Gastric ulcers in horses differ from horse to horse; thus, it is frequently several different coinciding symptoms giving rise to a horse’s stomach problems. A similar principle applies to the causes. In one case there may be a variety of causes combining to create stomach problems and ultimately gastric ulcers; another horse may simply react to a feeding change or a new stable mate. Most stomach patients, however, suffer from all kinds of stress.

Stress caused by a variety of reasons, along with the feeding, is usually the root cause of stomach problems reaching from stomach irritation to lesions of the gastric mucosa up to gastric ulcers. Many horses react to stress with reduced feed uptake, ultimately by refusing to feed at all. At the same time, this stress enhances the production of gastric acid, which attacks the stomach lining and may cause lasting damage to it.

In order to support horses with stomach problems in the long run in a sustainable manner, and to prevent these problems, horse owners are increasingly using alternative methods. Horses are now being treated not just when it is already too late and the gastric ulcer only responds to medication. One of these alternatives is acupuncture. This treatment is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is claimed to have a therapeutic effect by inserting thin needles at certain points into the body. The so-called “qi“ is believed to be a vital force of the body. This is supposed to circulate along defined pathways, so-called “meridians”, and have a controlling influence on all bodily functions. If the energy flow is disturbed, disorders may occur. Thus, stress - or rather energetic and emotional overload among today’s horses - is considered to be a frequent cause of upset in the stomach meridian. Gastric imbalance then causes gastric problems. In contrast to our classic conventional medicine, acupuncture is based on a holistic approach in terms of the interaction between the patient’s body and the environment. Thus, this kind of treatment focuses not on the symptom itself but on the very individual disease pattern of the horse by stimulation of specific acupuncture points for the horse and its problems.

Acupuncture alone, however, is not enough to prevent stomach problems, let alone that they can be treated by acupuncture on its own. After all, stomach problems usually arise from a variety of causes. However, for some horses acupuncture may be used as a support in combination with other forms of treatment. In this context it should be noted that acupuncture may have different effects on individual horses.

In considering acupuncture for a stomach patient, one should first obtain information about a suitable veterinary practitioner and then sit down with this person to carefully discuss the individual treatment of the horse in question.