Identifying the Source of Gastric Ulcers in Standardbred Racehorses

• Nia Hopkins, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Delaware

• Amy Biddle, Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware

The prevalence of gastric ulcers in Standardbred racehorses diminishes the performance and physical health of horses. Our survey study is the first step in finding out what the cause of gastric ulcers in Standardbred racehorses may be. This survey identified the management techniques used by the trainers that could potentially increase the prevalence of ulcers in their horses. We were able to visit the racehorse boarding facilities with Dr. Christopher Baldt, a human and equine chiropractor. We built our survey on REDCap, a survey generator which allowed us to make our own questions and upload our data. With this survey we were able to visit two different facilities and interview 4 trainers. We collected data from 59 horses and excluded 5 horses for having an unknown ulcer status. While interviewing with each trainer we received individual horse information and general details that can be applied for every horse in the barn. We applied a number system to each category so we could apply our data to JMP, a statistical analyzer. After collecting as much data as we could we decided to focus on two different variables: nutrition and exercise. This presentation focuses on the exercise variable, We measured the amount of exercise that the horses are able to get on a daily basis, this includes turnout and training. The most significant discovery was that there was a high correlation of ulcers in our sampled horses that were turned out more frequently (r = 0.3439). The data formed from this survey can introduce us to different hypotheses that can be further tested. With more testing this will allow us to inform trainers and owners about possible prevention methods. This will greatly benefit the trainers financially but most importantly the horses physical health and racing performance.