Ulcers and cereals

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Myraggio

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I m going to have my horse scoped next Monday, and really don' t know what to expect.

Myraggio has just been through a mild case of colic , first time ever.. My vet said that it was a reeeeeally soft thing , feces were ok, no sweating at all, etc..

I tend to be very paranoid owner and I immediately wanted to dig deeper , so we decided to go for an abdominal ultrasound which turned out to be ok ( yeep!) .. I' m still waiting for the scoping because it seems that a ulcer is the most probable thing.

meanwhile the vet told me to stop giving him cereals and he seems to feel so much better: he' s usually a mild windsucker (expecially when eating) and he TOTALLY stops .

I m thinking there must be some kind of connection between these events..I ve been reading A LOT and I found something but still got no idea how to feed him , avoiding cereals from now on .

Any suggestion?
 
One of my livery horses was scoped for ulcers but was clear, I have changed his diet anyway as he did show a fair amount of symptoms. He is on adlib haylage, which is no different to before, he now gets Allen and Page calm and condition which is easily digested, alfalfa pellets for added energy, they are high in calcium which reduces acidity and salt. He has looked and performed better since changing from a mix, the girthyness has gone, he eats up every scrap of feed which he never did previously.
I take some pellets to events and feed him small amounts between phases as well as access to haylage. I also gave him a month on Gastriaid and give him some on the morning of competitions to reduce acid.
 
My boy was scoped and had the Pyloric and Squamous ulcers Grade 2-3,he had a complete diet change and yes I was told that he is not allowed anything Cereal based.He was on Hi Fi Lite with TopSpec Cool Condition cubes.He has changed to Mollichaff Calmer,Baileys No14 Lo Cal Balancer and Unmollassed SpeediBeet.If wanted extra calories he can have Oil or more SpeediBeet. I did try him on the new Dengie Healthy Tummy but he could not deal with it hence now having the Mollichaff Calmer. I was also advised to cut out Garlic by a few people.
He was treated with GastroGuard and Antibiotics.He is having hopefully his last scope to make sure he is now clear next week.
It has been a bit of a minefield but I now feel I have my horse back!.Good Luck.
 
thanks for your tips !

I suppose there ' s a connection between gastric problems , windsucking and cereals .. A friend of mine literally saved his horse just changing his diet after they found out there was some kind of issue with insulin resistance or something , so I guess it is definitely a big deal.

I took a look to the products you mentioned and I noticed that Psyllium is very often present in digestive supplements..

I' m trying to gear up for GastroGuard but what I' m really concerned about is how to set up a specific diet for my beloved pony ;)

Anyway, he' s going to be scoped on Monday, I' ll be glad to share the result with you :)
 
The horse's natural diet is a high fibre and low sugar one of grasses, plants, herbs etc.

After they have mulched the forage in the mouth, it passes onto the stomach.
The equine stomach has an upper portion that does not produce stomach acid or digestive enzymes.

This upper portion is colonised by bacteria, which provide a jump start on digestion by at least partially fermenting some of the food.

The lower portion of the stomach secretes acid and mucous.
Food is layered in the stomach with the finest particles in the lower portion and coarsest in the upper.

Stomach acid;
• Kills most micro-organisms entering the GI tract.
• Activates the protein digesting enzyme, pepsin.
• Ionises insoluble mineral forms (eg iron oxides) into soluble/dissolvable forms.
• Secretes gastric lipase to break down fat.
Stomach acid isn’t created on demand like us humans – horses create and secrete acid 24/7. This can cause problems when the horse is left without food for amounts of time.

Food leaves the stomach via the pylorus and empties into the small intestine. Firstly the duodenum, then the jejunum and finally the ileum.
The entire small intestine is about 70 feet and has the capacity of about 45 litres.
This is the area of the bowel where digestion via enzymes occurs.
Most minerals begin absorption in the small intestine. Calcium and iron entirely.

Then onto the large intestine, sometimes referred to as ‘the hind gut’ or ‘large bowel’, the cecum and colon of the horse holds over twice the volume of the stomach and small intestine combined.

Here, the job of recovering the greatest energy and mineral yield from food that escaped digestion and absorption in the small intestine takes place.
The transit time through the large intestine is around 35 – 50+ hours.
50% or more of the calories in a typical equine diet come from fermentation of fibre in the large intestine.
Also, non-digestible fibre, overflow of simple carbohydrates (starch, simple sugar) and protein are fermented in the large intestine.

It is difficult to appreciate that this portion of the digestive tract is a 4 foot long vat that holds around 30 litres!

It is home to billions of organisms, both bacteria and protozoa, in several hundred different species.

The types of organisms and their relative proportions reflect the types of food reaching them.

On a forage based diet, cellulolytic (fibre fermenting) species dominate in a more alkaline pH.

