Gastric scoping- would you do it on a prepurchase exam?

[SLW]

Yesterday my 2 1/2 year old, homebred, kept at home, not under saddle Quarter horse gelding was scoped as part of the Merial program to educate owners about preventing gastric ulcers. He was selected to be one of the test horses for the day because he had ulcers when he was 6 months old and I had no concerns about him now. He is for all purposes a "Riding horse in Waiting".

Of the 9 scoped, my guy and one gelding in heavy duty training at a pro's barn had ulcers, grade 1, so we are talking a mild ulcer. I was really surprised because he has the ideal living arrangement at home, minimal grain, free choice hay and moderate pasture plus he isn't in any heavy duty training.

So I will treat the ulcer, add one thing back in his diet that I removed 6 weeks ago and move on. Still, an ulcer can be pricey to treat not to mention you spin some wheels with the horse until you 'figure it out'.

That made wonder are folks having gastric scopes on horses as part of prepurchase exam if the horse passes the soundness test? If a horse has a history of ulcers, either disclosed by the seller or heard on the street by reliable sources, would you walk away from the horse?

[Bluey]

If you are selling a horse, how invasive do you think the looker, prospective buyer should be in vetting your horse?

Scoping is not risk free, I would have to think about letting people go that far.

If a horse had a history of ulcers, well, then that is another story.
I would then probably have our vet scope him to sell him as clean or in treatment for ulcers.

Putting ulcers in perspective, it seems that even pasture ornaments at times get them and eventually get over them, as some ulcers are part of how horse's stomachs evolved, as a common glitch in the system.

[atlatl]

I bought a horse that had been scoped and diagnosed with an ulcer about 3 years before I bought him. I thought about scoping him as part of the prepurchase, but after talking to the vet, who didn't have the equipment to scope him anyway, and weighing the evidence that he was currently performing as if he didn't have ulcers I decided against it. I just kept up the maintenance dose of omazapole (sp?) that the previous owner was giving him.

[hollyhorse2000]

My two cents -- the truth is that every horse is "at risk" for ulcers, while they are more prevalent in horses that are showing frequently or trailered frequently the occur in broodmares in field board and other horses that don't appear, to us, to be stressed. So I'm not sure it's something that needs to be revealed pre-purchase. I personally wouldn't scope a horse on a PPE as ulcers can be dealt with. What I'm looking for are things that would be career-ending or impairing and ulcers really aren't one of them (although sometimes $$$ to treat, as I know, but so are lots of other things, too.)

[Woodsperson]

I would only scope if horse had a history of ulcers or showed some symptoms during purchase process or PPE. I realize that I might miss something, but it is something that can be fixed.

[Laurierace]

I personally don't think I would ever scope under any circumstances. I won't go as far as saying never because that word tends to make a liar out of you sooner or later. I would rather spend the money to treat when ulcers are suspected.

[deltawave]

Ulcers come and go far more quickly than a lot of people realize. They don't hang around, although a horse (or person!) can certainly get a new one under the right circumstances.

"My ulcer is bothering me" always makes me :). They're not permanent! :lol:

I wouldn't scope a horse unless I really suspected ulcers but couldn't rule them in or out some other way, or if he/she was NQR and I wanted to make sure that wasn't the answer.

[BuddyRoo]

If I had a horse for sale who had never shown any symptoms of ulcers and someone wanted to do a scope on the PPE, I'd probably not allow it. No procedure comes without risks and to me, a scope is more risk than I would be willing to take without medical cause.

Now OTOH, if I had a horse with a known history of recurrent colic, ulcers, etc and had not previously scoped the horse? Yeah. I'd go for it. Let them foot the bill as long as they agreed to share the results with my veterinarian.

But if I HAD already had the horse scoped and we had the condition under control with medication, again, I'd not allow what I would consider to be an unnecessary and somewhat risky medical procedure.

[sansibar]

After what we dealt with for Sansibar every horse I buy is to be scoped as a precaution, as we spent way to much money on stomach issues.

[JB]

If a horse has a history of ulcers, either disclosed by the seller or heard on the street by reliable sources, would you walk away from the horse?


Given that studies have shown that anywhere from 60-80% of horses, at a given time, have ulcers, no, I wouldn't.

I'd only walk away if I knew the horse had a history of ulcers that were very difficult to clear up, or that required daily dosing of omeprazole to keep under control - just don't need to buy that sort of maintenance. I'm sure there are some exceptions for me, but if I were looking *for me* for a performance horse, then that case would be a walkaway.

My OTTB mare had ulcers when I got her. Entirely expected, as 80%+ of racehorses are said to have them. Many, many horse performing at higher levels have them, or would have them if not regularly treated.

Part of the issue is that the upper part of the stomach isn't (as well) lined as the lower portion. The more we ride our horses, the more we slosh that stomach acid all around, creating long(er) periods of time when that acid is sloshing on the unlined portion of the stomach. That's part of what causes ulcers in performance horses.

I do not think I would allow a horse I had for sale to be scoped as part of a PPE. I don't think I'd mind selling him without scoping, but buying him back, at purchase price, if the new owner scoped him and didn't like what he saw, but the horse had to be no worse for the wear after the scoping. *I* won't allow a PPE scope which then might leave the horse, in my ownership, with some damage ('cause things do happen).