Possible gastric ulcers

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vikkiandmonica

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I think my boy may have ulcers, as he has started windsucking a lot more than usual, and especially when he gets fed. He only used to do it when being fed in the field, if he was in and couldn't windsuck when he was turned out he wouldn't do it, but now he does it as soon as he goes in the field and lots when he gets fed.

I think I am going to get him scoped, but until the vet comes out is there anything I can do to stop him windsucking as much and start to treat the ulcers?

Thanks very much
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There are a couple of products out there but my impression is that the only one that really works on ulcers is Gastroguard (feel free to say otherwise if I am wrong!). Gastroguard is very expensive and only available through the vets so it might be better to wait for the results of the gastroscope.
 
Just to add, is there anything I could give him or make sure not to give him in order to try and balance his acid levels without buying fancy supplements until the vet has scoped him?
 
all gastroguard does is mask the problem, it just stops acid production in the stomach so will make your horse feel better but it won't actively heal the ulcers.

if you think the ulcers have not been stress induced when the vet scopes ask for a month of doxycycline (an antibiotic - horses need 50 tablets twice daily).

my mare had ulcers for months and months and was on gastroguard for all the time having very, very little effect - one month on doxycycline and the scope at the end of the month showed all ulcers healed!!

in the meantime try adding aloe vera juice to a handful of chaff - holland and barrett currently have 1litre bottles on offer at £4.48 ish which is much much cheaper than any "equine" brand of aloe.

add 200mls daily to a bit of chaff. aloe will keep the gut very healthy and help it heal.

yea sacc could also help with digestion.

if your vet insists you try gastroguard please try to go down the doxycycline route first - it could save a hell of a lot of insurance money! or if GG isn't showing any improvements after two months insist on DC.

good luck
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Hi VikkiandMonica,

I am having the same problem with my old chap at the moment, he is on GG but has still been colicy - so he is now on Liquid Coligone = its very reasonably priced and is absolutely bloody fantastic!

I deffo deffo recommend you try it - its so reasonable I would be tempted to try your horse on it - and if no improvement (although I am sure you will see one) then get your horse scoped.

Coligone is a digestive soother and helps lots of digestive and stress related problems,

H's mum who posts on here (her name is Kate) will be able to give you advice on this - or just do a google and have a look on the website - I think its H Bradshaws (or something similar)

Good luck

Gem
 
GG is NOT a waste of time & money IME! No, it doesn't directly heal the ulcers but shutting down the acid production gives the stomach time to heal itself. Yes it's expensive, but if your vet recommends it & you're insured then go for it.

Another good stomach supplement that I found very helpful is Equine America's U-Gard Plus, that & Coligone were both recommended by me vet. I can't comment on the effectiveness of Coligone because my horse flatly refused to eat it no matter how I tried to hide it.

The other area to look at is your horse's diet & management. Can you try cutting out all cereals, giving ad-lib hay if in & increasing turnout, ideally on a reasonable amount of grass & with quiet company? Reducing stress also helps.
 
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The other area to look at is your horse's diet & management. Can you try cutting out all cereals, giving ad-lib hay if in & increasing turnout, ideally on a reasonable amount of grass & with quiet company? Reducing stress also helps.

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I agrre. Dont feed any cereals at all. Alfalfa is a good feed because it is rich in calcium to buffer acid. Ensure horse always has hay, in the stable and field. No more than 2 hours without it, so the acid always has something to work on.
 
And have any new horses gone in the field or other changes happened recently - such as changes to coming in at night - that will increase the stress levels.

Agree with TeddyT and Nari - absolutely no cereals in any form, good hay, plenty of turnout if he can take the grass. Gastric ulcers and cribbing/windsucking are a sign that there is someting wrong with the horse's management, environment or diet.

Natural yoghurt, honey, probiotics may help as well to re-establish a healthy gut flora
 
[ QUOTE ]
all gastroguard does is mask the problem, it just stops acid production in the stomach so will make your horse feel better but it won't actively heal the ulcers.

if you think the ulcers have not been stress induced when the vet scopes ask for a month of doxycycline (an antibiotic - horses need 50 tablets twice daily).

my mare had ulcers for months and months and was on gastroguard for all the time having very, very little effect - one month on doxycycline and the scope at the end of the month showed all ulcers healed!!

in the meantime try adding aloe vera juice to a handful of chaff - holland and barrett currently have 1litre bottles on offer at £4.48 ish which is much much cheaper than any "equine" brand of aloe.

add 200mls daily to a bit of chaff. aloe will keep the gut very healthy and help it heal.

yea sacc could also help with digestion.

if your vet insists you try gastroguard please try to go down the doxycycline route first - it could save a hell of a lot of insurance money! or if GG isn't showing any improvements after two months insist on DC.

good luck
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[/ QUOTE ]

IMO & the research behind it Gastrogard does not mask Ulcers. It's a Pump inhibitor which stop production of acid, Ulcers occur when there is to much acid in the stomach.

Omeprazole which is the ingredient in Gastrogard stops the Excesive acid production thus giving the Ulcers a chance to heal.
There are cases where Ulcers do need treating with antibiotics also however not all need this, but to say Gastrogard masks is a bit rediculous imo.

There are Supplements on the market that will help with a horse that does have Ulcers as they act like a buffer against the stomach acid, the two that currently have quite a bit of research behind them are Equine Premiums Acid Ease & Saracens Neigh Lox.

Aloe Vera Juice has helped some but it's a bit hit miss or maybe, it also has no medical research behind it regarding horses & ulcers. However like i say i have heard it helping some, but without solid research who knows for sure.

Feeding alfa does help as it does act as a buffer as said in a post above.
Also giving your horse a handful of chaff before riding will help to stop the acid splash in the stomach.

I currently use a Maintanace dose of Gastrogard & Acid Ease & it works very well for my boy.
Making sure your horse is being feed a fibre only diet & is never without forage also helps for Ulcer prone horses.
 
Thanks for all the help! I'll consider your suggestions.

He is out 24/7 and is not stressed at all as nothing has changed.

Just wondering, what are cereales? So far he gets fed allen and paige calm and condition, pasture mix and chaff, and then general purpose, superflex, soya oil and biotin supplements.

Hope this helps and thanks for your advice
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Definately cut out the pasture mix.
I don't know about Calm & Condition, I suggest you look at the ingredients list that should be on the sack somewhere.
Chaff & supplements should be fine though you may find an unmollassed/lightly mollassed chaff suits him better than a mollasses heavy one.

Some horses are just good at stressing & they don't all give obvious signs. Is there plenty of grass in his field & does he get on with the others he shares with? The increased windsucking would make me think something is wrong.
 
He gets on with the horses fine, however he is the lead gelding and there is another gelding that tries to "steal" his mares that could stress him?

Also Nari, it was the increased windsucking that made me think the ulcers, but I should be getting the vet out later this month to hopefully scope him.
 
Oops, I worded that wrong! I should have said that the increased windsucking would make me think something is wrong too . Sorry!

And yes, someone trying to steal his mares could quite easily stress him.
 
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