Could gastric ulcers explain his behaviour??

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suzi

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Hoping for a bit of advice on my new(ish) horse.

Had him since Feb. Bought him from a 3 day event yard though he has never evented just SJ. A step up in horse for me as he's forward going - the aim was that I would do BSJA (my first affiliated horse) and hopefully BE if it works.

I knew he could be a grumpy sod, especially at feed time but didn't think too much of it. He had some time off after I bought him as he slipped in the field but and since he's been back in work we've been having a few issues with his brakes too (I also knew he could be very strong).

I've been doing loads of flat work to try and improve his general responsiveness and way of going - the idea being it will help with the jumping.

But I just wonder if he's uncomfortable . . back, saddle, teeth etc all fine & checked regularly so could it be ulcers? Never had one with them so not sure of the symptoms. . .

He's grumpy and fidgity, especially at feed time when he can be positively evil and rushes when ridden. He doesn't do it on a hack so much but when you school you really feel like he is rushing away from the leg, not a controlled move off the leg if that makes sense??

Was thinking of getting him scoped but wondered whether those with more experience could offer suggestions as to whether it fits with symptoms?

Is there a supplement worth trying to see if it helps or would scoping be the first port of call?

Thank you :)

Suzi
 
hi my ex racer was behaving wierdly, didnt like being girthed up and he also didnt like going forward off my leg especially to begin with. He also didnt like being mounted(that i think was back related tho). I have started giving him 6 rennies 20mins before riding him. the difference is amazing. going to see if i can get a prescription off vets for it as dont want to be buying coligone for the price it is as he is only bad when being ridden not any other time.
 
You could try Protexin acid ease or Protexin pro-soothe pH for 1 month. My farrier suggested it and it did wonders for my mare. When the month supply run out I really noticed the difference (super sharp and spooky) so she's on it permanently now. Also, she loves the taste of the pellets so no fussying.
 
if you don't want to scope yet an easy test is to change their diet , feed plenty of fibre ,take cereals away , you can feed saracen relive as a mix this is completely safe for ulcer horses . always let them eat before exercise ie bucket chaff as this will soak up acids in the stomach and make them more comfortable during exercise , dont be stingy on fibre the more they have the better . i did this with a suspected ulcer horse and the difference in a short space of time was very clear he was then scoped and showed ulcers that were healing , also avoid trats like apples and cereal based treats. if you see an improvement with this sort of routine you have your answer and may not be necessary to scoope, its a management thing rather than expensieve also at this time of year with the grass going over hay in the field is a good idea as constant access to fibre is beneficial
 
A word of caution if a horse has ulcers please get it scoped and treated. Rennies and Rantacidine and limestone flour only mask the symptoms or 'put a bandage on them' so to speak.
Ulcers can be very serious indeed and every horse acts differentky with them. Mine was a menace and his were only low grade, but a friend's horse only showed a slight lack in performance - and was scoped and found to have untreatable bleeding ulcers and sadly he was pts. So please be aware there is no 'easy fix'. Yes try a cup of limestone flour twice a day and feed a bucket of chaff just before you ride for a couple of days to see if there maybe an improvement and that may indicate your horse has ulcers but do be aware that is no cure at all.
 
I think you should get him scoped definitely, not sure how many places near you offer scoping but I would advise ringing a few and getting a quote - I couldnt get over the difference in price like from a hundred to a few hundred!!! Majorly saved on getting it done and very worthwhile.
 
I would get him scoped,wouldn't faff about with supplements etc yet. Scoping is the only way to diagnose & gastrogard the only thing that will heal. Symptoms vary enormously from horses that have awful ulcers but hardly any symptoms to horses who's behaviour etc is awful but the ulcers aren't too bad. My horse lost a ton of weight & was vile tempered to handle but fine to ride when he had them,he had mainly grade 2 but a couple of 3's & there weren't that many & they weren't in the really bad areas of the stomach,took the vet ages to even find them! The differance in him after a week of gastrgard was amazing & completely back to normal by the end of the course including having put 20kg of weight back on within 3 weeks!
 
Whilst I wouldn't rule out ulcers, I would not suspect them either as most ridden problems resulting from ulcers tend to make the horse reluctant to move at all. They resent moving forward off the leg as the movement makes the stomach acid splash around and irritate the ulcers. It is worth getting his back xrayed though as he may have a problem there. My horse was diagnosed with kissing spine and yet neither the vet or physio could detect a problem and said his back was not sore. Sometimes with kissing spine or sacroilliac pain, the pain is more intermittent and shooting/jabbing, like when you have a trapped nerve. This can make some horses try to run from the pain.
 
Thank you for your replies.

He's a bit vet phobic (and can be a baulshy sod - hence now labelled 'dangerous to treat' by my usual vets!) so was hoping to try something that might give an indication that it's ulcers before getting him scoped.

It's the combination of stressy grumpy behaviour and slightly rushing when ridden that's confusing me.

I'm in the process of switching him from Haylage to steamed hay (he coughs on dry hay) - do you think this will help?

He's not been totally ad-lib haylage as he's so greedy but I was thinking I'd increase his fibre intake coming into the winter anyway. He's now not on any mixes and is just getting Dengie Healthy Hooves and a joint supplement.

He had his sacroiliac scanned after his accident and was told I was ok to carry on as normal and his behaviour (gumpiness wise) is no different from before and after the injury . . . . so I would have expected the vets to already have picked up any back problems?
 
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