Feeding with ulcers

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elliefiz

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My horse's neighbour is a TB. He is loaned by a teenage boy who recently has been having issues with his behaviour. Riding with him yesterday I immediately thought it was an ulcer- horse will not go forward and is losing condition at an alarming rate. He is a cribber and is now refusing to allow his belly to be groomed without making a fuss. To me there are a lot of things pointing towards an ulcer but then im not qualified to make a diagnosis. A vet appointment has been made and vet is due to attend later in the week. I have no real experience with ulcers- I feed aloe vera to my TB as a preventative measure and have asked my vet for a supply of Succeed which im told also helps the digestive system. Apart from that I know little about treatment. My neighbour has asked me about feeding and if there is anything he needs to cut out immediately that would make the ulcer worse (if he does have one)? Horse is fed Pure Feeds easy, calm and condition (the feed you need to soak), aloe vera juice and NAF pink powder. He is out 16 hours a day and gets hay whilst he is in. Also being a young teenagers horse he has a couple of lickits and treats in his stable. Anyone got any ideas if he needs to make a change to the above or not? Any specific feeds people can recommend for an ulcer prone horse?
Ideas/ suggestions gratefully received.
 
it sounds like ulcers to me too - failing that then a back issue.

IME a horse with Ulcers needs fibre fibre fibre (as much of it as possible to keep the gut pH right and keep the gut moving) and as little starch and sugar as possible as these make the gut more acidic (well, that applies to any horse IMHO!). But it sounds like he's getting that already. Your neighbour could try speedibeet (or similar UNmolassed sugarbeet) to help with the fibre and the condition. If the horse is still struggling with condition then oil based (e.g full fat soya or linseed) energy sources are better than cereal based.

but the (big) other thing to consider is stress - if the horse is a cribber he's already a stressy sort - can this be altered by keeping him out all the time (or in all the time if it's worse when he's out)? can he be given a snakball to entertain him, or does he need more/less/different company?
 
Apart from feeding as much fibre as possible (and preferably not alfalfa) I'd get rid of the Pink Powder. We realised that our 2 mares' jumpiness had started when we started feeding . It was so gradual that we only reaised when PP was unavailable just before Christmas and to make sure we didn't run out I bought their Haylage Balancer, which has pretty much the same ingredients. The behaviour became noticeably worse and the one without back shoes suddenly developed tender feet. Everything was back to normal within a few days of taking them off PP/HB.
 
Thanks Jenhunt- I know he had the horse's back looked at a few weeks ago and there was nothing alarming raised that could have manifested in the space of 2 weeks to how he is acting. I do think its ulcers. From reading the struggle other people have had with ulcers it sends a shiver down my spine because I know they can be hard to treat. I feed my own guy linseed oil- i am sure i have a spare carton of it he can have. I will tell him to cut out the sugary feeds and defo no more treats. Out of interest is haylage better/ worse than hay?
Oh the horse is so stressy! He cribs constantly- if he eats a bit, he cribs straight away. Its horrible to watch and I was worried my guy would pick up the habit from him. He has all the stable toys and licks and nothing stops him doing it. I would suggest leaving him out as he doesnt crib out in the field but the grass isnt great anymore and he comes in for a few hours a day to get a hard feed and some hay. I know the vet will diagnose and prescribe treatment but obviously anything that can be done immediately would offer relief- he is obviously very uncomfortable.
 
If he can live out then try feeding in the field! hay on the ground or in a barrel, and bucket feed a couple of times a day. if he can't be fed bucket feed in field bring in for that and turn out straight after.

hay is often better as it is less acidic - but also less calorific. May be that feeding hay and reducing stress that the extra calories aren't needed.
 
Horse had vet out today. He did a simple poo test- this did not show ulcers but the vet is convinced he has them. Next step is scoping although I am unsure if horse is insured so do not know what his loaner intends to do. Vet advised as I had already said- whilst feeding appropriately and taking the necessary steps to reduce stress can help, the horse needs to be treated or ulcers will get worse. Vet said obvious step would be scoping then gastro guard which i know is prohibitively expensive.
Will advise the loaner to leave him out as much as possible. There is an individual paddock he may be able to use at night to feed him hay and a hard feed, I will tell him to ask about it.
 
The two simplest things we use for racehorses with stomach ulcers is Care Cubes or natural yogurt. The yogurt is a pretty cheap idea and we just filled a plastic syringe daily for the horse. Helped him loads :)
 
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