The Effect of Serum-Based Bioactive Proteins for the Prevention of Squamous Gastric Ulcers in Horses

• Bioactive serum proteins can prevent the formation of gastric ulcers in horses.
• There appears to be a dose-related effect of these proteins on prevention of gastric ulceration.
• Bioactive serum proteins can decrease the incidence in ulcer formation in horses subjected to the stress of training and hauling.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of serum-based bioactive proteins on the prevention of squamous gastric ulcer formation in horses in moderate exercise programs over a 21-day period. Horses without ulcers were identified and randomly assigned to treatment or control group. Horses were subjected to a training program which induced squamous gastric ulceration in control horses. In horses treated with 210-g bioactive proteins, the incidence of squamous ulcers was significantly reduced (P = .0001) compared to control horses. In horses treated with 80-g bioactive proteins, 66.67% (10/15) of the control horses developed squamous gastric ulceration compared to 33.55% (5/15) of those administered bioactive proteins. In conclusion, dosing horses with bioactive proteins derived from serum was effective for preventing gastric ulcers in horses experiencing stress from exercise or training.