Effects of intermittent feed deprivation, intermittent feed deprivation with ranitidine administration, and stall confinement with ad libitum access to hay on gastric ulceration in horses

Abstract

Severe ulceration of the gastric squamous epithelial mucosa, caused by excess acidity, can develop rapidly in horses deprived of feed or not consuming feed. Suppression of gastric acidity with the histamine type-2 receptor antagonist ranitidine effectively minimized the area of ulceration caused by feed deprivation. Compared with being turned out to pasture, stall confinement alone appears to be an important factor in the development of gastric ulcers in horses, probably as a result of altered eating behavior.