GastroGuard & Coligone Liquid

[Nari]

Also in vet, but I thought more people would see it here.

Does anyone know if I can still use Coligone Liquid if my horse is on GastroGuard? Will it cause problems or stop the GG working properly?

Vet & I think his ulcers are playing up again & I'm thinking of keeping him on a low dose of GG as a long-term measure, short-term he's back on a proper dose. However if he comes in with a gurgly, gassy tum the Colgone Liquid seems to get rid of it quickly & makes him a lot more comfortable. I use Coligon as needed & it would be very useful if I can carry on doing this.

Anyone? If no-one knows I'll call H's Mum tomorrow but I don't want to bother her at the moment if I can help it.

 

[Riverboy]

When my lad was on GastroGuard the vet said to stop everything including hard feed (just reddigrass was allowed) and we weren't able to reintroduce anything as anything but hay or grass caused ulcer attacks...

Not sure about Coligon I'm afraid but wikes to long term use of GastroGuard - its not cheap...

There is a feed being trialled at the moment that helps to prevent and manage ulcers... can't remember the name but can find out for you.

 

[Nari]

Riverboy I'd be interested to hear about the feed, though whether it's something I'd use would depend on what I found out. When he was originally diagnosed the hospital & my vets never specified a hay & grass only diet, if they did I'd really struggle to keep weight on him as he's a big boy & he just will not eat that volume. His diet is cereal free & low starch though.

As to the price of GastroGuard - tell me about it! The sooner there's another legal source of buffered omeprazole the better IMO.

 

[Riverboy]

Hell yeah - River suffered terribly with ulcers - we just couldnt get shot of them, he was a nightmare to keep weight on (even being a 14.2 connie cross) and I said - with no conditioning feed he'll fade away - I have to say he florished after a while - but as soon as we tried to give him anything (he had two days worth of hard feed by mistake once and an ulcer for a month) the ulcers would flare up.

I will get the details of the feed for you, DEFRA are testing it at the moment, my vet told me about it and was trying to get River on the trials, unfortunatly he was PTS before we got there

Ulcers are a pain - if there is anything I can do (even if its someone to moan at the price of the 'Guard' to) please do let me know...

 

[tikino]

hi nari

my boy has been battling gastric ulcers as a secondary condition to intestine damage. he was origanaly on 5 weeks gastro guard and at that piont the vet school recommended a fibre only diet with no additional supplements he had to have adlib haylage just grass and fibre nuts. he was rescoped at 5 weeks and his ulcers were almost completely healed so he was given a further 2 weeks of maintaines dose of gastro guard.

his condition the got worse again and he was readmitted to vet school at this point the took more biopsys and also gastro scoped him. his ulcers had flaired up again although only grade 1/2 so he was commenced on 3 weeks of gastro guard and also commenced on the supplement equitop pronutrin this supplement is very exspensive and comes in at £72.43 for two weeks supply however it is clinically proven to aid healing of gastric ulcers. toby was also given a new diet regime of fibre p topspec balancer and adlib haylge no other hard feed.

well i have to say that i have my horse back even if his vet bill has been nearly £9000 but as i say the gastric ulcers have been secondary to the main problem.

i do highley recommend the equitop pronutrin as it isd amazing stuff and has done amazing job for my boy you only need to feed it for 6 weeks but you can feed a maintenace does. feel free to pm me if you would like to ask any othere questions

http://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/site.aspx?i=pr183707

 

[Nari]

Thanks Riverboy.

We're hoping it's a temporary flare up caused by the weather & how it's making the grass change. The poor lad's had a bad time the last 12 months what with colic surgery & box rest but the one good thing that came out of it was the ulcer diagnosis & treatment - he's calmer than he has been for years.

 

[Nari]

Thanks Tikino.

That sounds rather similar to U-Guard Plus that he's been on for a long time & that does help him a lot, just not enough to clear them. With the size of him a tub woukd only last me 10 days though!

He hasn't been rescoped for ulcers, travelling, sedating & scoping would be far too stressful for him. The signs were there though, and even one dose of GG showed a noticable improvement. He does get adlib hay but he's picky about it so keeping him eating plenty is a pain. We don't havemuch grass at the moment but it's grass that makes him gassy, hence the question about the Coligone.

I think I may end up calling the vet in the morning & asking her opinion.

 

[tikino]

with his history i think you would be best checking it out with the vet as the poor guy has been through the wars

 

[Nari]

I'm going to give her a call tomorrow & check. I checked they're happy with him carrying on with the U-Gard (in fact they would prefer he kept having it) but I forgot to ask about Coligone. I just feel like I'm forever asking questions, I have visions of them starting to cry whenever I phone up!

 

[Riverboy]

Nari - never feel like you are asking too many questions - ulcers are a pain to manage and its best to try and get the management right as we all know how expensive it is to treat a flare up.

tikino - I agree when the ulcers were treated I got my old boy back again - albeit briefly - we could always tell when there was a flare up coming because his mood would totally change.

t xx

 

[coen]

How do they behave when they are getting a flare up?
I have only had my boy since june but am wondering if he could have ulcers, he's really hard to keep weight on and has started stopping and refusing to move when being ridden, but still eating fine.

 

[Gemsie]

Hi Nari,

I have sucessfully used GastroGuard and Coligone together, as advised by my vet,

After the course of Gastroguard my lad is on neigh lox and coligone daily, and will continue on this until the end of his days (he is 29 now bless him).

Coligone is superb and has definately saved me several vet call outs when my lad is gassy and crampy - its fab stuff I cant rate it highly enough,

Good luck with your horse,

Gem

 

[Nari]

Riverboy I ask plenty of questions, I just feel that there comes a point where I start becoming a nuisance. By & large his management is right but this blasted weather isn't helping at all as it alters his routine & diet. Roll on the better weather!

H's mum, thanks again. I'll be on the phone soon ordering some more liquid.

Coen symptoms vary from horse to horse. Jim will crib more, get pickier about his hay, maybe get a bit grumpy, often show looser droppings, may be sharper than usual, seems to feel the cold more, may get a bit colicky, may tuck up a bit. None of the signs are that obvious though & any of them may be due to other causes.

Gem it's good to know that's what your vet recommended. Thanks.