Only the SUCCEED® FBT provides a non-invasive, affordable tool to aid in diagnosing health conditions anywhere in the horse’s digestive tract.
Gastric and Colonic Ulcers
Ulcers are quite literally lesions anywhere in the digestive tract. They occur when mucosal tissue that lines the GI tract is compromised, eventually resulting in an open sore. The exact cause of ulcers is still a matter of debate.
While most of us are familiar with Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome — or stomach ulcers — it was only a few years ago that ulcers were detected in the horse’s colon. Research has found that 88% of performance horses have stomach ulcers. But that same study found colonic ulcers in 63% of the horses. Nearly all the horses had some type of digestive tract ulcer.*
From 2007 to 2011, Freedom Health conducted four additional studies. The incidence of colonic and gastric ulceration in these subsequent studies varied. The cumulative results of these four studies are as follows:
| 2007-2011 Cumulative Results | |
| N | 563 |
| Gastric ulcer incidence |
59% |
| Colonic ulcer incidence |
84% |
While accurately diagnosing gastric ulcers is possible with the use of a 3-meter endoscope, only the SUCCEED® FBT provides a non-invasive, affordable tool to aid the veterinarian’s diagnosis of conditions anywhere in the digestive tract of the horse – distinguishing between gastric and colonic ulceration.
Protein Losing Enteropathy
A protein losing enteropathy is effectively “leaky gut” whereby blood protein (primarily albumin) seeps into the digestive tract. A CBC/chem profile will indicate a positive for hypoalbuminemia or hypoproteinemia. If this happens, the FBT can help rule in or rule out a PLE (particularly Test A – that is, it will verify that albumin is in the gut, which is a PLE). The underlying cause of the PLE may still not be identified, and colonic ulceration would be one potential source of that albumin. Thus, it’s important to combine the FBT result with other diagnostic indicators for a complete and accurate diagnosis.
The presence of hypoalbuminemia or hypoproteinemia on a CBC/chem profile in conjunction with a NEGATIVE FBT test result rules out a PLE. A protein losing nephropathy may be one of the possible diagnoses in this instant.
Excessive Parasites Can Lead to Other Problems
Internal parasites can cause colic in horses and often contribute to many respiratory, digestive, and performance problems. Because some parasites survive on the blood of their hosts, they regularly pose a threat to the integrity of the digestive tract wall, seeking a blood meal. Pits they leave when they evacuate are lesions in the mucosal membrane. As a result, parasites may be one contributing factor in the development of ulcers.
The results of the SUCCEED® FBT on a horse with visible signs of possible parasitism may help narrow the possible diagnoses.
Low-grade Anemia May Indicate Blood Loss
For years, many veterinarians have noted low levels of anemia in performance horses — red cell counts that aren’t clinical, but strangely low for an athlete. Any level of anemia is not natural and may indicate a serious problem for the horse.
The broad causes of anemia are either a lack of production of red blood cells in the bone marrow, or a loss of blood cells as a result of bleeding. Anemia due to inadequate red blood cell production is thought to be the most common form of anemia in horses, but it’s also the most challenging to identify. These horses may show low-grade exercise intolerance, poor appetite and lethargy, but these signs may be attributable to a number of conditions. For a horse with visible signs often associated with anemia but lacking visible evidence of bleeding, you may be able to use the SUCCEED® FBT to assess whether the condition may be associated with internal blood loss somewhere along the digestive tract.
Without a large body of studies on the subject, veterinarians can only make educated guesses as to the causes of low-grade, or sub-clinical, equine anemia. And while it’s often considered a problem on its own, low-grade anemia may be a secondary symptom of parasites or blood loss due to ulceration in the digestive tract.
The SUCCEED® Equine Fecal Blood Test™ is available through your veterinary supply distributor.
