KATARZYNA I ESTRA

Estra’s history of ulcer disease began in 2022, when the mare suddenly began swallowing after changing stables. The veterinarian examining the animal suggested that the stress of the move may have led to ulcer. In the first instance, the horse’s owner tried to calm the mare down, but this did not bring positive results. Estra had always been quite a temperamental horse, but soon she began to be extremely afraid of everything, scaring herself, and getting nervous at being touched in the abdominal area. She reared on the lunge when she refused to go one way or to gallop.

Diagnosis after gastroscopy confirmed the doctor’s guess: Estra was suffering from ulceration of the glandular part of the stomach. Omeprazole, sea buckthorn, licorice, alfalfa, and various supplements for ulcers were introduced almost immediately in the treatment plan. After 8 weeks of treatment, follow-up examinations were performed, where it became clear that despite the marked improvement in the glandular part, very „ugly” lesions had appeared on the pylorus. The owner decided to start very expensive treatments with misoprostol, which finally brought positive results. The horse became visibly calmer, but forward movement still did not appear.

In November 2023, Estra began to colic quite regularly, as well as started having problems with trotting and galloping. At the end of the month, the mare once again underwent a gastroscopy and was once more confirmed to have ulcers. After diagnosing the case, the doctor suggested a slightly different approach to the treatment, this time opting for QUUS and omeprazole instead of the classic drug combination, which turned out to be a real “bull’s eye.” This is how the improvement in Estra’s behavior is described by his owner: „The horse stopped getting upset at everything. Also, trotting or galloping stopped being a problem, and then – then the magic happened. The horse, whom everyone described as a horse to be pushed (including me) started to walk, started to carry himself at times, showed that he had an impulse. Suddenly he began to work his belly and back, began to engage his hind legs beautifully and transfer weight to them. Suddenly the horse, who had previously attacked all other horses and people, became docile, her eye, her gaze – softened. At last the relief from pain came…”.