Ulcers - Advice needed on Coolstance, sugarbeet and supplements?

L

leanneq

Member
Joined
27 June 2013
Messages
22
Visit site
Looking for some advice:

I have a 13.1h top level games pony that was diagnosed at the start of the year with grade 4 ulcers (likely she came to me with this condition)

She has 24/7 turnout with ad lib access to hay at all times.

She is fed:
Simple systems lucie nuts (alfalfa nuts)
Dengie alfa a molasses free
Protexin gut balancer
Linseed
Seaweed
Brewers yeast
And has just started on Ekygard (recommend to try by my vet) she was previously on feedmarks settlex.

I have been reading lots of posts and articles on gastric ulcers and have just bought Coolstance Copra meal as lots of people appear to be getting good results from this feed for horses with ulcers… I have also just stopped feeding Pura beet (simple systems unmollassed sugar beet) as I have seen several people say this made there horse worse…

She has already done a course of gastrogaurd and was scoped to find the ulcers were healing and was recommended to drop the dose to ½ and then ¼ dose but have upped her up to a full dose again as all symptoms came back and actually worse than at the start!!

Any advice would be welcome – especially on feeding Coolstance, how much do you feed? and should I or shouldn’t I be feeding un-molasses sugar beet? Is there any supplements that you have used that have made a noticeable difference?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.
 
I personally would not feed Coolstance - it is so high in protein , so unless you are literally feeding it a s a supplement (like Linseed) I think it is dangerous - especially as you are also feeding Linseed. If you search for 'Green clay' on this forum you will find a few threads in which I have posted about a hreen clay and chlorella regime that my holistic vet suggested after feeding GG. GG kills off the friendly hindgut flora and in order to restore it she advised the 6 week regime. Good luck OP.
This website is very informative re ulcers:-

http://www.lunatunesfreestyles.com/horse_ulcers.htm
 
I also wanted to say are you certain that the pony has no underlying condition causing the ulcers to recur? ie. some grumbling pain? Often with a change of management and access to adlib forage and sugar free feed ulcers will not recur.
 
There doesn't appear to be any underlying condition that we can find to be causing the Ulcers... The only thing is the stress off going to competitions every weekend - I have only owned her a year and from talking to people that have known her for several years all the 'ulcer symtoms' have been there for years!! So think it just might take time to get everything under control. She is also seen every few weeks by a physio or osteopath to make sure there is no problems.
 
after a lot of trial and error I found the best results came from absolutely no sugar beet, molassed or unmolassed. One pound per day of soaked copra (that was one of my biggest breakthroughs) and 1 lb per day of soaked alfalfa nuts.
I also feed magox, salt, yea sac, limestone flour and bicarb. The bicarb has made a very big difference.
I tried the turnout and also letting him have a yard and stable so he always had freedom. He hated it. What really made a difference was shutting him in a stable at night with access to his friends over the doors. That made a difference within a day. I make sure he always has hay left in the stable in the morning. I also make sure he is rugged if needed. He had a thick winter's coat last year and shouldn't have needed a rug but a thick rug (indoors as well) made such a difference to his relaxation level.
I feed hay before he is ridden and also let him eat of the hedges on the way round. Anything to keep food in his stomach.
I offer bicarb water several times a day and if I am getting a bit worried I give an extra bit of copra with bicarb in.
I also reassessed his daily field turnout and changed this to give him a different friend. That made a big difference. He was distinctly lower down in the pecking order and it seemed to calm him down that someone else would make the decisions out in the field.
 
Personally I think you might be a little over kill with the supplements you have there, you are feeding two lots of yeast in the protexin and the brewers and to see if something is really working, it might be worth dropping down to a min and building up from there.
Personally I wouldn't feed copra and linseed together
 
YasandCrystal said:
I also wanted to say are you certain that the pony has no underlying condition causing the ulcers to recur? ie. some grumbling pain? Often with a change of management and access to adlib forage and sugar free feed ulcers will not recur.
Click to expand...

This would be my worry that the ulcers are secondary to something esle .
Did the horse horse have the splash type ulcers at the top ofthe stomach or the pyloric type round the exit of the stomach if it's the latter it may need treatment with antibiotics and gastroguard at the same time.
 
If you intro the copra pls do it very very slowly over a very long period of time like months... Tiny amounts. Gave my ulcer boy the squits so had to knock it back. Also my boy can't tolerate haylage.... With same results.

Only supplement that I found worked for ulcers was a RiteTrac.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top