I suspect ulcers...what can i try?

[[59668]]

Hello all

Quick background. New mare (had her a month), has had a tough 18 months with previous home. Saddle didn't fit, girthed up too tight etc.
I have had teeth, feet, physio and she is very sore all down her right hand side and thoracic sling.
She nippy to girth up, but ok to be brushed, but generally grumpy about being touched on her chest, and right hand flank. Doesn't like the front of her rug being done up.
She is unhappy about going into canter although this is improving as she realises I'm not going to sock her in the teeth. Same on the lunge, tacked up or untacked.
I'd like to rule out ulcers without the stress to her of scoping etc. Is there any supplement I could try that might give an indication if this is a potential issue?

 

[milliepops]

Mine was on all kinds of supps and ulcer-friendly management and she still got them, I don't think there's anything that can really heal them effectively other than meds from the vet. You could ask if your vet would prescribe without scoping based on the symptoms as they are fairly classic.

 

[cauda equina]

My vet recommended Acid Ease for my youngster who was a bit grumpy and nippy but in her opinion not bad enough to scope
Results were good, he's happy and the nipping has stopped

 

[VioletStripe]

Vet. Ulcers are only cured by medicine or removing what is causing them (eg pain)

 

[mustardsmum]

Protexin Acid ease - amazing stuff! Our mare is so much happier on this, I though she had ulcers she was getting so grumpy but in the first lockdown last year, we’re shielding so vet visits other than for emergencies were out. Saw post about acid ease and decided to go be it a go. It worked in two weeks, I did the loading dose then dropped it down to normal. Tip - if you use Amazon, add it as a subscription - it’s cheaper if you get five things each month! I do it with the cat food and dishwasher tabs ?

 

[[59668]]

Thanks all! Has anyone tried aloeride?
I'm liking the look of the protexin one but gets very mixed reviews with some saying it turned their horse loopy!

 

[cauda equina]

Acid Ease contains alfalfa which might account for the loopiness
I have used Aloeride but didn't notice a difference

 

[skint1]

My mare showed a lot of the same behaviours, got her scoped, she had grade 2-3 ulcers, took about 8 weeks of treatment with omeprazole and sucralfate to scope clear (though hind gut ulcers may still have been/be present- can't scope for those)
My vets recommended a maintainence supplement called "Rite Track" hellishly expensive and she would eat not a granule of it! I tried quite a few before settling on Lincoln Yea-Sacc 30 for every day and a herbal remedy called Slippery Elm in her feed before work/when stabled etc

 

[dixie]

Thanks all! Has anyone tried aloeride?
I'm liking the look of the protexin one but gets very mixed reviews with some saying it turned their horse loopy!

you’d be better off buying a large tub of Aloe Vera to try - much cheaper.
you can buy 5l off EBay for about £35.
Or a smaller 1l, to test.

 

[[59668]]

you’d be better off buying a large tub of Aloe Vera to try - much cheaper.
you can buy 5l off EBay for about £35.
Or a smaller 1l, to test.

How much should you feed every day? Googling doesn't really seem to come up with an answer....

 

[Tiddlypom]

Tbh, with symptoms like that I'd crack on and get her scoped, otherwise you're guessing.

It's not too awful for the horse. Either leave her at the vets overnight so that they can scope her first thing (which is what I did), or ask the vet to come out to the yard first thing after the overnight starve.

My mare's classic case of 'It's got to be ulcers' wasn't foregut ulcers at all - she scoped clear. It was hind gut ulcers instead, which need a different approach.

 

[Red-1]

My vets recommended a maintainence supplement called "Rite Track" hellishly expensive and she would eat not a granule of it!

My cob, Rigsby, was off colour a while back. The physio came and said that, although he wasn't showing typical ulcer signs, the way he was holding himself made her thing it was sore guts. After a week of Rite Trac, he is right back on track.

It is expensive though. I believe it is coated so it (rather normal ingredients, as far as I can tell) can survive back to the hind gut and are not broken down in the stomach. He wasn't girthy, didn't mind grooming/mounting, but wasn't his normal cheerful self. He is now though.

BTW, mine is a cob, eating food is not something that we have ever had difficulty with

 

[skint1]

Red-1 I wish that mine had eaten it, as I am not entirely sure the hind gut issues have been resolved.

 

[greenbean10]

Deleted

 

[ycbm]

When I suspected ulcers I bought Omeprazole online from Abler (much cheaper than getting it from the vet as it's from America)

It's not it's from Sri Lanka, the site just looks American. It's also illegal to import a prescription only medicine for a horse.

 

[ycbm]

How much (aloe juice) should you feed every day? Googling doesn't really seem to come up with an answer....

For prevention and minor symptoms 25ml of pure juice a day. There is a TB rehabilitation centre that treats with huge volumes of aloe (because there are proper trials that show it works) but I think if you are in that territory you really need a vet and a scope.

 

[greenbean10]

It's not it's from Sri Lanka, the site just looks American. It's also illegal to import a prescription only medicine for a horse.

Oh whoops. May amend that last comment then ?

 

[[59668]]

For prevention and minor symptoms 25ml of pure juice a day. There is a TB rehabilitation centre that treats with huge volumes of aloe (because there are proper trials that show it works) but I think if you are in that territory you really need a vet and a scope.

Yeah this is why I don't want to put her through a scope....yet. The poor thing has had a bad time, is generally fed up, and I am half thinking a lot of her issues are muscular pain and mental rather than ulcers. But I want to see if I can add something that might indicate that further investigation is warranted. I also have her on high volumes of pure vitamin E, as being appy I also think there might be an arguement for PSSM.

 

[maddielove]

On the pricier side but I have had success with Relyne, a bottle was the same cost as my insurance excess so figured it was worth a try when I didn't want to put through the stress of scoping (or adding to my list of open claims at the time!)
There have been trials by vets locally to see if it could be used as treatment, particularly for those who haven't responded to the conventional omeprazole route, not sure the outcome of these yet but figured if vets were willing to give it a go there was something to it. My mares symptoms were quite mild but being girthy was one of them, we are now on a maintenance dose and she seems happy with all other symptoms resolved.

ETA - we tried Aloe as a first port of call and found it did make some mild improvements, even though it did not solve all issues I felt was a useful cheap litmus test to see if ulcers treatment was worth looking further in to.

 

[[59668]]

On the pricier side but I have had success with Relyne, a bottle was the same cost as my insurance excess so figured it was worth a try when I didn't want to put through the stress of scoping (or adding to my list of open claims at the time!)
There have been trials by vets locally to see if it could be used as treatment, particularly for those who haven't responded to the conventional omeprazole route, not sure the outcome of these yet but figured if vets were willing to give it a go there was something to it. My mares symptoms were quite mild but being girthy was one of them, we are now on a maintenance dose and she seems happy with all other symptoms resolved.

ETA - we tried Aloe as a first port of call and found it did make some mild improvements, even though it did not solve all issues I felt was a useful cheap litmus test to see if ulcers treatment was worth looking further in to.

Thank you! Just looked it up...it IS pricey!

 

[littleshetland]

ProEquine Ulsa soothe is good stuff.