Gastric ulcers & probiotics - help please

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sonjafoers

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It has been suggested to me that my 6 year old mare may have some issues with ulcers or similar although I have not had this checked by the vet yet as I am very unsure. She is in good condition, turned out for 12 hours a day in winter and 24/7 in summer, has a good appetite and no problems with her droppings, but I have read something that says 50% of horses with ulcers show no signs. However she does pull a lot of faces, seems very uncomfortable when the girth is done up and generally is very defensive and often aggressive. She is fed a low starch diet, plenty of fibre and is also on NAF pink powder but I have been advised to change to a 'better quality' probiotic. Does anyone have any thoughts on Biotal or Protexin supplements instead of the pink powder, or Feedmark BioPro? I think it might be worth me trying an alternative probiotoc to see if it has any effect.
Incidentally she has her teeth, back, saddle checked every 6 months.
 
Probiotics wont help to clear up ulcers- they support bacteria in the hind gut.
You need an anti-acid supplement to help with ulcers.
 
Ah ok thank you - would I need my horse scoped to diagnose as it is only somebodys suggestion that she may have them due to her face pulling etc
 
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Ah ok thank you - would I need my horse scoped to diagnose as it is only somebodys suggestion that she may have them due to her face pulling etc

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Probs best to speak to your vet- yes scoping would give a confirmed diagnosis but he may prescribe you some gastroguard (only thing proven to clear ulcers up) without scoping.
 
My vet and I were pretty certain my TB had ulcers but I wanted to try something different as I am appalled by the price of gastroguard, so I put him onto Global Herbs Acid X which is purely herbal. Within a week his stroppy/stressy attitude had gone and he became a pleasure to have around. 3 months later he was scoped and the vets made quite a big deal about how healthy his stomach looked. I just wish we'd scoped him before so we had real proof, but the change in his attitude was more than enough for me to be convinced.
 
My vet (which is a big referal vet, Liphook) has just recently started to diagnose ulsers with a blood test rather than scoping.
Im not sure how it works but its quite new. So that might be a option. I might have my skinny tb done but havent spoken to vet about it yet
 
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Coligone, Coligone, Coligone!

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agree with this, i have a mare that can be very stressy in the stable, ulcers were mentioned to me, im not convinced although she had been showing 2 signs and has had enough reasons to of been caused stress, i tried the coligone and im sure its made a difference her poops got better, and over the course of the past month her behaviour has settled down

it is also known for being used at comps etc for stressy horses so in its own way acts as a calmer also. a bottle of the stuff is around £13 and gives you 5 days worth, well worth a trial.
 
The new test is made by the same people as Succeed, which is fab for gastric ulcers and the hindgut too. It just uses a manure sample and you get a yes or no for ulcers within 10 minutes - www.succeedfbt.com has all the info.

sfoers - You should think about hindgut problems with your horse, they can get ulcers there too. This might explain the girthyness too - this won't be from stomach pain, but could be from the large intestine. Google the digestive anatomy and you'll see.
 
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