Gastric ulcers - whats your experience?

Azbo

Azbo

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 July 2011
Messages
104
Location
Bristol
Visit site
I think that my horse may have gastric ulcers.

My boy is displaying some symptoms but he doesn't seem to be losing any condition. Tonight I bought him in from the field where he was waiting by the gate, I often give him some hayledge whilst I faff but tonight I didn't so reckon he would have had a pretty empty stomach. He wasn't at all happy about the girth and was defiantly unhappy with me putting my leg and asking to move up the transition. Head goes up ears go back and he goes to buck (he's default setting). He's not happy about his belly being touched, especially around the stifles and hind gut.

He's a very immature 6yr old and has had most of the year off with a back injury and I'm slowly bring him back to work and re schooling him, so not asking for very much. Literally we are working on walk trot transitions. I checked his back after we finished and he was fine.

He's out by day on grass and not left for long periods of time without forage.

I just want to know what other peoples experiences have been with this. What were the symptoms, how was it diagnosed and what treatment do the horse have?
 
My friend's horse had ulcers.

His symptoms were explosive outbursts when ridden. When she fell off so badly that she got internal injuries she was advised the horse was possessed
sigh.gif
. Fortunately she had the vet have a look and after scoping him they found many ulcers.

He had a course of Gastroguard and was rescoped and found to be fine.

He had good management, turnout and a good diet....but still developed them.

Your horse's vet will need to have a look and decide on what to do - but he does sound ulcerish...

In the mean time, make sure he always has access to fibre - especially when ridden as an empty stomach splashes acid everywhere. Horses create acid all the time, unlike us who only do it when stimulated to eat. If they are allowed to go without food for more than 4 - 6 hours they are at very high risk.

Cereals are a bad idea - stick to fibre based feeds and oil.

Consider feeding aloe vera as an alternative supplement (although this should not replace veterinary medicine).

Keep his stress to a minimum - we have a theory that my friend's horse's ulcers were caused by the stress of being beaten by the woman who'd broken him in.
 
Thanks Oberon,

It's something thats been on my mind for a little while. I was looking for confirmation of my suspicions.

Normally I will make sure he has eaten before I ride him so he has a full stomach. He's turned out by day and has as much Hayledge as I can cram in him when he's in as he's a poor doer and the grass is so poor at the moment. Feed wise, the only grain he gets is whatever is bulking out his balancer, he's on alfa a and I have also just put him on aloe vera in the last few days. He also gets some oil added when needs be.

He was diagnosed with damage to the ligament across the spine in June and started head shaking this year.

Think its going to have to be another call to the vets then...
 
The vet thought my horse might have ulcers because he is a recurrent spasmodic colic case. He is also on haylage which has a high acid content and he has recently had box rest which has restricted turn out although i try to give him ad lib hay/haylage as much as possible. He has also started to be nasty at times to groom. From being extremely placid to trying to bite me when I groom around his neck and shoulders (something he's never done in the 7 years of owning him) although I'm not convinced this isn't to do with the fact his field companion and he spend all day biting each others neck over the fence and its either a learned behaviour with him now to retaliate when I groom his neck or his neck is actually a bit sensitive from the bites. As way of explanation - Horses are usually sensitive to groom when they have ulcers.

I started him on slippery elm, the dried herb meadowsweet and because with gastric ulcers you have to think fibre, fibre, fibre, changed his chaff from readigrass to the new Alfa A (in navy blue bag with green band round top) and it has a higher fibre content and is slightly more beneficial than the readigrass. I have also cut out cereals from his diet and instead replaced them with Fast Fibre from Allen and Page. I have also started him on NAF haylage balancer which has meant I can stop giving him the pink powder and give him this in its place. I've had to cut out the joint supplement in order to pay for all this but I'm hoping that the slippery elm and meadowsweet will only be short term.
 
Thanks for the responses, I spoke with our vet today and we are booking him in for a scope. If he has ulcers this will tell for sure and he will be treated with Gastroguard. We will see very soon. :)
 
I have a ex racehorse, and 90% of them have ulcers. My boy has some of the signs ie. when girthing up and he is just generally really knarcky to touch all over.
I went to your horse live and spoke to a amazing lady from NAF, who developed their gastriaid, she was very knowledgable and I brought some and the change in him is amazing.
he is fed on fibre only and does not have haylage as I was advised haylage is not ideal for gastric sufferers.
i think as said above the key is managing the horse.
good luck with it all, and hope you get things sorted.
 
My lad has always been less than enthusiastic about being fussed but nothing to make me think it was anything but his character. A couple of months ago he became very grumpy when being rugged/brushed/saddled but was happy to work. He bit and bruised me which was very out of character. He showed no other signs - held his weight (a little too!) well, happy to work, bright and interested, no colic.......

