Moving my horse

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ChelseaGostomska

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I got a racehorse off the track in May and has since been with me at a DIY yard 15 minutes from me. I’m really struggling at this hard as the owners are incredibly pinicity however my main concern is during the winter they don’t get to go out and graze every day (they go out every other) and the days they do they have to come in before 2pm.

With an ex racer he will have gastric ulcers (they don’t seem bad at all atm and will get him treated with gastric guard later this year when I have more funds)

I’m also worried about moving him so soon as don’t want to unsettle him or flare up any underlying ulcers, however I also don’t think him being stabled that long will do any good for his potential ulcers etc...

It’s just unfortunate that I was offered him when I wasn’t expecting it so I didn’t have a stable secured and the yard he is on now was the only one with spaces available.

What would be your thoughts?
 
It does have a school, it’s very deep, it’s not necessarily about exercising it’s about reducing the stress and providing constant foraging to reduce the symptoms of ulcers etc :)
 
I would start looking for somewhere else you have a bit of time hopefully before they start to restrict turnout, I know moving can be stressful but so can being kept in so out of the two I would rather move and know the horse can be turned out everyday.
 
With an ex racer he will have gastric ulcers (they don’t seem bad at all atm and will get him treated with gastric guard later this year when I have more funds)
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If you think he has ulcers that need treatment, this needs investigating NOW, not when you feel a bit more flush with cash.

Regarding moving him to daily turnout, is there a yard in your area that offers this? And if there is, do they have any spaces? Does he actually like going out, many OTTBs don't? If yes to all, I would move him. If not, providing 24/7 forage is still possible, especially with a TB. If necessary, use lower calorie old ley meadow or Timothy late cut haylage or mix with straw.
 
Scoping and gastroguard is expensive if you aren't insured but there are now some over the counter options that have scientific studies to back them up as improving ulcers. EGUSIN SLH is one and feedmark gastric comfort (used to be neighlox) is another.

Probably worth using slippery elm or marshmallow root too.

Start treatment now and continue until the horse is settled in the new yard.

I wouldn't keep anything susceptible to ulcers on alternate day turnout it is too confusing. I would rather do two hours a day everyday as the horse will know its routine then.
 
Out of interest, why does he need to go out to have forage?
Our ex racer also doesn't actually like going out much; he'd rather stand in a stable with a big haynet and a friend next door. If yours is the same going out (especially if he's JUST come off the track) might stress him and make any potential ulcers worse.

Also Kat can you explain further how slippery elm & marshmallow root can help ulcers please? I've not heard that before, and would be interested to learn a bit more please? Thanks in advance for satisfying my unending curiosity about everything :p
 
Not everyone can afford everything at the drop of a hat. Mine had to wait for teeth and back check ups, but no worse off for the wait. Don't feel guilty OP, there any many, many horses a lot worse off and you sound like a really conscientious owner. I'd be hunting around for a yard with regular turnout during the winter months, even if you have to travel further.
 
A regular check up with no symptoms is a bit different to an owner saying their horse has ulcers but they can't do anything about it right now. Though TBH without a scope they are really just guessing!

OP my thoughts would be start investigating different yards, you can't do anything until you know what your other options are.
 
"Not everyone can afford everything at the drop of a hat."

It could be argued, however, that if someone does not have the funds for veterinary treatment/investigations for a reasonably urgent condition, it is unfair to keep a horse.
 
Hi all,

Thanks for your comments, he has shown no signs of having gastric ulcers and is on an ulcer friendly feed, thus why I have not yet had him scoped. However It has been proven that every horse in the racing industry has a *degree* of gastric ulcers, hence why I am just trying to ensure I do not put any more stress on him.

Thanks
 
It has not been proven that every horse in racing has a degree of ulcers, data shows the prevalence is very high (yes I know I'm a pedant :p)
 
ester said:
It has not been proven that every horse in racing has a degree of ulcers, data shows the prevalence is very high (yes I know I'm a pedant :p)
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It is also well known they may have issues and some yards are being more proactive about prevention and or cure, my local yard scopes every horse routinely and treats if required they also tend to put every new arrival on a course of GG if it cannot be scoped quickly, yes that may still be rare but shows that top yards are taking the condition seriously as it will have a negative effect on performance so it makes sense to get all of the management as good as possible.

That said I don't like the idea of turnout on alternate days as a horse will not have the understanding that it needs to cope with this type of routine, the odd day in is fine but not a set pattern which makes no sense to a horse.
 
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Chinchilla said:
Also Kat can you explain further how slippery elm & marshmallow root can help ulcers please? I've not heard that before, and would be interested to learn a bit more please? Thanks in advance for satisfying my unending curiosity about everything :p
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I understand that they are soothing and improve the mucous in the digestive tract which helps protect the ulcers so they can heal themselves I don't think this is proven though. It is the pectin-lecithin supplements that are proven.
 
And you have to be careful if feeding with other meds as the slippery elm at least can change the absorption I think.
 
Chinchilla said:
As a fellow pedant, the prevalence of gastric ulcers in racehorses currently in training is 93%.

http://www.equinegastriculcers.co.uk/which_horses.html
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Also being pedantic it is "up to 93%" if those stats are true then 2 of the horses in my yard should have them but the only one that was scoped proved clear despite having symptoms so like most statistics they can only go by what is put in and with something such as ulcers they will only have limited data to go on, how many leisure horses have been scoped to come up with 37% having ulcers?

Any data being promoted by the company that supplies the main treatment has to be questionable as a reliable source as it in their interests to sell the product to concerned owners.
 
It also varies a bit dependent on study location, I don’t think we can lump ‘racehorses’ as a single entity very well, flat being different to jump and horses based at a track abroad being very different to how we do things here.

#tangent ;)
 
Yes I would always move to a yard that allowed me to manage my horses the way I considered in their best interests rather than keep them somewhere I felt was unsuitable for them. I would think the long term beneifts of a move to more appropriate management far more important than the short term issues around settling somewhere new.
 
ester said:
It also varies a bit dependent on study location, I don’t think we can lump ‘racehorses’ as a single entity very well, flat being different to jump and horses based at a track abroad being very different to how we do things here.

#tangent ;)
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*wanders off to DOAJ to find actual research* back in a bit! ;)
 
ChelseaGostomska said:
Hi all,

Thanks for your comments, he has shown no signs of having gastric ulcers and is on an ulcer friendly feed, thus why I have not yet had him scoped. However It has been proven that every horse in the racing industry has a *degree* of gastric ulcers, hence why I am just trying to ensure I do not put any more stress on him.

Thanks
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I have 2 ex racers, both scoped for ulcers and both clear, they have a whole host of other issues but no ulcers!
 
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