sore belly and ulcers?

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RoyalSapphire

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My pony is not having a good time atm. She got very bed laminitis (could barely walk) then tested for cushings and her ACTH levels were in the thousands but had no symptoms of cushings till the laminitis came along! However when she was tested she was in A LOT of pain due to the laminitis so I think that slightly elevated it. She was given dandilon for the pain but is now off it. There was some rotation of the pedal bone but vet wasn't overly concerned. Anyway she has now got a sore belly and puts her ears right back and bares her teeth at me if I try to touch it. She was put on prascend for the cushings and I did notice that she stop drinking as much but now she's got this sore tummy she's drinking alot again. Is this due to the sore belly or are the pills just not working anymore? She doesn't show signs of colic (I think) as she's pooing, eating regulary she might be slightly constipated but not much as in the morning her stables a mess. I asked the vet! But he was a bit useless just asking if she had colic (I said I didn't think so) then just mumbling something about maybe it's an insect bite and to just keep an eye on it. Her symptoms are (I don't even know what relevant?) Increase of drinking, flacky heals and most other places too, legs, tail but again I don't think the midges are helping (they're everywhere) , cushings, laminitis, thrush. What does everyone think? My gut is telling me ulcers! What product do you use for ulcers? What works best? What about prevention? I'm open to herbs, etc as when I looked it up someone said about using pumpkin seeds and dried cabbage. Also if you use the medication gastroguard or whatever if they don't have ulcers will it do anything? Sorry can't have her scoped as parents would not allow it from what we've spent on vet fees in just the last few weeks. Sorry for long essay. An opinions greatly received.
 
Is your vet a specialist equine vet? If not would your parents consider changing to one? It could be that the dosage of Prascend is not working for him and his bloods should be re-tested to decide whether it should be increased or decreased. Because Cushings has an effect on the immune system, you will find that your pony is more prone to skin problems, more likely to pick up infections etc. If he is still on painkillers, try changing to Danilon as this is gentler on the digestive system and just feed hay, no hard feed obviously.

Most symptms you describe are typical of Cushings and bloods should be re-tested around this
time of, year to ensure correct dossage, going into winter. Winter is when Cushings ponies are
more vulnerable as the hormone levels drop, so correct dosage is vital.

There is a facebook group Equine Cushings Disease which might help you.

It is an upsetting condition, but once we got over the laminitis and got the Prascend dosage correct our pony was back to normal.
 
Excessive drinking is not usually associated with ulcers, but I do think a blood test to check that Prascend is at the right levels is worth while. It would be a mistake to self diagnose ulcers and you really need to take professional advice.
 
Restricted fibre plus pain plus danilon could cause ulcers, but the emphasis is on could not will. Unfortunately GastroGuard is very expensive so scoping really is advisable to avoid unnecessary medication & costs. Is she insured for vets fees?

If you soak her hay thoroughly then rinse it maybe she could have some more? That way she'll have more going through her gut & the extra chewing will also help reduce gut acidity.
 
Excessive drinking is associated with ulcers particularly after feeding time. Other symptoms include girthiness , increased salivation, 'mild' colic, pawing the ground when given food- more obscure symptoms: purposely getting themselves cast, rearing, bolting when in a faster pace e.g. Gallop, lethargic , wind sucking. Note that symptoms do vary from horse to horse :)
 
Make sure she has food to nibble all the time.

You can use a mix of chamomile, meadowsweet and slippery elm bark (buy it form Panacea Health Online) 20 mls of each, heaped teaspoon slippery elm, twice a day. Works well for humans and horses

it's what I use on my PPID lad when he seems to have a dicky tum.

Or you can spend more on branded supplements :)
 
RoyalSapphire said:
My pony is not having a good time atm. She got very bed laminitis (could barely walk) then tested for cushings and her ACTH levels were in the thousands but had no symptoms of cushings till the laminitis came along! However when she was tested she was in A LOT of pain due to the laminitis so I think that slightly elevated it. She was given dandilon for the pain but is now off it. There was some rotation of the pedal bone but vet wasn't overly concerned. Anyway she has now got a sore belly and puts her ears right back and bares her teeth at me if I try to touch it. She was put on prascend for the cushings and I did notice that she stop drinking as much but now she's got this sore tummy she's drinking alot again. Is this due to the sore belly or are the pills just not working anymore? She doesn't show signs of colic (I think) as she's pooing, eating regulary she might be slightly constipated but not much as in the morning her stables a mess. I asked the vet! But he was a bit useless just asking if she had colic (I said I didn't think so) then just mumbling something about maybe it's an insect bite and to just keep an eye on it. Her symptoms are (I don't even know what relevant?) Increase of drinking, flacky heals and most other places too, legs, tail but again I don't think the midges are helping (they're everywhere) , cushings, laminitis, thrush. What does everyone think? My gut is telling me ulcers! What product do you use for ulcers? What works best? What about prevention? I'm open to herbs, etc as when I looked it up someone said about using pumpkin seeds and dried cabbage. Also if you use the medication gastroguard or whatever if they don't have ulcers will it do anything? Sorry can't have her scoped as parents would not allow it from what we've spent on vet fees in just the last few weeks. Sorry for long essay. An opinions greatly received.
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My horse had ulcers, he was covered by insurance so got scoped and treated with gastrogard. He has recently got them back again and my insurance has run out so im using abprazole from Abler in America, he's 525kg approx. and 100 sachets will treat him and give me some spare, it cost £145 inc quick postage (1 week).

Best bet is to ensure has ad lib hay, soak if need be. Feed with low starch and sugars. Thunderbrooks feed is really good, some horses are fussy so you may have to add something they like to eat it until they get used to it.
 
Have you contacted Hackup and spoken to Alex Gingell. They do bespoke supplements and my friends horse had ulcers and had been scoped and had gastriguard. The bespoke supplement helped with the ulcers and with ongoing maintenance.
 
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