He was scoped and he had got ulcers, not awful ones but they were there. The top of his stomach was text book and one of the best the vet's seen! He had some grade 1 ulcers and some thickening (pointing to longer term chronic rather than recent onset) ulcers round the junction of the squamous and non-squamous stomach and some grade 1/border grade 2 ulcers round the stomach/intestine junction. His management was pretty good - I've made some tweaks sibce he was diagnosed but we were 98 % of the way there anyway. He had 3 weeks of Gastrogard which put him back to his usual self and he'll continue being managed now on fibre based diet and constantly available forage. I'm looking to feed some straw in the summer to make sure he's got something to chew on but without providing as many calories as hay.
 
I was very suspicious my lad had them after long vets stays last winter coupled with tons of travelling,surgery,sedation,box rest & bute! He didn't help himself as he's always been a girthy,snappy horse anyway but he did get worse with the biting. He was off work for a long time with sinus problems & I did suspect ulcers but he couldnt be scoped for ages due to the sinus probs! When I finally started riding again he was headshaking & unhappy(this was actually due to the sinus issues as once ulcers sorted he was still headshaking). He then lost over 30kg in 3 wks & was so unhappy I couldn't even pat him without getting snapped at. Scoped with grade 2 & 3's,healed really well on gastrogard & scoped clear after 3 wks on it. His diet was already fairly ulcer friendly but I've adjusted a few things & I've got a hefty stock of gastrogard in for when he has to go to the vets for his sinus check ups.
 
goneshowjumping said:
I have a ex racehorse, and 90% of them have ulcers. My boy has some of the signs ie. when girthing up and he is just generally really knarcky to touch all over.
I went to your horse live and spoke to a amazing lady from NAF, who developed their gastriaid, she was very knowledgable and I brought some and the change in him is amazing.
he is fed on fibre only and does not have haylage as I was advised haylage is not ideal for gastric sufferers.
i think as said above the key is managing the horse.
good luck with it all, and hope you get things sorted.
Click to expand...
Have you used the GastriAid? Did you find it useful. I think I need to put Millie on something as hers seem to have flared up again and I'm still paying off the last load of Gastriguard!
 
Thanks everyone, its really interesting to hear your experiences. Since starting this thread, Az (the horse) hasn't wanted to eat his dinner or breakfast. He did eat his tea tonight but didn't polish off the bowl which is more normal.

He was bought in earlier tonight so had plenty to eat in his stable. I long lined and lunged him to see how he would go and he did seem much happier. Although he was not impressed with the roller and did try to take a chunk out of me. I also went to adjusted one of his sersingles over the stable door and he gave me a very dirty look.

He's currently on a trial course of, I think, Carbamazepine (?!) its any anti -epileptic anyway, for head shaking although this doesn't seem to be doing anything, the weekend just gone his head shaking was awful. I do wonder if this may in fact be related. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking...
 
Mince Pie said:
Have you used the GastriAid? Did you find it useful. I think I need to put Millie on something as hers seem to have flared up again and I'm still paying off the last load of Gastriguard!
Click to expand...

hi mincepie, yes he is on it, im just on the end of the 2nd month on it, and he has become so much better to handle. we still have the odd "im going to bite your head off" when putting rugs on and girthing up but it has improved so much.
When you speak to someone who takes the time to explain how the "splashing" can affect the horse you realise how serious and uncomfortable this can be.
I was also advised to feed a scoop of alfa before riding as this lines the stomach and stops the severity and of the acid in the stomach, and this is another thing I have found has worked.
I havent had my boy scoped....and before you all shoot me down this is a descion I made by speaking to my vet first as my boy only showed the signs through his biting, and speaking to my vet he doesnt seem to think that at this stage he needs scoping as he holds his weight well, is on a complete fibre diet....i do not feed cereals and he is on hay and not haylage. If my boy does worsen then of course I will get him scoped, his jabs are due in March and my vet is taking another look at him then and if he thinks he has worsened then I will get him done.
I do rate the NAF gastriaid though and he will reamin on it now as I think its made a huge improvement in him and his attitude!
Merry xmas everyone :D
 
My boy who had acute colitis a week or so back was showing similar symptoms for at least a couple of months leading up to the colitis. He would have ears back, grind to a halt and just refuse to go. I don't have any proof, but I suspect it was the building up of whatever's causing his colitis.

It's such a b&&&r with horses that they can only say they are uncomfortable, but can't be more specific about what area hurts.

I suspect that ears back and grouchiness being touched around the belly could be various things related to abdominal stuff, but couldn't suggest more than that really.

Sorry.
 
Years and years ago my old horse had stomach ulcers which was caught very early and treated with some medication from the vet. He was off his food and everything he eat used to go straight through him. He didn't like to be touched around his stomach and he looked bloated but ribby (like he had worms)

After treating it we changed his diet to HiFi lite, pony nuts, soaked hay and normal turn out but he did get better!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top