Gastric ulcers

[Elle1085]

Anyone have any experience of them? I had my boy blood tested yesterday cos he's not quite in his normal condition and they came back showing he had some kind of bacterial infection but cos he's had quite a few virus' and things over the years the vets suspect he might have gastric ulcers

He's on antibiotics for 3 weeks then he's got to be scoped to see whats going on in there but just wondered what happens once treated etc. I'm really worried about him cos he's my baby and i lost another horse a couple years ago from a tumour in his intenstine so i'm praying its not the same thing

 

[lucym]

to be honest ulcers are a total nightmare, there is no point lying to you! is your horse insured? because the treatment is very very expensive
my horse was diagnosed in march with ulcers, and had 7 weeks of Gastroguard (an acid inhibitor) which enabled the ulcers to heal, costing £175 a week.
three weeks later he got worse again and started colicing, so we knew he wasnt right. so back to the vets, and the ulcers have come back worse than before, plus he has inflammation of the small intestine. More medication, antibiotics, and possibly steroids...
So 3-4 months down the line, my vets bill is nearing 4k, and i cant ride my horse.
Ulcer horses also need a complete change of diet, high fibre low starch, and there are various other management changes. If you search for gastric ulcers on HHO it comes up with lots of old posts
If you go into it expecting the worse, then things can only get better
alot of horses in competition riders have ulcers, so might be worth posting there
good luck with your horse, and i seriously hope he doesnt have ulcers

 

[Elle1085]

Thanks. we've actually just taken vets bills off his insurance cos it was £50 extra a month and the last thing he might have needed it for they wouldn't have paid out cos of all his exclusions. They've said he could be on something £25 a day for three weeks i think if he has got them they're quite mild cos he's got no severe symptoms i think the vets are just going by his temperment really but i'd better start saving now just in case