Prevalence of equine gastrointestinal ulcers in freely roaming Przewalski horses in Hungary

Abstract

The Equus Przewalski is of Asian origin and is the only existing wild horse. Once extinct but with the help of breeding management, the population seems to be increasing nowadays. Not only does the Przewalski breed differ from domestic horses by appearance but also genetically, this wild horse has 66 chromosomes. Gastric ulcers are common in horses and according to previous studies 60% of performing horses develop equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) while this number increases to over 90% in racing horses and is much less in freely roaming horses. The chances of developing EGUS does change depending on the use of the horse and that is because of the different causative factors that range from nutrition and training to stress levels of individual animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate prevalence of EGUS in freely roaming adult Przewalski horses.