Ulcers? What should i do

[miagreenwood1]

after just getting somewhere with my horse following a coffin joint injury, she has been showing discomfort however she’s clearly sound so i can rule out the feet however could it be internal aka ulcers? she’s showing signs of
- girthy / cinchy doesn’t like saddle and not super fond of fiddling about w rugs (she bit me the other day and she clearly felt so sorry she’s not like this usually)
- sensitive belly and flank
- reluctant to go forward especially in canter transition where i have to slide my leg back she’ll kick out
- dislikes use of my leg
-she’s slightly skinny on her hind but possibly because of the temperature and yard underrugging (i’m getting on top of making sure she’s warm enough don’t worry)
could it be ulcers? if it isn’t what else could it be. i cant afford to get her scoped unless insurance can cover it even then treatment is so expensive. my vet isn’t replying to messages, is there treatment i can do like diet wise without assessment like blind treatment or would you not reccomend it. (i’m under 18 and parents unhorsey so makes it difficult to organise things like vet call outs aswell). looking for some advice as i want her to be happy, seems to be whenever we get back on track something gets in our way.

 

[Gloi]

Have her teeth been done recently and does she have hay available all the time?

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Yes it could be ulcers. Is she worse on the right rein? The insurance should cover the scope if a vet recommends it, even if they don't find any. But check with the insurance company - I have scoped 2. The first was only showing behavioural problems and the scope was a bit of a fishing expedition as there were no physical signs. And the insurers said they would only pay if ulcers showed up. Which they didn't. But my 2nd horse had flank sensitivity and weight loss and the insurers confirmed that they would pay either way.

Ulcers cannot really be effectively treated without veterinary attention - if she already has them then they need to heal which requires prescription meds to stop acid production in the stomach. Once they are gone there is a lot you can do management wise to precent them coming back. But really she will need treating initially ro get rid of them. At least according to my vet and in my experience. I was doing all the 'prevention' stuff with my mare as soon as she showed the first signs but that did not help. But then they went 3 weeks after treatment.

 

[miagreenwood1]

Yep she had her teeth done last week, had a slightly loose wolf tooth but i don’t think that’s causing an issue i just need to be careful and watch it, does have available hah however she eats it very fast so over the night she would run out and i don’t have control over the haynet given so i cant control if it’s slow feeding or not. i could put her back on straw, then when she runs out she has a backup however i don’t like her eating straw unless it’s ok for them, i have ordered a lick and she has a drip feeder though x

 

[miagreenwood1]

she is probably worse on the right rein however it’s hard to tell, she’s similar on both. Silver has weight loss slightly and flank sensitive so hopefully the insurance can cover it, ill check. Thanks for the answer it’s very helpful, i’m not sure what else it could be so i’ll mention it to the vet coming monday and ask about treatment and check with insurance about scoping x

 

[miagreenwood1]

Have her teeth been done recently and does she have hay available all the time?

Yep she had her teeth done last week, had a slightly loose wolf tooth but i don’t think that’s causing an issue i just need to be careful and watch it, does have available hah however she eats it very fast so over the night she would run out and i don’t have control over the haynet given so i cant control if it’s slow feeding or not. i could put her back on straw, then when she runs out she has a backup however i don’t like her eating straw unless it’s ok for them, i have ordered a lick and she has a drip feeder though x

 

[miagreenwood1]

Yes it could be ulcers. Is she worse on the right rein? The insurance should cover the scope if a vet recommends it, even if they don't find any. But check with the insurance company - I have scoped 2. The first was only showing behavioural problems and the scope was a bit of a fishing expedition as there were no physical signs. And the insurers said they would only pay if ulcers showed up. Which they didn't. But my 2nd horse had flank sensitivity and weight loss and the insurers confirmed that they would pay either way.

Ulcers cannot really be effectively treated without veterinary attention - if she already has them then they need to heal which requires prescription meds to stop acid production in the stomach. Once they are gone there is a lot you can do management wise to precent them coming back. But really she will need treating initially ro get rid of them. At least according to my vet and in my experience. I was doing all the 'prevention' stuff with my mare as soon as she showed the first signs but that did not help. But then they went 3 weeks after treatment.

she is probably worse on the right rein however it’s hard to tell, she’s similar on both. Silver has weight loss slightly and flank sensitive so hopefully the insurance can cover it, ill check. Thanks for the answer it’s very helpful, i’m not sure what else it could be so i’ll mention it to the vet coming monday and ask about treatment and check with insurance about scoping x

