What to feed a horse in light work with ulcers?

[Ellietotz]

I suspect a possibility of gastric ulcers. I just want to know what is best to feed? Currently, my mare is getting soaked high fibre pony nuts, regular chaff and Dodson and Horrell ground chaste tree berries. Only worked twice a week currently too. What is best to feed to sooth and help ulcers if this is the case? I heard slippery elm is good, perhaps adding a scoop of that powder to the feed but I don't know what can be combined with the current supplement. Appreciate all advice!

 

[FfionWinnie]

Always having quality hay in front of her would be my preference.

 

[Kaylum]

What is your feeding routine like. Are you feeding plain chaff before you are working?

 

[wench]

What is the plain chaff? If it's molassed it's probably no good

 

[sport horse]

ad lib hay and all feed/forage fed at floor level.

 

[Ellietotz]

What is your feeding routine like. Are you feeding plain chaff before you are working?

Currently she's being fed once everyday, not being fed any chaff before work though, just comes straight out from grazing. The chaff is Mollichaff Extra and Countrywide Farmers light work pony nuts

 

[Damnation]

I don't have an ulcer prone horse but I do have a horse prone to colitis so I have to be careful what I feed.

If it was me I'd ditch the Molichaff extra and go for a molassess free chaff.

Also, ensuring good quality ad lib forage is available is the key I think.

 

[Ellietotz]

I don't have an ulcer prone horse but I do have a horse prone to colitis so I have to be careful what I feed.

If it was me I'd ditch the Molichaff extra and go for a molassess free chaff.

Also, ensuring good quality ad lib forage is available is the key I think.

She always has hay available with loads of grazing in the day and loads of hay at night when in. So if I get something molasses free, what about pony nuts? Are they okay?

 

[xgemmax]

pony nuts will have mollasses in. Does she need a nut? Could she just have a bit of chaff as a token feed and then adlib hay? The new honeychop lite & healthy chaff is good, free from most 'bad' things

 

[Damnation]

How about soaked grass nuts?

Alot of people reccomend them on here for ulcer prone horses

 

[SEL]

12 months ago I was dealing with ulcers in an overweight horse who was exercise intolerant.

Access to hay or grass was (& still is) absolutely essential. If she felt she was denied food then she would get stressed and they would flare up again. I actually found 24:7 turnout the best for her because she lost weight on the winter grass without feeling that she was restricted.

Her feed was pretty basic. Kwik beet and a plain alfalfa chaff (we used simple systems lucie stalks but there's loads out there). Not every horse can deal with alfalfa and I found in summer that it made her photosensitive so she's now on oat chaff - but alfalfa is high in calcium which helps tummies. You can also add a scoop of limestone powder. I took her off all processed feeds and mixes.

A glug of veg oil (rapeseed or corn oil) was recommended by the vet. Dengie have a good bit on their site saying why;

http://dengie.com/friendly-feed-advice/what-type-of-oil-is-best-for-horses-with-ulcers-/

 

[Ellietotz]

12 months ago I was dealing with ulcers in an overweight horse who was exercise intolerant.

Access to hay or grass was (& still is) absolutely essential. If she felt she was denied food then she would get stressed and they would flare up again. I actually found 24:7 turnout the best for her because she lost weight on the winter grass without feeling that she was restricted.

Her feed was pretty basic. Kwik beet and a plain alfalfa chaff (we used simple systems lucie stalks but there's loads out there). Not every horse can deal with alfalfa and I found in summer that it made her photosensitive so she's now on oat chaff - but alfalfa is high in calcium which helps tummies. You can also add a scoop of limestone powder. I took her off all processed feeds and mixes.

A glug of veg oil (rapeseed or corn oil) was recommended by the vet. Dengie have a good bit on their site saying why;

http://dengie.com/friendly-feed-advice/what-type-of-oil-is-best-for-horses-with-ulcers-/

Sorry for the late reply!

My mare is currently on Dengie Molasses free chaff and high fibre pony nuts. Shall I remove the pony nuts completely? What can I replace these with? I see someone recommended grass nuts and Dengie do a molasses free one too. We don't need any additional energy etc but would like to give more than just the chaff and something that promotes chewing for saliva production.
Thank you

 

[ironhorse]

Mine's been in light rehab work/off work for a year, but we switched to Alfa A oil two years ago plus thunder brooks balancer and it's a very flexible combination. I added micronised linseed when he was in harder work and needed more condition; at the mo he's just coming back into very light work so has Alfa A molasses free plus his balancer and a joint supplement in the morning and just a handful of alfa at night. He's out all day but as the work steps up he'll probably have another handful of alfa before work too. He has lots of hay at night!
Anything that's pelleted (nuts or balancer) will either have molasses or soya oil in, both of which should be avoided.
If your mare can't tolerate alfalfa you can get unmolassed plain chaff or grass chop - Emerald Green Feeds do a good one. You do need a balancer to give vitamins and minerals but check the analysis for molasses/soya as stated above.

