Ulcers and tempting a fussy horse

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Wilbur_Force

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My friend's show/dressage horse has just been diagnosed with mild ulcers as of yesterday. He has all the usual symptoms, recurring colic, grumpy with the girth, etc. She now has some gastro (guard or similar) paste to give to him daily. Problem is, he is very very fussy with food. This is rubbish because as we know, the acid that gets produced all the time in the stomach will be adding to his problems esp as his tummy is empty.

She currently feeds him:
- Alfa A
- Blue Chip
- Conditioning Fibre (Spillers)
- Corn Oil
- Sugar Beet

Split between 3 feeds. He leaves some feed every time.

He is a big lad at nearly 17hh and eats just a couple of wedges of hay overnight. She is at her wits end as to what might encourage him to eat a bit more. She has tried haylage and he just leaves it. She has sprayed molasses on his hay etc and nothing seems to work. His condition is OK and we are all amazed that he looks so well.

Any suggestions? Obv it is early days for the Gastro stuff but any help, tips, good supplements for ulcers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)
 
You might find that he is fussy BECAUSE of the ulcers, and that as they clear up he starts to eat more.

Keep the feeds simple, and hay is better for ulcers than haylage. Have you tried splitting the elements of his feed into separate bukets so he can show you which bits are his favourites? Then can cut out the bits that he's not bothered about (if there is a particular bit!)

I would avoid spraying things with molasses or anything sugary as that won't hep his stomach at all.

How about adding a peppermint supplement to his feeds to make it more tempting? Peppermint is also a good digestive supplement. You can get it at a really good price from naturalhorsesupplies on Ebay - she's really helpful and will be able to advise you on other usefull supplements too!
 
Thanks, I'll pass it on. She is obviously concerned because he eats next to nothing! Today is his first day on the Gastro stuff so we're hoping that as that takes effect that he will start eating more, like you say. He has had colic about 2-3 times this week, so she is hoping for a fast improvement :)
 
My Bay, Snip, had ulcers a couple of years ago and went onto Gastrogard. It took 3 days to see a difference and then suddenly there was a massive difference in him that everyone noticed.

Is he struggling to keep condition on, with not eating much? If so then things like micronized linseed, fenugreek seeds etc might be a good addition to try and get as many calories into him in the small feeds he does have.

Some of them aren't keen on oil in feeds, but find it palatable when you mix it i with the soaking sugarbeet, so that might be worth a try? Oil is good for the stomach with ulcers though so def worth keeping on with.
 
Hi there, I have just had a livery who was sent to me for time out because of ulcers. I cant believe that nobody in the UK seems to have heard of Chia seeds, these are completely natural and when mixed with water form a sort of gel which is very soothing to the stomach lining. Not only are they good for ulcers but they will put a shine on your horse that you wont believe and they make the feet grow really strong. This one horse had a recurring case of seedy toe which cleared up in 3 weeks and the farrier was astonished. You should look them up as there are many many more benefits to your horse and you! The one I buy is called Chia Booster and I'm sure you will find it on the web. One other point, which is a pet gripe of mine, you should always feed a BALANCED diet. Reputable feed companies spend thousand on research in formulating their feed rations and then the customers add in 'beet pulp' and the likes which does nothing but throw the whole thing OFF balance, this also seems to be a UK thing where out of love for your horses you seem to think that the more elements you add the more your horse will love you! Did you ever consider that by feeding an unbalanced ration that you may be unintentionally causing ulcers? I wish you the best of luck :)
 
Have you tried feeding the different elements separately, to see what he likes and dislikes? The most obvious culprits would be the Alfa A which some horses find bitter, and the oil which puts many horses off. It would be a bit of a pain if it did turn out to be the Alfa A as alfalfa chaff is meant to be particularly good for ulcers, but perhaps this could be fed in a separate bucket alongside the rest of the feed?

How is the oil mixed in with the feed? I find that it can help to put the oil in with the beet as it soaks, so it disperses fully. Alternatively she could consider one of the oil-rich supplements as these are usually more palatable than straight oil. I would also consider swapping the Blue Chip for a lower starch balancer such as Top Spec.

As for hay, experiment with feeding the hay in different ways - a haynet by the door can result in increased consumption in the nosey horse, others will eat more if fed from the floor etc.
 
My anglo arab had ulcers when i took him on,he had been through a lot of stress and had severe ulcers,he was put on Ulser Guard straight away and i saw a difference within 2 days,he turned from a grumpy boy into a angel in that time! i couldn't give it him for more than 2 weeks though as at £120 cost price i couldn't afford to keep him on it,his insurance wouldn't cover it as i'd only had him a short time. I changed his feed to a high fibre one,he was on mixes etc when i got him and would colic when he'd start eating hard feed. I changed the Veteran Mix to cubes,gave him Allen & Page Fast Fibre (he loves it,and being fussy i was surprised,my 2 welsh cobs go mad for it and it's cheap!) he has speedibeet and Veteran chaff as well. After the Gastro Guard treatment i changed him to Global Herbs Acid X and it seems to be doing wonders. I always give him a scoop of chaff about half an hour before i ride to line the stomach,it really works and def prevents him being 'girthy'. Ulcers def make them become very fussy,at the end of the day it is a awful thing for them to have,mine used to look like he felt sick when he saw the sight of hard feed,now he gupls it down so things must be good for him. Your friend will def see a difference on what the vet has prescribed,when she does she needs to make sure she gives him as much fibre as possible,she should find his appetite picks up also which will help to.
 
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