Horses are notorious for belly ailments. Over the course of a lifetime, chances are good a horse will suffer at least once from some kind of gastrointestinal (GI) problem, with severity ranging from mild to life threatening.
Horses are notorious for belly ailments. Over the course of a lifetime, chances are good a horse will suffer at least once from some kind of gastrointestinal (GI) problem, with severity ranging from mild to life threatening.
Because of the size of a horse, diagnosing GI issues can be challenging and require expensive specialized equipment.
“Horses are large animals and the GI tract is a bit like a black box. It’s in the middle of the body, making it hard to see inside without being invasive,” says Dr. Renaud Léguillette, DVM, PhD, professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) and Calgary Chair in Equine Sports Medicine.
“You can use a long gastroscope, a three-metre long soft tube with a camera at the end, but it only reaches the stomach, not the small intestine. You can use ultrasound but the ultrasound doesn’t penetrate very deep and the images don’t always show what you need to see.”
Continue reading at University of Calgary.
Image via University of Calgary.
