Gastric Ulcers

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noggin123

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I have a 14yo tb x welsh gelding. He has recently been diagnosed with gastric ulcers (not sure on the grade). He was girthy and generally turning grumpy when being handled.

He has had one month on cytotec tablets which did nothing, he has just had his last injection of omeprazole and is due to be re-scoped next Thursday (fingers crossed).

I am looking for recommendations of what to feed him. He is a poor doer and although he is on alot of feed doesn't seem to be gaining much weight at all. He isnt thin thin, but he could do with a little more pudge.

He is currently fed twice per day and has the following per feed:
3/4 scoop saracen re-leve
1 cup equi jewel
1 scoop alfa beet
1 scoop mollichop showshine

These are on the recommended feed list from my vets but he doesn’t seem like he is holding his weight. He is out overnight atm and in with a huge haynet during the day. He will be in at nigjt and out in the day from Oct 1st.

I am thinking maybe cut the equi jewel and feed linseed and change the chaff to alfa a oil?

Any other suggestions would be great.
 
Hi!

My boy (13yo TB Gelding) was scoped and diagnosed with Grade 2 and 3 EGUS in both the glandular and squamous regions at the beginning of the year. He was prescribed a whole tube of Peptizole for one month, rescoped clear and then on a "maintenance dose" of 1/3 of a tube of Peptizole for 5 months - it should only have been two months but also took an almighty kick in the field in March, was non-weight bearing lame, colicked due to stress and got admitted to the RVC.

I was referred by my vet to a fantastic equine nutritionist who advised the following feed changes: -

- From Pegasus Pony Cubes to Saracen Super Fibre Cubes in his treat ball which keeps this active and nosey boy entertained and is high fibre, low sugar and relatively low starch. (Although grass nuts are much lower in starch and cheaper but he won't eat them),
- From Allen&Page Veteran Vitality to Baileys Speedi-beet which contains pectins which coat the stomach with a protective barrier. (Howev, Mr. Awkward wont eat speedy beet so he is on Veteran Light which is the only feed that he will eat and will keep the weight on him - but it is much lower in starch and sugar than Veteran Vitality),
- From Spillers Happy Hoof Molasses Free to Dengie Alfa-A Molasses Free - low sugar and Alfalfa contains calcium which neutralises acid which irritates the stomach and causes ulcers. I was feeding Happy Hoof forever but apparently, this and most variants of chaff is just chopped straw, is not great quality and offers no real nutritional benefit other than adding bulk to stop horses from bolting their feed.

Prior to meeting the nutritionist, I tabulated his (then) current feeds including accurate quantities and worked out the Digestible Energy (DE), Sugar, Starch and Fibre content. The DE was important as his feed was maintaining his weight and condition, was not fizzing him up and was just right for his workload. Once she'd seen my boy and we'd had a good chat, she went away and tabulated the new feeding programme as I had done which was all really helpful!

In my own experience: -

- The key is feeds as low in sugar and starch as possible. If you're struggling, I'd really recommend a good equine nutritionist who is not associated with a brand as they can have a tendency to "push" their own branded products,
- Change feeds VERY slowly. One of the side effects of EGUS is colic (as I've found out) so the slower, the better,
- Give him Protexin AcidEase. It's expensive but it really, honestly does work! Also, having spoken to the Proitexin rep, you need to feed it both morning AND evening as it buffers stomach acid for up to 8hrs,
- I give him Protexin QuickFix in stressful situations even now after he has been scoped clear and is ulcer free. I can notice the change in his mood immediately.

Good luck! I hope this helps and if ever you want to chat or even just whinge, just drop me a PM! :)

xx
 
Ulcers are an ongoing issue with one of mine. There are other issues which seem to drive the flare up but in general I've found:

- Lots and lots of hay. I soak because my mare tends to pile on the pounds, but the more she can have in front of her the better. If yours is out at night then can you pop some hay out?
- As FB says above, beet is supposed to be good for ulcers (I use kwikbeet) and because it is soaked gets water into them as well.
- The calcium content of alfalfa is believed to help, but I have an appaloosa and it made her photosensitive so not in her diet any more.
- High fat rather than high sugar / starch is gentler on their systems for weight gain. I found too much linseed upsets her stomach, but copra is fine.

Ditto everything above about protexin - great stuff. In terms of herbal supplements I did find Thunderbrooks slippery elm one helped, but not a lot else.

Ultimately though you usually have to get to the bottom of what is causing the flare ups. For my horse it is a combination of pain from a muscular disorder and stress and if both of those are under control then her stomach usually is as well.
 
SEL said:
Ultimately though you usually have to get to the bottom of what is causing the flare ups. For my horse it is a combination of pain from a muscular disorder and stress and if both of those are under control then her stomach usually is as well.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more with this! Otherwise you will just be in a bad cycle of reoccurring ulcers and medication. It was concluded that my boy's were also caused by pain in his hocks and secondary SIJ issues which were being medicated periodically with cortico-steriods and kept his stomach in check too. (He's literally just undergone surgical arthrodesis in both hocks as they can no longer be medicated, so fingers crossed)...

With anything pain related though, another thing to bear in mind that it is largely thought that Bute can exacerbate ulcers!
 
Thank you all for the advice. He cannot have hay in the field at night as its not allowed, but I know already he won’t eat it anyway. He is difficult to get hay down as he tends to pick at it rather than just eat constantly like a normal horse. He’s always done this since I bought him.

I have no idea what can be causing the ulcers. He has a chilled lifestyle, he is very laid back. Not had any lameness/injury. Doesn’t seem sore anywhere, has his back, teeth and saddle done regularly. He colicked once last winter when it snowed but it was an impaction from all the hay and not much exercise. I have absolutely no idea. Only thing I can think is he doesnt eat enough forage but its not because it isn’t available.

He will eat haylage but is that bad for ulcers?
 
I feel like my horse is similar Noggin. He doesnt get through a massive amount of hay, and if i put hay in the field he would ignore it much of the time yet this summer had ulcers. :(
 
Once you get rid of the ulcers he may well digest his food to better effect, ie not be a poor doer. My experience is that they need the sulcrafate with omeprezole. Good luck- it’s so difficult, and expensive, treating ulcers.
 
Mine had ulcers : bleeding into his abdomen : irritable bowel has horrendous seeing in him in so much pain , he was gastroguard /
Coyotec / suphulazine / and steroids he was off everything in 6 weeks and rescoped a further 4 weeks after that and just finished a full
Season of work without any medication , fed on ad lib hay / top spec ulcer Kind : joint balancer and fibre mash and good quality grass at least 8/10 hours a day through summer and at least 4/5 In winter
 
Low sugars - sugar turns to acid in the gut. I would be feeding micronised linseed for condition and the oil in it which lines the gut, lots and lots of fibre (unmollassed beet pulp, soya hulls) and a good probiotic to boost the gut bacteria and help digestion. Plenty of good forage and reduce stress by living out as much as possible
 
Have you tried feeding him nothing except hay, and micronised linseed mixed in a little beet? Is he not eating hay because he's not hungry? I have no experience with ulcers, but do try to keep feeding simple
 
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