 

[Ellietotz]

Mine's been in light rehab work/off work for a year, but we switched to Alfa A oil two years ago plus thunder brooks balancer and it's a very flexible combination. I added micronised linseed when he was in harder work and needed more condition; at the mo he's just coming back into very light work so has Alfa A molasses free plus his balancer and a joint supplement in the morning and just a handful of alfa at night. He's out all day but as the work steps up he'll probably have another handful of alfa before work too. He has lots of hay at night!
Anything that's pelleted (nuts or balancer) will either have molasses or soya oil in, both of which should be avoided.
If your mare can't tolerate alfalfa you can get unmolassed plain chaff or grass chop - Emerald Green Feeds do a good one. You do need a balancer to give vitamins and minerals but check the analysis for molasses/soya as stated above.

She's on the Dengie Alfa-A Molasses free, is that okay? Just seems a bit boring feeding that on it's own! She's turned out 24/7 normally but currently in at night over winter. Loads of hay all night and all day when out plus lots of grass. She's being fed everyday at the moment whilst in and she is having dinner with Ulsa-soothe which seems to be working somewhat but haven't been on it long enough yet. Shall I just stick to the Alfa-A on its own?

 

[Notimetoride]

Mine can't tolerate alfalfa. Trying to find a chaff with no molasses and no alfalfa was incredibly hard ! I found Top Chop Zero Light which I feed with basic pony nuts. She's not overly keen on the top chop zero tho as it is rather bland. She also has a bespoke supplement from hack up along with Thunderbrooks Gut Restore. She has ad lib soaked hay and I feed before riding. The vet did recommend feeding alfalfa which I did for a while but I had to get her off it. The key really though, is the ad lib hay, ensuring the pony is eating for 16 hrs a day

 

[poiuytrewq]

My horse (now retired) who I always treated as ulcer prone does just fine on ad-lib hay. I literally never let him run out and once they get used to that it's quite easy and not actually that much hay.

 

[Ellietotz]

Mine can't tolerate alfalfa. Trying to find a chaff with no molasses and no alfalfa was incredibly hard ! I found Top Chop Zero Light which I feed with basic pony nuts. She's not overly keen on the top chop zero tho as it is rather bland. She also has a bespoke supplement from hack up along with Thunderbrooks Gut Restore. She has ad lib soaked hay and I feed before riding. The vet did recommend feeding alfalfa which I did for a while but I had to get her off it. The key really though, is the ad lib hay, ensuring the pony is eating for 16 hrs a day

Just looked up the Thunderbrooks Gut products and they sound good but pricey!

 

[ironhorse]

She's on the Dengie Alfa-A Molasses free, is that okay? Just seems a bit boring feeding that on it's own! She's turned out 24/7 normally but currently in at night over winter. Loads of hay all night and all day when out plus lots of grass. She's being fed everyday at the moment whilst in and she is having dinner with Ulsa-soothe which seems to be working somewhat but haven't been on it long enough yet. Shall I just stick to the Alfa-A on its own?

Mine quite likes alfa A molasses free on its own - it's got alfalfa pellets in it as well so theres a bit of variety and it smells appetising. I damp it a bit, especially if putting the balancer in it to help hide the powder, or make it quite wet if he's being fussy. Probably a good idea anyway as horses that are prone to ulcers sometimes need to be encouraged to drink more. I've stuck with the balancer as it has probiotics in it which are good for the gut, but although I don't know your ulcer supplement it probably covers that.

 

[Notimetoride]

Just looked up the Thunderbrooks Gut products and they sound good but pricey!

To be honest the Gut Restore isn't badly priced (I would love to put her on Succeed but I just can't afford that without selling some body parts)

 

[Kaylum]

Listen to this podcast it explains about ulcers it is really good and gives advice about what and when you should feed
https://www.acast.com/horsehour/gastriculcersexplained-richardhepburn

 

[Haphazardhacker]

My ulcer prone horse is on Agrobs Museli and top spec senior lite.

