Aloe Vera Juice as a Treatment for Ulcers?

[Prime_Time_Rider]

I don’t know for a fact if my semi-retired horse has ulcers, but he is a regular and persistent cribber despite all day (or night) turn out and wearing a cribing collar 24/7. I read somewhere that a high percentage of horses who crib have ulcers.

Recently, my horse seems to be cribbing more often. Nothing has changed in his routine or feeding program. A friend of mine mentioned to me that he has used aloe vera juice to treat ulcers in horses. Has anyone out there had success using aloe vera juice to treat ulcers? If so, how much do you feed for a 1200 pound horse.

The health food store where I purchased the aloe vera juice recommended 1 to 2 ounces daily for a human. They also said that it is good for gas, which would be a welcome benefit as this horse is typically quite gasey. Any success stories with aloe vrea juice out there?

[Dressage_Diva333]

I tried it. Honestly I saw no difference and the horses hated it.

[Prime_Time_Rider]

I’ve poured about 3 ounces of it on my horse’s feed and he doesn’t seem to mind it. The question is, has anyone had any success with it?

[Sansena]

[QUOTE=Prime Time Rider;7239278]
I’ve poured about 3 ounces of it on my horse’s feed and he doesn’t seem to mind it. The question is, has anyone had any success with it?[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure what you mean by ‘success’.

Sounds like you’ve never scoped for ulcers, so you won’t know if you’ve had any “success” unless you scope before AND after. Any other improvement in behaviour you think you observe would be arbitrary.

I’ve had friends who ‘treated’ with aloe very juice, a few ounces in the morning and again at night. But again, they never scoped before treating or afterward, so we’re not sure if the ‘treatment’ actually “worked”. They would also give it during show season in the hopes of preventing ulcers. Again, not scoping before or after show season so not sure if the addition of the juice was helpful or just a psycho somatic benefit to the owner.

[LDavis104]

About 4 years ago I suspected that my gelding had ulcers and I gave him aloe juice and UGard while he was on stall rest. I didn’t know much about diagnosing and treating ulcers at the time. Knowing what I do now, having scoped him ((about 1.5 years ago), treated him , and knowing what his symptoms are, I would not waste my $$$ on juices, supplements etc and I go straight for ranitidine (I get mine at Walmart) or omeprazole in the form of the Abler Abprazole. Looking back, his ulcer symptoms (that I did not know were actually his ulcer symptoms at the time) were not improved by the aloe and UGard. The reason I suspected ulcers 4 years ago was because he went very long periods of time without hay and was in his stall a lot, then was on stall rest.

I know some horses seem to benefit from ulcer “supplements” but anything I tried short of ranitidine or omeprazole made no difference and for my gelding and certainly was not successful in preventing his ulcer symptoms from coming back. He’s on 24/7 turnout at a laid back farm with access to hay and grass at all times so lifestyle wise I’ve done everything I can.

If it were my horse, I would scope for ulcers to see if that’s what you are dealing with and treat appropriately with omeprazole or ranitidine. A cribber + an excessively gassy horse seems like a ticking time bomb for colic IMO… I just know of a couple of horses with classic ulcer symptoms that ended up having life-ending colics so that’s always in the back of my mind

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=LDavis104;7239419]
About 4 years ago I suspected that my gelding had ulcers and I gave him aloe juice and UGard while he was on stall rest. I didn’t know much about diagnosing and treating ulcers at the time. Knowing what I do now, having scoped him ((about 1.5 years ago), treated him , and knowing what his symptoms are, I would not waste my $$$ on juices, supplements etc and I go straight for ranitidine (I get mine at Walmart) or omeprazole in the form of the Abler Abprazole. Looking back, his ulcer symptoms (that I did not know were actually his ulcer symptoms at the time) were not improved by the aloe and UGard. The reason I suspected ulcers 4 years ago was because he went very long periods of time without hay and was in his stall a lot, then was on stall rest.

I know some horses seem to benefit from ulcer “supplements” but anything I tried short of ranitidine or omeprazole made no difference and for my gelding and certainly was not successful in preventing his ulcer symptoms from coming back. He’s on 24/7 turnout at a laid back farm with access to hay and grass at all times so lifestyle wise I’ve done everything I can.

If it were my horse, I would scope for ulcers to see if that’s what you are dealing with and treat appropriately with omeprazole or ranitidine. A cribber + an excessively gassy horse seems like a ticking time bomb for colic IMO… I just know of a couple of horses with classic ulcer symptoms that ended up having life-ending colics so that’s always in the back of my mind :([/QUOTE]

You took the words right out of my mouth!

[LDavis104]

[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;7239422]
You took the words right out of my mouth![/QUOTE]

I’ve noticed I think we have the same horse

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=LDavis104;7239424]
I’ve noticed I think we have the same horse ;)[/QUOTE]

LOL! I think so too! :lol:

[islgrl]

I have an ulcer horse, I tried aloe vera juice, did nothing…

[EWim15]

[QUOTE=LDavis104;7239419]

If it were my horse, I would scope for ulcers to see if that’s what you are dealing with and treat appropriately with omeprazole or ranitidine. [/QUOTE]

Definitely If it’s not ulcers you’ll waste your money on something you don’t need but if he does have ulcers it’s best to get them treated with drugs that are proven to be effective.

