Help With Horse Ulcers Please! Other Problems too... (Yes I have 2 ulcer threads out

[AMH777]

My TB has ulcers I think. I have another thread about his probable ulcers. A trainer was feeling him to see if she I could find the sensitive spot, and he was tensing up and nearly arching his back when she touched him right at the top of his tail. Later that day after she left, I was brushing his tail, and when the hair was touching his hocks he would kick and it. He also kicked at anything I touched there. He has also been resting his back feet every time we stop walking. He has also been jumpy, nervous, bolting, eats alfalfa quickly and is very reluctant to eat his grass hay, cinchy, ancy, grinds his teeth, and his stomach (or something near there) makes burping sounds when I lounge him at the trot. I dont want my baby to be in pain! Do you think it is hind gut (colonic) ulcers or gastric? I am only 14 and where I live it is illegal for me to get a job, but I have to pay for extra things for him. My parents pay for his hay and board, but I have to find a way to pay for everything else. I'm afraid money for me is so tight I cant afford the expensive products! I'm FREAKING OUT over how I am going to treat him! I live in Clackamas County, OR, USA. Does any one have any suggestions? Any and ally help is GREATLY appreciated... I am going to feel around his stomach/barrel area some more tomorrow to see if there are any other spots are bothering him.

 

[ozpoz]

I think your parents need to understand that a 14 yr old can't pay for vet bills and it sounds as if your horse needs a vet as soon as possible.
Perhaps your yard trainers can speak to them?

 

[philamena]

I agree - this reactiveness doesn't sound like it's immediately indicative of gastric ulcers rather than various other things it could also be. Horses can be reactive in one place because the actual pain is somewhere else altogether, so I would be getting a vet. Not only from a welfare point of view, but because you can spend a fortune trying different things by process of elimination, and it's usually a false economy. You would be the world's luckiest horse owner if you get away without some hefty vet bills from time to time, so you need to get your parents on board and get some insurance for vets' bills.

 

[AMH777]

I will try again to get them on board. My trainer (I only see her occasionally) talked to her horse chiropractor and he didn't think any thing was wrong except maybe gastric ulcers, but the chiropractor never actually saw the horse. I was thinking maybe I would call the vet and ask him how much this kind of an exam would cost, and then use that to help give me leverage when I talk to my parents. How much would horse insurance cost and what does it cover? How does it work?