Herbal ulcer supplements: Slippery Elm? Chamomile? Meadowsweet?

[Fruitcake]

Once again, I'm researching ulcer supplements for my horse!

Brief history: Diagnosed a few years ago. Numerous scopes and courses of Gastroguard. Ulcers kept reoccurring, although low level. Vet recommended managing with something to coat stomach.

I've tried just about everything on the market with varying levels of success. He's currently on Exegus which is the veterinary supplement lots of vets rebrand with their own label but I'm not actually sure how effective it is. I did try Slippery Elm at one stage and, in hindsight, actually think it was one of the more effective ones.

After trawling the internet again, it seems there are lots of recommendations for slippery elm and chamomile. Meadowsweet also seems to feature quite a bit.

So, I'm thinking that I might try slippery elm again and mix in some chamomile. He already gets micronised linseed which is also supposed to be quite good. His balancer apparently already has some brewer's yeast content but I was wondering about the possibility of adding some more. Not sure if you can overdose on it though.

Apologies for the length of this! If anyone's still reading, I'd appreciate any ideas / experiences of using the above and any thoughts on my proposed regime! Thanks in advance.

 

[Ali27]

Once again, I'm researching ulcer supplements for my horse!

Brief history: Diagnosed a few years ago. Numerous scopes and courses of Gastroguard. Ulcers kept reoccurring, although low level. Vet recommended managing with something to coat stomach.

I've tried just about everything on the market with varying levels of success. He's currently on Exegus which is the veterinary supplement lots of vets rebrand with their own label but I'm not actually sure how effective it is. I did try Slippery Elm at one stage and, in hindsight, actually think it was one of the more effective ones.

After trawling the internet again, it seems there are lots of recommendations for slippery elm and chamomile. Meadowsweet also seems to feature quite a bit.

So, I'm thinking that I might try slippery elm again and mix in some chamomile. He already gets micronised linseed which is also supposed to be quite good. His balancer apparently already has some brewer's yeast content but I was wondering about the possibility of adding some more. Not sure if you can overdose on it though.

Apologies for the length of this! If anyone's still reading, I'd appreciate any ideas / experiences of using the above and any thoughts on my proposed regime! Thanks in advance.

Chios mastica gum really works for my ulcer prone mare.

 

[Archiepoo]

my boy was on ranitidine for about a year after his treatment finished he just seemed like he was almost but not quite there yet . hes now a very happy bunny hacking on the buckle ,he just has brewers yeast now (i just give about half a cup a day -you cant overdose on it )

 

[JillA]

Some ideas on here, although some you might not easily find in the UK

http://equinenutritionnerd.com/2014...tions-for-stomach-ulcer-treatment-prevention/

One remedy I found on ebay was a liquid consisting aloe vera with sea buckthorn, slippery elm and liquorice, I bought it as a diagnostic tool and it did seem to help, not sure which of the ingredients was the most effective though

 

[Pigeon]

Be a bit careful with stuff like that - my horse is allergic to a few herbs, so it might be a good idea to feed a small amount to start with and keep an eye on them for an hour or two after.

You could try bicarbonate of soda, if you mix it with oil it gets coated and that will hopefully mean it gets to the gut and does it's job. My vet recommended corn oil, and also a probiotic called Manna Equine. I've found the supplements Equishure (which is just coated bicarb) and Coligone (the liquid one) help with his grumpiness. Some herbs you could collect and allow him to forage himself? Might be interesting if he singles anything out. I've noticed in some countries they feed dried chamomile in with the hay.

Ulcers are such a nightmare to treat! Soooo expensive.

 

[Fun Times]

I really rate slippery elm generally as a gut soother. I also like the Gastrix product sold by Hilton Herbs which contains slippery elm and lots of other useful gut related herbs.

 

[buddylove]

I like pro-equine ulcer soothe.
http://pro-equine.com/products/ulcer-soothe

 

[kinnygirl1]

Natural horse supplies on eBay do one called herbal easi gut which is quite good. I also like thunderbrook gut restore which has a few of the same natural ingredients. Seabuckthorn juice is good too. I am currently giving chia seeds a go too! (I am a bit of a geek for herbal ulcer products).

 

[Fruitcake]

Thanks for the replies. It's always really interesting to hear about what's worked for others.

Pigeon: Yes, my vet recommended corn or sunflower oil too. He currently gets 100ml per day of sunflower oil but, after reading about Omega 3:6 ratios, it seems sunflower oil is one of the worst oils so I might change that to corn oil (although that too is apparently still not great ratio wise). I do actually think the oil seems to help a bit though. I read that Linseed oil is the best as it has the correct Omega 3:6 ratio. He does get micronised linseed but I'm not sure if that has the same coating effect as the oil. Interesting about the chamomile with the hay!

Kinnygirl: I was also going to try chia seeds but then read that they have very similar properties to linseed which he gets anyway so I didn't. Are you finding they make a difference?

Ali27: What is Chios mastica gum? I haven't heard of that one. Do you mix it with feed?

Thanks again for all the replies. Keep them coming, please!

 

[kinnygirl1]

Thanks for the replies. It's always really interesting to hear about what's worked for others.

Pigeon: Yes, my vet recommended corn or sunflower oil too. He currently gets 100ml per day of sunflower oil but, after reading about Omega 3:6 ratios, it seems sunflower oil is one of the worst oils so I might change that to corn oil (although that too is apparently still not great ratio wise). I do actually think the oil seems to help a bit though. I read that Linseed oil is the best as it has the correct Omega 3:6 ratio. He does get micronised linseed but I'm not sure if that has the same coating effect as the oil. Interesting about the chamomile with the hay!

Kinnygirl: I was also going to try chia seeds but then read that they have very similar properties to linseed which he gets anyway so I didn't. Are you finding they make a difference?

Ali27: What is Chios mastica gum? I haven't heard of that one. Do you mix it with feed?

Thanks again for all the replies. Keep them coming, please!

Re the chia seeds... I was attracted to them as they are safe for good doers/laminitics as they are very low starch and sugar. Mine is a good doer so I don't want anything to promote weight gain, just protect stomach. Only been feeding them for a week and using for maintainance rather than as a treatment so not too much to report so far other than that he likes them! He usually gets a flare up when the spring grass comes in so I will be able to tell if they are helping then and report back!

 

[Kat]

I'm giving mine aloe vera juice. It was recommended by a couple of posters on here.

 

[Leo Walker]

Not horse related but having had horrendous ulcer type problems for a long time I took a course of chios mastica alongside probitotics. the difference was phenomenal! I only did it because it couldnt hurt and it might help. Given my experience Id definitely try it on a horse