 

[Annagain]

Is your mare prone to losing weight? If she's only being ridden twice a week and she keeps weight on ok, I'd be inclined to drop the feed completely and just make sure she has access to good quality hay/grass 24/7. I'd give her a bucket of unmolassed chaff (I find plain grass chaff like Graze-on or Readigrass good) before you ride too - it acts like a boom and prevents acid splashing around the stomach.

 

[skint1]

What about good quality ad-lib hay and maybe something like a little bit of fast fibre before work and as much turn out as you can give her.
You could also try giving her some of the herbal supplements recommended for ulcers/ gastric disorders

 

[ihatework]

Mine has ulcers. She is a fat fizzy type so needs very little in the way of hard feed.
I've recently discovered fast fibre - it's really useful as seems very palatable, really low energy and great for hiding supplements in. So In addition to adlib late cut meadow hay her am & pm feeds are 1/4 scoop of soaked fast fibre with vit/min powder and 100ml of oil (there are scientific studies to show that corn or rapeseed oil can help with ulcers).

Then immediately before riding she has a scoop of unmolassed Alfa - Alfa is best if your horse is okay on it but otherwise a grass chaff is fine too.

 

[Crosshill Pacers]

Slightly different as mine was in very hard work last year but when she went ulcery we put her on Dodson & Horrell Staypower Muesli (which she couldn't get enough of) and Spillers Racehorse Cubes. She was getting turned out on grass in the afternoons after drying off from her work for about 5 hours every day, and longer on her day off each week. We also gave her Peptizole and sporadically natural yogurt. Gave her as much hay as she could eat.

We had to do a lot of research on feeds to get to what we ended up with - essentially high fibre being the key.

Once we got into that routine she never looked back and we'll stick to something similar now with others we train going forward.

 

[Ellietotz]

To be honest the Gut Restore isn't badly priced (I would love to put her on Succeed but I just can't afford that without selling some body parts)

I've spoken to Thunderbrooks on their facebook page and there are so many things they recommend. I feel stressed! Wishing there was just something simple but that's never the case!

 

[Ellietotz]

Is your mare prone to losing weight? If she's only being ridden twice a week and she keeps weight on ok, I'd be inclined to drop the feed completely and just make sure she has access to good quality hay/grass 24/7. I'd give her a bucket of unmolassed chaff (I find plain grass chaff like Graze-on or Readigrass good) before you ride too - it acts like a boom and prevents acid splashing around the stomach.

No, thankfully she keeps weight on quite well. She's only getting a little feed everyday over winter while she's in at night and so that she gets her Ulsasoothe but that'll be cut down to having a small one after exercise and depending on how often she needs a supplement if any.
I have just started to give a handful of chaff before exercise as well to keep the acid from splashing. At the moment, she's out for 12 hours in the day with plenty of grass and hay, then in for the following 12 hours with loads of hay. Soon she will just be out 24/7 now that the darker evenings are finally going away. I am just worried that where she is a bit girthy and sensitive around the chest, I should be giving her something for it but a lot of people say that I don't need to as long as she has constant supply of hay/grass. There are so many supplements and things out there though, I just don't know where to start and what one is best!

 

[Ellietotz]

What about good quality ad-lib hay and maybe something like a little bit of fast fibre before work and as much turn out as you can give her.
You could also try giving her some of the herbal supplements recommended for ulcers/ gastric disorders

She is having Ulsasoothe at the moment. There are so many supplements around, I don't know where to start. Any recommendations?

 

[Ellietotz]

Mine has ulcers. She is a fat fizzy type so needs very little in the way of hard feed.
I've recently discovered fast fibre - it's really useful as seems very palatable, really low energy and great for hiding supplements in. So In addition to adlib late cut meadow hay her am & pm feeds are 1/4 scoop of soaked fast fibre with vit/min powder and 100ml of oil (there are scientific studies to show that corn or rapeseed oil can help with ulcers).

Then immediately before riding she has a scoop of unmolassed Alfa - Alfa is best if your horse is okay on it but otherwise a grass chaff is fine too.

Fat fizzy type, sounds like mine! What powder do you use? I've heard this about the oil, I may try that.

 

[Notimetoride]

I've spoken to Thunderbrooks on their facebook page and there are so many things they recommend. I feel stressed! Wishing there was just something simple but that's never the case!

Yes its incredibly stressful. I was totally bamboozled !! In the end I learned that ad-lib hay and lots of turnout really was the key. Though I cant lie, I do feel that the Thunderbrooks Gut Restore is helping her. I went to my tack shop to get a supplement, went to the counter with it, and the assistant said the Gut Restore is better. That why I ended up with it