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Cancel the lick unless it is just a salt lick, sugar will make her problems worse. She really needs access to forage all the time, most horses will be fine nibbling on a straw bed but occasionally some aren't, so it could be a calculated risk. Could you leave a bucket of chaff to eat as well as her hay? You could give her dried grass chaff -Emerald Green is a good one - I would avoid Readigrass as it is rye-grass, she would be better with meadow grass. Some vets advise giving alfalfa chaff but ime some horses react badly to alfalfa, so I avoid that too.
When I had a mare that I suspected may have ulcers, I made sure that she had an ulcer-friendly diet , with forage available all the time. I also gave her Aloe Vera juice every day. I didn't have her scoped, as her symptoms improved on the new regime. I knew that she had been fed a high starch/high sugar diet before I bought her and suspected that was the cause of the problem.

 

[miagreenwood1]

Cancel the lick unless it is just a salt lick, sugar will make her problems worse. She really needs access to forage all the time, most horses will be fine nibbling on a straw bed but occasionally some aren't, so it could be a calculated risk. Could you leave a bucket of chaff to eat as well as her hay? You could give her dried grass chaff -Emerald Green is a good one - I would avoid Readigrass as it is rye-grass, she would be better with meadow grass. Some vets advise giving alfalfa chaff but ime some horses react badly to alfalfa, so I avoid that too.
When I had a mare that I suspected may have ulcers, I made sure that she had an ulcer-friendly diet , with forage available all the time. I also gave her Aloe Vera juice every day. I didn't have her scoped, as her symptoms improved on the new regime. I knew that she had been fed a high starch/high sugar diet before I bought her and suspected that was the cause of the problem.

it’s a horselyx mobility lick do you think that would be okay? for her joints. if not that’s fine i don’t need it. she used to be on straw back last year and didn’t have any issues but are it a lot and i thought it was the cause of her laziness (don’t think it was anymore) just don’t want her relying on it and getting fat and lazy, if i put her back on straw i’m sure my yard will take away one haynet (she has two a night) and she eats fast so ultimately will eat more straw. I’ll try the aloe vera juice, do you just add it to their feed? she’s just fed on chaff and basic nuts which my yards feed all horses i think, not sure how much leverage they give and how much i can add but i want to do what’s best for her. i’ll ask them what i can do to change her diet. thank you. I have dengie grass nuts in a stable toy which are low starch and sugar and she loves it, and i might feed her a handful of chaff before i next ride her to see if that makes a difference aswell.

 

[Littlewills]

Shes showing a lot of red flags for ulcers and for type 2 PSSM. It would be worth looking into both a bit more.

 

[miagreenwood1]

Shes showing a lot of red flags for ulcers and for type 2 PSSM. It would be worth looking into both a bit more.

Do you mind explaining to me the basics of what type 2 PSSM is? Thank you i will look into both x

 

[dixie]

This is useful to watch re ulcers

 

[miagreenwood1]

This is useful to watch re ulcers

thank you very much i will watch it x

 

[Littlewills]

Do you mind explaining to me the basics of what type 2 PSSM is? Thank you i will look into both x

a FB group has made a whole series of videos which I've found really useful in getting my head round it all

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I think you will need to be a bit more assertive with your yard. I assume you pay for your hay - tell them that she *needs* 2 haynets. She is highly unlikely to put weight on through eating straw. I have used it to reduce the weight of horses who needed to lose some - yours doesn't sound as if she needs to lose any weight.

As for the lick, you need to check the ingredients - if one of them is sugar, then don't give it to her, it won't do her any good. I would automatically avoid Horslyx but they may have changed their ingredients since I last looked.

 

[miagreenwood1]

I think you will need to be a bit more assertive with your yard. I assume you pay for your hay - tell them that she *needs* 2 haynets. She is highly unlikely to put weight on through eating straw. I have used it to reduce the weight of horses who needed to lose some - yours doesn't sound as if she needs to lose any weight.

As for the lick, you need to check the ingredients - if one of them is sugar, then don't give it to her, it won't do her any good. I would automatically avoid Horslyx but they may have changed their ingredients since I last looked.

Okay, thank you. She’s getting a vaccine monday so i will talk to the vet about what i thinks going on and i think i would be okay to move her back on straw then, thank you - i’ll check the ingredients of the lick and i will make sure she’s getting the two haynets she needs by the time i move her back onto straw.