Advice for friend - mouth ulcers

[shadesofbay3]

hi all - looking for advice for a friend who doesn’t have an account on here

her horse had a dental today and the vet found these ulcers (below) in the horses mouth

we don’t have foxtail in our hay, the horse doesn’t crib, and nothing new has been added to his diet or regimen.

the vet simply suggested giving him a few days off and revisiting the situation if it is still a problem in a few days but had no ideas what could have caused it

we think that maybe it could be the hay net, since she uses one of the thicker hay nets (the webbed ones), but otherwise don’t know what could be the underlying cause - thoughts?

[JBCool]

Yeeowch! That looks awful. No real ideas, but jingles it gets solved and he feels better soon!

[cayuse]

Your friend might want to ask the vet about using a slurry made of sucralfate to rinse the mouth with, it coats the ulcers and makes them less painful. Jingles sent.

[SusanO]

A few years back someone had their horse looked at by the DVM dentist I use and the horse had ulcers in its mouth. Dentist said it might stem from liver problems but to watch the horse. I don’t know the later history of the horse, but I do not recall hearing anything else about liver problems. One more thing to consider.

[Laurierace]

Dewormed with Zimectrin Gold?

[NaturallyHappy]

I second this question.

[JB]

yeah, I want to know the recent deworming status as well

This doesn’t look like something a hay net could cause

If these don’t improve soon (mouth sores tend to heal pretty quickly) I’d pull blood

[jvanrens]

@Laurierace

Dewormed with Zimectrin Gold?

What sort of worms would cause sores like this? Or do you mean the wormer causing the ulcers?

[Laurierace]

The carrier in Zimectrin Gold has been famous for causing mouth ulcers for decades. So much so they list it on the package insert. No idea why anyone would ever buy it but apparently they do or it wouldn’t be on the market anymore

[jvanrens]

I’ve used it in the past, and knew my horses had no problem with it, so maybe the people who continue to use it know their horses don’t have a problem. I’d prefer to avoid it for any new horses though.

[Laurierace]

Doesn’t work like that. You use it and don’t have a problem until you do. Why would you risk that happening to your horse? That’s inhumane

[jvanrens]

I only used it twice if that makes me less of an abuser.

[ThreeWishes]

Zimectrin Gold is notorious for suddenly causing mouth ulcers in horses. It’s not the eradication of parasites. It’s the paste. Seems to be super caustic for a subset of horses. I never use it. Don’t want to tempt that result.

[beowulf]

Ouch, poor horse. That’s a significantly inflamed gumline on top of the ulcers. If it doesn’t resolve soon, I’d consider EOTRH.

[ThreeWishes]

Isn’t that more at the gum line ? The erosion of a horses dentition ? Just asking.

[Laurierace]

Not an abuser, just saying when you know better you do better. So don’t use it ever again. Equimax has more active ingredients and no risk for mouth ulcers so win win

[beowulf]

Yes, it can be. One of the early symptoms of EOTRH is an inflamed gum line before abscess tracts or resorption appear. It could be that whatever caused the ulcers caused what we see in the pictures, if it doesn’t go away but the ulcers do I’d want to take a closer look.

[JB]

@jvanrens

I’ve used it in the past, and knew my horses had no problem with it, so maybe the people who continue to use it know their horses don’t have a problem.

More than a handful of people who have a problem, didn’t have a problem with their horse until they did

[ThreeWishes]

Understood. Thank you !

[LCDR]

Any skin lesions? The mucosal appearance reminds me of cases of oral pemphigus that I have seen.