT/WNV, F/R, Rabies/PHF in the Spring.  That combination costs : $121 (or $109 if you have 5 or more horses).  Coggins are $25 for hand written or $45 for digital (additional for the 2 hour ELISA quick coggins). And farm calls are generally $50 in our regular service area, and may be split down to $20/ea between multiple owners. Additionally, Lyme vaccines are available and recommended.  Other vaccines available on a case by case basis.

Fall Vaccines:

Again, EWT/WNV, F/R and PHF as the routine ($103 or $93 with 5+ horses) with additional Lyme (twice a year) and Botulism if feeding round bale hay or in endemic area. Plus farm call.

Annual Dental Floating:

Farm call, plus sedation (est $45-$65) and floating (regularly $125, discounted to $100 during REGULAR CLIENT 20% off Nov 15 – Feb 15).

Please let me know if I can help provide excellent health care for your horse(s)!!  I am located in Catlett and serve all of lower Fauquier Co. (Marshall and below generally), all of Stafford Co., all of Culpeper Co., Western Prince William Co., and most of Spotsylvania Co.

Questions may be addressed to this Warrenton Horse Works FB page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Warrenton-Horse-Works-PLC/188719281170253, my office number: 540-788-4044 or my cell (texts or call) 540-905-5280 or email at dranna@warrentonhorseworks.com.

Thank you,

Anna Russau, VMD

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Mucousy Manure

Q. - I am concerned about a horse (30-year-old Arabian) where I board. Yesterday I found in her manure what looks like stringy intestinal tract with feces encapsulated inside. It does not look like worms. She is also not eating as well as usual. She was scared by fireworks recently, and I wonder if all the running around upset her digestive system? Today, however, her manure looks normal.

A. - In the pictures provided and from what you have described, it sounds like mucus is covering the horse’s manure. This can occur from prolonged transit time through the intestinal tract. Dehydration and impaction can contribute to this condition. Since you mentioned that the mare was upset by the fireworks, I suspect she may also have been agitated and not drinking well. The good news is that the manure seems normal now. In older horses, dental disease and inefficient digestion, as well as parasites, can all contribute to this, also. It is important that the horse continues to have routine oral exams every six months and a wellness exam at least annually.

Cox Voluntarily Recalls Equine Ulcer Drug

The manufacturer of an over-the-counter equine ulcer treatment has voluntarily recalled and ceased production of the product because it is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Last fall, several companies received warning letters relative to their marketing of various equine ulcer products deemed by the FDA to be “intended for use in the mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in animals, which makes (them) drugs under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.” Under the act drugs intended for use in animals “require an approved new animal drug application unless they are generally recognized as safe and effective,” the warning letters said.

On Jan. 23, the FDA posted a written statement concerning the voluntary recall of Gastroade Xtra on their website. Manufactured by Cox Veterinary Laboratory Inc., the omeprazole paste was packaged in a 32 mL tube bearing the name Gastroade Xtra, Omeprazole 2.28g. Affected lots include Batch 0052 (UPC 091037382986), manufactured 5/29/2014.

"This recall has been initiated due to information from the FDA that Gastroade Xtra must have an approved new animal drug application to be legally marketed in the United States," Cox's statement said. "Gastroade Xtra is not approved by the FDA. In addition, some lots may be sub-potent and pose a risk of continued ulceration. As a consequence, Cox Veterinary Laboratory has ceased all production and sales of Gastroade Xtra and is recalling the product..

"Because the FDA has not approved Gastroade Xtra, the safety and efficacy of the product has not yet been established," the statement continued. "To date, however, there have been no reported adverse events associated with the use of Gastroade Xtra."

Consumers and distributors that have unused portions of Gastroade Xtra should stop using the product immediately and arrange for its return to Cox Veterinary Laboratory, the statement said. Consumers with questions about the voluntary recall can contact Cox's Jeanne Buffington at jeanne@coxvetlab.com

UlcerGard (omeprazole) and GastroGard (omeprazole) are the only FDA-approved products for the prevention and treatment of equine stomach ulcers.