Sensitive Tummy - how to help

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llohcins123

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Hi,
My horse has always been extremely sensitive to food and has been grumpy regarding anyone touching his tummy area. I have suspected Ulcers but I am not sure if his symptoms are extreme enough. We have made good process on finding feed to suit him - all fibre based. I noticed a huge improvement with him this summer when he was able to live out and once I started him on Protexin Gut Balancer he seemed noticeably more comfortable. However now we have hit winter he is really uncomfortable, grumpy and a pretty spooky. He has to be in from 4pm until 8am. I leave him with 3 huge soaked small holed hay nets - any more and he'll get too fat. He looks generally in good condition but to even brush his girth/ tummy he pulls horrendous faces at you - I know he is unhappy. Any ideas what I can do to help him? Is the Protexin Acid Ease worth a try? Anything else that could be recommended? Feel a bit lost at this point and don't like to have an unhappy horse = unhappy owner.
 
Horses with ulcers do not all have extreme reactions, some have no symptoms at all, if he is insured it is probably worth getting him scoped rather than messing about for too long with over the counter products which may reduce the symptoms but not fix the ulcers if he has them, if he is clear then you can try other things but it sounds as if being stabled is making matters worse.
I had a horse that I thought may have ulcers , he scoped clear and we then found he had a slight problem with his feet, this made him tight up through his shoulders and caused the ulcer type signs, once the feet were better the other issues reduced so it is worth looking at the whole horse as discomfort anywhere can make them grumpy.

Unless he has to have soaked hay for some reason I would feed it dry as they will produce more saliva which will reduce acidity in the stomach, steaming would be preferable if you need to reduce dust, if it is to cut down sugar/ starch maybe give him one dry net so he can pick and choose what he wants, sometimes they eat more when they are uncomfortable in their tummies so you may find he self regulates better if he has to chew more slowly.
 
Maybe worth getting the vet out for their opinion? Aloe Vera is great for digestive health, get the best supplement you can though as the different companies who produce it vary a lot!
 
Pink Powder would be my first of call. Its a concentrated feed balancer and I have fed it to my horse for years for recurring colic episodes. He's a lot better since being on it. its about £16-£18 and last for about five weeks fed on maintenance for a large horse.

Pink Powder contains live probiotic yeast and prebiotics to optimise gut function and balance the diet, allowing your horse to fully utilize his feed intake and gain perfect condition. Its good for when the diet needs balancing with micronutrients and key gut support.

Best given in the early evening feed for maximum absorbtion through the rest period.
 
The vet is obviously your first port of call and you should follow whatever they suggest. However - if it helps - I've had good results feeding Marigold (Calendula). Its competition safe. You can get it from a NOPS approved supplier (I use feedmark) but it is also widely available elsewhere. Its relatively cheap and I've had good results from it for horses who have sensitivities in their digestive system. I feed A&P so it already has all the good stuff in Pink Powder; but before I switched we had a fair result with that too. I found Marigold more easily accepted than Aloe Vera - but each horse has their own preferences!
 
My horse has a sensitive tummy and she struggled at her last yard where she had to eat haylage which her system simply couldn't digest and turnout was poor. We gave her a daily bottle of yakult light (blue lid) to aid the bacteria in her gut. This helped a lot but the best results came from moving yards. She now gets ad lib hay and turn out every day and it has worked wonders. There's no better solution than Dr Green!

The other thing is that it is important to keep an amount of food in the stomach at all times or the acid levels will rise and you will get a grumpy horse who objects to having the girth done up. I overcome this with my girl by making sure she has access to hay at all times. The old way of starving your horse for at least an hour before exercise does not seem to work with her.

Another option I have heard of is giving Aloe Vera.

Hope that helps :)
 
Discuss with your vet as you are doing. Even though your diet is fibre-based it may be worth reviewing it again as some forms of fibre food such as sugar-beet can upset sensitive horses. If you can give a siutable ad-lib hay this could help a lot - I have a very good doer pony with HGA who is on ad-lib forage, she doesn't gorge as she knows it's there all the time but i know this doesn't always work!!
The other things that can help a lot if at all possible is to keep stress to a minimum and lots of regular slowish exercise (a brisk walk daily will help as it gets 'everything moving'). Is he happy with his stable and his neighbours or are there things you could do to make it more relaxing for him?
 
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