feed suggestions for horse with hind gut ulcers and no appetite

[whiteflower]

I have a horse diagnosed with hind gut ulcers. Hes currently on equishure which seems to b helping make him more comfortable/happy but he still has a poor appetite. Hes not disastrously poor but not covered as I would like him to b at this time of year bearing I mind the winter ahead. He currently has :

Ablib hay, which he picks at but doesn't eat vast amounts of
Good grass (for the time of year!)when out during the day
Feed - alfa-a molasses free, Saracens relieve and Alfa beet split between 3 small feeds daily.

I have also tried :
Ers pellets
Coolstance copra
Topspec condition cubes

Obviously needs to b cereal free low sugar low starch but I just cant get him to eat any amount of anything !
Any ideas of feed to get some weight onto him that is suitable for his ulcers and he may actually want to eat. He was always fussy even before the ulcers !
I'm at the point of trying something molasses or including cereals just to get him eating more but worried about making the ulcers worse again. Vet just says small feeds of suitable feed to try and get him to eat more.
In that vicious cycle of him not eating enough due to the ulcers, ulcers not getting better as not eating enough - argh !
Any ideas/suggestions appreciated !

 

[Goldenstar]

Could you try chopped dried grass .

 

[TigerTail]

thunder brooks base mix and bran every time

 

[mynutmeg]

micronised linseed - no starch, sugar or anything like that. Good for getting calories in and very appetising for them

 

[iconique]

As Goldenstar said, dried chopped grass- I use readigrass, my lot love it and there is nothing in it apart from grass! I also use micronised linseed but not sure how it will affect yours? whatever you do and I'm sure you would anyway, but very very slow introduction/change!

 

[PorkChop]

Simple systems do two types of grass pellets, also maybe something like Total Eclipse which is high in oil.

 

[Nari]

I've found at times that I've had to compromise on what he should eat just to get him eating. Not ideal, but needs must.

Things I've found helpful:
- a syringe of Gaviscon or Coligone seems to line his stomach & make him more confident about eating
- small amounts of high fibre nuts soaked with warm water to make a warm gruel/soup. Play about with the consistency to see what suits him.
- mixing finely sliced carrots in his feed can get him picking at it, & then he'll often carry on eating
- keep feeds very small, I know if mine eats too much & makes himself uncomfortable he's less likely to eat next time. Very small & often works best.
- not ideal, but sprinkling a little bit of mix on top can make it more appetising.
- I've recently found a feed that mine is wolfing (by his standards) down & liking the bucket clean even when it's got medicine hidden in it, and that's Keyflow Stay Cool. Sugar is low, starch less so but it's all micronized & he seems to be coping fine. It smells different to most mixes, not sweet. As I said, maybe not ideal but he was refusing nuts in any form & only picking at small amounts of other mixes.
- a good balancer, fed wet if it's pelleted, may be a good idea so you know he's getting vits & mins that he may be lacking if he's not eating properly.
- I've found feeding some hay in a net & some on the floor seems to improve how much he eats. Also I offer high fibre haylage, sometimes if he won't eat hay he'll eat that & then he often carries on to eat the hay he'd been ignoring. Scattering some feed on the loose hay, if you can bear the possible waste, seems tempting too & that feed is going down mixed with hay so won't hit the gut so hard.

Have I bored you enough yet?

I also find that more than a small amount of beet seems to upset mine, and alfalfa doesn't seem to suit him as well as it used to so I've taken that out of his diet too. I know that in theory they should help but my experience says otherwise.

 

[TigerTail]

thunderbrooks is linseed based and is excellent for iffy eaters and poor doers - do have a look on the site theres no alfalfa unlike SS, and its all organic so any gut issues won't be irritated by pesticides etc.

http://www.shop.thunderbrook.co.uk

Also do some reading and research into this stuff - had several friends find its made a huge difference to their HGU horses and its a doddle to try

http://intelligenthorsecare.co.uk/h...os-mastic-mastiha/p/37664193/category=2563424

 

[wench]

I've been using D&H equine sensitive on my horse for the past year. Nothing nasty in it, it smells nice, and has lots of "tasty" additives. It might be of Benifit to you for your horse. Mine loves the stuff and shovells it in as quick as possible.

Another possibility is equidgel

 

[Highlands]

Ready mash extra

 

[Darcydoo]

Have a look at pure feeds low sugar/starch .I use a mix of pure easy and condition cubes .

 

[cobgoblin]

Ready mash extra.

 

[JoClark]

Do you soak the hay? Is it good hay?

Mine had ulcers and is the type that is suceptable to them.

I also feed Alfa a molasses free, saracen re leve, and then saracen essential balancer. You could try that or equijewel, lots of oil in that. I also feed a ball of Alfa pellets, find the dengie ones reasonably priced compared to others and good quality.

Protexin do a good gut balancer x

 

[Flora]

Top Spec top chop alfalfa, cool condition cubes, cool balancer and speedi beet does wonders. Swear by it for putting weight on ulcer prone horses.

 

[Abby-Lou]

Went to a feed info night last week and saw Topspec have a new food out for ulsa's if that's any use ?

 

[wench]

Think ready mash is quite high starch

 

[Scarlett]

Think ready mash is quite high starch

Ready mash is but the Solution mash isn't....

OP I used this on my HGA lad with success.... http://www.millbryhill.co.uk/equest...horse-feed-593/rowen-barbary-soft-n-73500.htm He's a super picky eater but couldnt get enough of this stuff

He's currently on red bag grass nuts from simple systems plus either micronized linseed or Omega Rice (rice bran and linseed) and is looking better and better each day. I've had to really limit his grass intake however and that seems to have made the biggest difference.

 

[cobgoblin]

If you want low sugar and cereal try Rowen Barbery fibre mash"

 

[TPO]

Grass nuts, soaked, should be appealing as well as add calories "safely".

Did/would your horse eat the copra/coolstance? This is a "good" fat and will help with his foregut (if that's a word!) health.

Personally I'd remove all alfalfa, all feed stuffs that includes preservatives/mould inhibitors/Nutrionally Improved Straw (NIS) and all types of beet (incl speedibeet/fast fibre and any feeds containing them).

KISS - Keep it Simple Stupid, usually works best with horse feed.

I'd go with grass nuts, grass chop, micronised linseed, copra and a good balancer like Progressive Earth Pro Hoof.

None of these foods contain anything other than what it says on the tin so you know what you are feeding. Low sugar and starch and all easy to digest so kind on the gut.

We've got lots of grass too but there's really nothing in it at this time of year (or ours anyway) but it's filling. It might be worth trying with good hay in the field if he'll get more calories from it?

Good luck, I hope you start to see an improvement soon.

 

[whizzer]

I use the solution mash on my super fussy poor doer,who's had ulcers 3 times in the past. It's low starch & high oil. He's also on top spec cool condition cubes but I think I will try the new top spec cubes that are for ulcer horses. I always feed micronised linseed & this winter am trying some Thunderbrook condition & compete, which has made him very shiny & holding weight ok so far. He's also on pink powder at full dose, I know a lot of people criticise pink powder but I genuinely think my horse always looks better on that than anything else. I avoid cereals anyway as they hot him up but now the threat of ulcers has passed(he had them due to vets Hosp stays & surgery) I give him oats,often soak them & he loves them.