On a high grain diet, more simple carbohydrate fermenters will dominate in a more acidic pH.

The microbial population is highly dynamic; with many species interactions…such as, high numbers of lactic acid producing bacteria will in turn encourage high numbers of organisms that can feed on lactic acid.

Organisms with similar types of food preferences will tend to thrive together under similar pH and moisture conditions.

If you consider that and remember that forage and grain require different species of flora, you can appreciate that feeding a high grain ‘conditioning feed’ may cause more harm than good, as the entire pH of the hind gut will have to change in order to ‘deal’ with it. This is one of the reasons why forage based feeds are often more successful at keeping weight on poor doers. A high fat intake also supresses bacteria levels).

Starch overload in the large intestine increases the amounts of lactic acid produced. As long as this doesn’t overwhelm the capacity of the lactic acid loving organisms, this isn’t a problem. But if it does, the pH of the fluid will drop quickly, killing off many of the other types of organisms and producing irritation or actual damage to the gut wall. This has been found to be a key factor in both laminitis and also hind gut ulcers.

High numbers of ‘friendly’ organisms provide gentle immune system stimulation. The gut has the largest number of immune system tissues of any organ – they effectively crowd out disease producing strains.

So a healthy diet and a healthy gut will equal a healthy horse.
 
OberBaubles- Thank you for writing out that explanation, I've been trying to get my head around the ins and outs of ulcers and the digestive system, and your explanation has helped clarify things for me. Think I'll need to read it a few more times before I've properly digested it all though (excuse the poor pun!).
 
What an enlightening explanation OberBaubles, thank you, lots to take in there. So my hunch of feed for effective digestion over and above anything else (healthy hooves etc etc) is heading in the right direction...
 
It's just a bit of digestion waffle from my study notes :).

I also have an ulcer article in two parts if anyone wants me to pm them :o.
 
OberBaubles said:
After they have mulched the forage in the mouth, it passes onto the stomach.
Click to expand...

this bit is pretty important too. daily saliva production in an average horse is estimated to be 12 liters (3 gallons). Unlike humans and certain other mammals, saliva secretion only occurs during chewing.

Gastric tissues that are well bathed in saliva are thought to be less predisposed to ulceration. This accounts for the general feeding guideline that suggests round-the-clock access to forage, the quality of which can be determined based on the horses being fed.
 
Mine's on saracen re-leve, unmolassed sugar beet & alfa a, plus ad lib hay, and is out 24/7. Ex racer who gave himself a stressy tummy.

T x
 
My gelding was showing 'signs' of ulcers, I have him on Fast Fibre, Ulcer Calm and a handful of Dengie Healthy Tummy (as he wouldnt eat the FF on its own) I also add Brewers Yeast. he's out 24/7 and well rugged, with ample forage in hay or haylage. He's so so much better, and having had to crashing falls when he bronced with me, he is now an absolute pleasure to ride and handle!
 
I was reading about ulcers the other day and came across this article
http://www.equinews.com/article/use-alfalfa-or-lucerne-and-its-effect-gastric-ulcers
Thought you might find it interesting.

I would suggest speaking to a nutritionist to get some expert advice on the most suitable diet for your horse. Most the feed companies will be able to offer this service to help make sure that you are doing the best for your horse with regards to the ulcers? whilst providing a balanced diet.
 
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should also mention my ex-racer was showing signs of hindgut ulcers. He is now on fast fibre, micronised linseed, balanced mins, slippery elm and yea-sacc. He is out 24/7 with access to adlib hay, and is only rugged when it is pouring it down or v v windy. Even yesterday when it was minus 3 but felt like minus 8 he was toasty warm without a rug during the day. Since the diet change he looks in better condition now than in the summer :eek:
 
THANK YOU so much, I really appreciate your help !

OberBaubles : I think italian vets ( I' m from Milan, sorry for my english BTW) should read your articles and try to learn something serious!

It' s been a week since I decided to stop giving M. cereals (of course he has adlib hay) and he looks so much better ;)

I feel so sorry because I can' t actually understand what is wrong with his daily routine. He ' s out everyday ( out in the day, stabled at night) , he doesn' t work too much , he' s always so calm and quite, a real pleasure to ride .
I' m going to change his diet ( need to scope him before ) but really don' t know what to do with his routine
:(
 
Myraggio said:
OberBaubles : I think italian vets ( I' m from Milan, sorry for my english BTW) should read your articles and try to learn something serious!
Click to expand...

Nah :p.

It's all information stolen from much cleverer people than I. It just helps me to understand it all if I write it down in an essay :o
 
OberBaubles couldn't have given a better answer. Now you know why, for all their bluff and bluster why horses that race and compete in equine sports are very often in the poorest of health and very often in a lot of continual pain.

Stop feeding sugar and cereals folks, you know it makes sense.
 
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