Gastric Ulcers?

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Comanche

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I have a 16.2hh ex show horse who has lived a pretty stressful life. He came to me because he has mild navicular and arthritis. He weaved constantly and when turned out he would field walk. He can't eat root veg or apples because he colics. He has chilled out due to finding a partner to play out with and he no longer weaves or field walks BUT, I can't seem to get any condition on him despite him eating well. I've tried all sorts of things - he is currently on Baileys no 4 cubes, in addition to an Old Faithful Mix - he is about 20, but I can't seem to get any weight on him. The fact that he colics at the drop of a hat makes me wonder if he has damage to his intestines that prevents him absorbing his food properly - he gets 4 smaller meals a day, with plenty of alfalfa, unlimited turnout and adlib haylage when he is in. He is regularly wormed and had a general health check and was pronounced ok. His teeth were done 4 months ago and are fine. Anyone have any advice for my poor old man?
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Defo talk to Hs mum about Coligone. It's brilliant. Also, a couple of liveries at my yard have had great success with baby milk powder added to the feed and/or soaking the feed in apple juice (Tesco good as any!) An old farmer friend once told me that bread is guaranteed to put weight on a horse too so would he eat treacle sandwiches? Seriously!
 
Hi,

I cant really offer much advice, but thought I would share my experiences of gastric ulcers in the hope it may help.

Years ago I had a horse who was originally diagnosed with arthritis and then later developed navicular.

He was on low level (1 a day) bute for 2 years. He was 15 years old at this stage. He then had colic twice in a week (had never had it before) and it was decided to send him for a gastroscope. They found that he had ulcers in the lower part of his stomach. This is the area that is protected from acidity so the protection had to have been damaged by the medication.

I understand that with race horses or stressed horses they very often can have ulcers in the top area that is unprotected. The stress causes the acid to go to the top of the stomach where it shouldnt be. (I hope this makes sense).

Anyway my horse had gastroguard (this is very expensive but works very very well). Unfortunately for me this did not help us in the long term as my horse needed pain relief for his injuries and couldnt have it because it just caused the ulcers again.

I am not sure if this will help you at all. I am not sure how much a gastroscope is as my horse was done for free as part of a research project.

My horse did not lose weight with the ulcers, had just become a bit grumpy and put his ears back when the saddle went on (which he hadnt done before). I understand that some horses can lose weight though and it definately does cause colic.

I wish you all the best and please PM me if you think I can help at all.
 
i dont know about the usclers but have you run a blood profile to see if there is anything going on? have you tried lactose and glouse for weight and condition or even linseed?
 
I feed Winergy to my TB who has bad intollerances/ulcers... www.winergy.com They do a Senior version that might be worth a go?

My lad cant have haylage due to the sugar content so might be worth taking your boy off it if possible as this may be making him worse....

Its taken me over 2 years to find a feed that he is happy with, maintains weight and has the right amount of stamina/energy. He is no longer grumpy and generally seems to be much happier... My other Tb wasnt as bad but did windsuck, that stopped when I swapped her to Winergy too.

Give them a call/email and see if they can help....
 
Thanks guys, this is all fab advice. I'm especially interested in the pain killer angle as he has been on Bute for a good 10 years. He loves bread, bless him, its one of the few things
he can enjoy without getting bellyache.
Thanks ever so much you've all been a fantastic help. I felt a bit like I'd tried everything, but this has given a few other options to try.
 
Ask your vet about analysing a sample of droppings to test for digested blood which is a tell tale sign of ulcers. I have all of my competition horses checked at the start and the end of the season and it only costs about £20. Much cheaper than scoping.
 
i second the winergy equilibrium vote. as far as i know, it works by making their digestive system better from the inside out so in my book is more effective that a treatment or medicine. i couldn't recommend it enough and know loads of people who also think it works amazingly.
 
Have a look at a herbal remedy called Slippery Elm Bark Powder. Its very cheep (aprox £15 for 6 weeks) and worked wonders on a gelding id had. It coats the stomach lining to protect and soothe. Has been used on humans for the same condition for decades.
 
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