Feeding novice event horse with ulcers

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andreo

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Hi I was just wondering those of you eventing what you feed if your horse has ulcers. Mine has just been diagnosed after being scoped with stomach and hind gut ulcers. He currently has D&H stay power muesli which vet has said isn't too bad but could be better so want to change it and with that have changed him onto alfalfa, and i feed dengi molasses free chop for his supper before leaving yard as livery horse and there main feed is is at 3pm. He is on Gg for a month and antepsin for ulcers he has in pyloric area & will be rescoped in month. I know management as well as treatment is key. Supplements He also has red cell as prone to getting anemic, horse first relax me as get anxious and he did have garlic which I have just stopped as heard this was bad for ulcers. I talked to a lot of feed companies at badminton and all think there feeds are the best. And I was thinking of changing to Saracen re lieve but this still has 7. Starch in it and molasses ? So now I am v confused . So before i go and buy bags of everything your Tried and tested would help. Energy wise he can be sharp but also can sit behind my leg. :)
 
Low sugar high fibre and low stress is the key - I use Speedybeet as a basis for mine, with grass nuts and ad lib forage/grass. You might need something with a bit more protein for soft tissue and muscle. I used alfalfa but you can buy lysine (the main protein they need) from Forageplus. Can you avoid the stress of being stabled and work him off grass?
 
Hi JillA no due to being on livery he can't have 24hr t/out but yard has been v good so he is out daily till about 3pm then he has ad lib very dry haylage. I put on alfalfa as heard it was good for ulcers due to the calcium
 
If your horse has hind gut issues as well as ulcers, I would stay away from beet pulp.

For both of your horse's issues, the ideal is a high fiber/high oil and low sugar/low starch diet. Adding alfalfa is also a good idea as the calcium oxalate neutralizes the acid in the stomach, giving chance for the ulcers to heal. I usually mix a cup of alfalfa pellets(Alfa A into every bucket feed for the same reason.

I saw you mentioned you were thinking of switching to Re-leve. Its a wonderfully formulated feed and probably a good option. As for the starch and sugar in it, its in very low quantities so the NSC is still well bellow the 15% advised for horses with EGUS. Every single feedstuff has some starch and sugar (even hay) and horses are designed to cope with it - they are not designed to cope with NSC levels of 40 and 50% which we sometimes see in competition formulas.

However, I did try re-leve and my mare absolutely refused to eat it so be sure to ask some samples first and see if your horse likes it.
 
SCMSL thank you that's been help full I am leaning towards D&H ERS pellets now as some good reviews on this and keep the Alfa A
 
Yeah don't think you can go wrong with ERS pellets, I add linseed and alfabeet and my horse is looking fab on the combination.

He is cereal sensitive , sends him crazy and this works well for him as is low starch and high protein
 
Agree, Re-leve is a great food, but quite distinctive tasting and mine also refused to eat it. Pure Feeds are also great, but mine refused to eat that too. The local racehorse rehoming place has done well out of me for barely eaten sacks of feed! ;)

The other thing I would say is before your insurance runs out, ask your vet for some gastrogard to keep to use for a maintenance dose if your horse gets an injury etc. Pain can cause a recurrence, as can just about all the painkillers we use for horses (don't be fooled that Danilon's safe from an ulcer point of view) and it useful to have a preventative dose available for times of pain or stress.
 
my boy is easy to feed, but he has dengie healthy tummy - alfalfa pretty much made for competition horses with ulcer issues, and a simple course mix... was told course mix better than nuts as they do not expand/absorb and create a bigger space for bad bacteria to grow. He also has the supplement from feedmark called ulcer calm which has been great. All of this has been recommended by my vets.
 
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