Colic/ulcers/despair! Advice/moral support needed please

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montysmum1

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I've posted on here a few times about my horse recently, and all the advice has been really helpful, so here I go again! :rolleyes:

My 6yr old ex-racer, who I acquired last November is just about to start Gastro-Guard treatment, and I guess I'm just posting for reassurance/moral support/additional guidance.

He has a history of colic, which is progressively getting worse each time, the last time was 10 days ago, and it lasted 48hrs, took 4 vet visits with IV Buscopan and Flunixin (sp?) and stomach tubed fluids/electrolytes to get him relatively comfortable, with 7 days following of very subdued/depressed behaviour though no 'colicky' symptoms, and now a frighteningly thin horse.

I am not prepared to send him for surgery. Blood tests (full work up) has come back clear, vet now thinks Gastric Ulcers ( I raised this as my opinion months ago), he is not IMO strong enough to box to Horspital (which is 90mins away) for an endoscopy, so rather than delay treatment I have decided (in conjunction with advice from my vet, who agrees re travel) to forgo the definitive diagnosis and just treat with GG immediately, to try to improve his quality of life.

He is a windsucker/cribber, lives out 24/7 with company, in work 2xweek (until most recent colic episode) just walk & trot as re-training and coming back into work from tendon injury, is fed alfa-a mollases free, D&H ERS pellets, speedibeet, micronized linseed, yea-sacc (previously brewers yeast) and limestone flour. His feed is split into 4x a day, and he is well rugged, with layers added/removed as appropriate at each feed time (6am, 1pm, 6pm and 10.30pm). He is wormed, vaccinated and had his teeth rasped in Dec 2012, poo-count came back negative/<50.

Any advice/suggestions are greatly aprreciated! Vet is very happy with his lifestyle, and at a loss as to what else to suggest if GG does not help, but we are both in agreement that he cannot go through another episode like this again :(
 
really sorry to hear about your horse, mine has been through bad ulcers twice now from low grade pain no that sorted touching wood they havent come back.

1st time she coliked lots and vets finally agreed to get her scoped after me asking about ulcers being a possibilty and she had garde 3 she was treated on GG for 2 months as when i started to lower dose she started to get symtoms again finished 2 months then another month slowly weaning her off and she was fine then 7 months later back they came was treated for a month and then been fine then since been treated for her back and havent come back!

has your horse got any other symtoms of the ulcers?
 
What sypmtoms did your horse get when coming off the Gastroguard ? My aged mare has been on it for a month, together with Antepsin - huge improvement, then scoped again and all ulcers gone...result ! However her appetite has now declined again and struggling to get enough fibre into her. Have bought one more box of Gastroguard to give one quarter per day....
 
First of all I want to say a massive thank you to all of the PM's and replies. You've given me some really interesting reading and advice so I don't feel quite so much like i'm running out of options now.

Secondly, in the past 48hrs he is feeling much better! :)
He now resembles a hat rack, which makes me very sad to see, but he has all of his 'spark' and energy back, and comes cantering across the field to me again, where as a week/10 days ago, he could barely walk.

I'm hoping that his weight will build back up as he continues to feel better, and that after the GG course is finished, he will not have any relapse. I know it is early days yet, but i am feeling so much more positive :)
 
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