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Re: [RC] [AERC-Members] Ulcers - oddfarm----- Original Message ----- From: "Howard Bramhall" <howard9732@xxxxxxx> To: <AERCMembersForum@xxxxxxxxxxxx>; <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 10:51 AM Subject: Re: [RC] [AERC-Members] Ulcers than the exception when we exercise horses. Ongoing studies should provide more ways--dietary and pharmaceutical--in which we can normalize the pH or cushion the equine GI system to minimize damage. I would read this to mean DIETARY first then pharmaceutical as a last resort. Certainly, we can't take it to mean that more horses should be on drugs, than not. The article describes how the stomach works when the horse is exercised. It sounds like it does what it is suppose to do. As the author indicated, the same thing happens in human athletes. However, not all athletes, and I'm going to stretch it a bit here, I would say most athletes don't get acid reflux and heartburn. Why?Because if they are serious about their training and competition schedule, they watch what they eat and how hard they train, including R&R. Isn't THAT a novel idea? And let me go a little further here and say that most athletes don't go very long in competition without putting something in their stomach every hour or so. (I am talking about marathon and ultra runners as well as tri-athletes who go for more than an hour in competition) Not heavy food, stuff like Goo, protein bars, etc. But the ultra runners will gobble chips, coke, orange juice, crackers, all of which could certainly cause indigestion. But it doesn't seem to. Now, the runners who aren't suited to this kind of sport, who throw up at the start, the finish and everywhere on the trail, and have to visit the port-o-let every 3 miles, they are going to have problems. They can take Imodium, Advil and every over the counter drug they want to PREVENT these problems for the race, but I guarantee, they don't feel good for the next week or so. Is that what we would want for our horses?? The author indicated that the fasted horses had more problems that the ones who had eaten 2 hours before. Hmmm. You don't say? So, that says to me, (but what do I know) if you keep food in the horses stomach, it will lesson the chances of having problems. Plenty of fluids and roughage. You think that would work? Yes, it is true that horses were meant for short bursts of energy to escape danger and not the long distances we subject them to in our sport. But I think with a little common sense, a good feeding and conditioning strategy and finding a horse that is suited to this sport is far better preventive for MANY problems than any "pharmaceutical" on the market. Call me crazy. I've been called worse. Lisa Salas, Teh Odd faRm and Corona Ranch. ============================================================ Common sense should also be a part of the decision making process. If you see someone who doesn't have any, hand them your tool box. ~ Lisa Salas - The Odd Farm ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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