SPOT THE SIGNS OF ULCERS EARLY
Our case study about rescue pony Duchess highlights the importance of knowing your horse and having the right insurance cover, so she has access to top veterinary care. “Duchess is my companion pony,” explains Jane Cordell. “She’s nine years old and I rehomed her about two years ago from World Horse Welfare. “When she first arrived she was quite anxious, which we believed was down to her past life. She also dropped weight easily. She seemed to settle when we moved from a busy yard to a quieter one, but soon after went down with mild colic. “Once we ensured Duchess was more comfortable and the colic was managed, my vet suggested having her scoped for gastric ulcers.” Peter Sclater BVSc Cert EP MRCVS explains, “We carried out a gastroscopic examination on Duchess and found chronic ulceration in the pyloric region of the stomach. “The ulcers were grade 3/4 on the equine gastric ulcer syndrome scale (EGUS), so because of the severity of the ulcers the treatment for Duchess was going to be longer than it normally is “Within a few days of Duchess being put on a treatment plan her owner, Jane, reported she noticed a difference and Duchess was beginning to get back to her normal self. “Duchess was re-scoped one month later to see what impact the treatment had had, and it showed improvement as the gastric ulcer was smaller, so treatment will
continue for a second month and then she will be re-scoped to check on its progress. Says Jane, “I think knowing your horse and what behaviour is normal for them is so important. My case was a little different as Duchess was rescued and we don’t know what had happened to her in the past, but knowing your horse’s characteristics can be beneficial to help with a diagnosis and the sooner gastric ulcers are found the better. “Petplan Equine were extremely helpful and once I had informed them about the claim everything was dealt with directly with my vet – it was all so straightforward.”