With regards to aloe though, I have used it for a horse with immune system problems who incidentally also had ulcers (confirmed via scope). The ulcers were treated with GG 8 weeks in all. Later on when we discovered the immune system issue and he was given about 8oz a day of aloe. I did actually notice his manure seemed more “normal” when he was on it. I don’t know if that suggests he also had other gut issues besides the ulcers, but in any event the ulcer symptoms did not reappear. The aloe in those amounts also made his coat amazingly soft

If your horse did have ulcers and you wanted to use it as a post-treatment tool to prevent them reoccurring I’d use at least 4oz a day (120ml) I don’t think you’d see much just adding in a couple of oz… But I don’t think it’s a magic cure/prevention and like any of the other supplements on the market it might work for some and not for others.

[fordtraktor]

I did give aloe vera juice to my horse with a sensitive stomach for a while. About 1 cup a day on his TC Senior. He didn’t mind it at all and it didn’t HURT anything. That’s the best I can say for it.

[Flash44]

I don’t know that I would play around with ulcers. If you truly suspect your horse has them, have a conversation with your vet and put your money to the best possible use. I would worry that a horse that cribs and has ulcers would be more prone to colic.

[SAcres]

I would not bother with aloe juice. Get pop rocks, treat properly.

[salymandar]

I have given my horse 4 oz of aloe vera juice once a day while being treated with doxy. I did follow up with a course of omeprazole as soon as I could get it; but while I was waiting for the omeprazole to come in, it took one day on aloe vera juice for my horse to go from trying to kill me when I got near his stomach to almost normal.

Now, my horse is not a cribber and I do not think my horse has a long-term stomach ulcer problem that requires expensive scoping. But I do think he has a sensitive digestive tract which leads to gassiness and I have found that the aloe vera juice helps soothe his stomach and reduce gas during tough times.

It is inexpensive and I would give it a shot. If it works, you know you are probably dealing with a stomach issue. If it doesn’t work, you will probably want to up the ante and try stronger treatments or scope him.

[Sansena]

While my squirrely brain is on it… is there any correlation between Aloe Very Juice “testing”? If my memory is working properly, Aloe is an anti-inflamm…

er…nvrmind.
I’m thinking Yucca.

Carry on.

[PNWjumper]

If you suspect ulcers, I would treat accordingly (omeprazole or ranitidine) until you’ve resolved the issue. After that point I think that supplements can help support ongoing health.

I will add my two cents that I think any time you approach ulcers in that manner, you should also add something to support the hind gut (succeed, oat bran, or whatever else you want to use).

But back to the point at hand. I resolved my TB’s ulcer issue with omeprazole and then for the next year had him on Succeed, a pre/probiotic, his usual Glanzen supplement, and apple cider vinegar and he’s done great on those. I still put him back on omeprazole during times of stress (shows and clinics), but the rest of the time he does great on just the regular supplements.

I just modified his diet to get rid of the Succeed and now have him on the SmartPak Ultra supplement (the one that gets the colic surgery insurance, can’t recall the name). But I didn’t do it for he insurance, instead for the fact that it’s far less expensive than Succeed. So now he’s on Glanzen, SP Ultra, and apple cider vinegar and has been doing great.

On another side note, my vet suggested ACV and Aloe Vera juice. I decided to start with one rather than both, and arbitrarily picked ACV. But she also feels that Aloe Vera Juice is great for horses prone to getting ulcery.

[rcloisonne]

Aloe did nothing for my horse. He didn’t mind the taste though. An on-line vet recommended 8oz, 2X/day, poured on the feed.

One of the other recent ulcer threads stated only omeprazole and ranitadine have been proven to be effective for the treatment of ulcers in horses. I’m well aware of the Gastrogard studies (none for generic omeprazole), but could someone provide a link to studies proving treatment with ranitidine is effective in horses? Is this something new?

[Foxtrot_s]

It is anecdotal. But lots of racehorse people use it and horses like the taste.
It is available for about $7.00/gallon at Wal-Mart in the States (or was).
It is not a cure for ulcers, but may settle an iffy stomach and will do no harm.

[Prime_Time_Rider]

[QUOTE=PNWjumper;7239996]
If you suspect ulcers, I would treat accordingly (omeprazole or ranitidine) until you’ve resolved the issue. After that point I think that supplements can help support ongoing health.

I will add my two cents that I think any time you approach ulcers in that manner, you should also add something to support the hind gut (succeed, oat bran, or whatever else you want to use).

But back to the point at hand. I resolved my TB’s ulcer issue with omeprazole and then for the next year had him on Succeed, a pre/probiotic, his usual Glanzen supplement, and apple cider vinegar and he’s done great on those. I still put him back on omeprazole during times of stress (shows and clinics), but the rest of the time he does great on just the regular supplements.

I just modified his diet to get rid of the Succeed and now have him on the SmartPak Ultra supplement (the one that gets the colic surgery insurance, can’t recall the name). But I didn’t do it for he insurance, instead for the fact that it’s far less expensive than Succeed. So now he’s on Glanzen, SP Ultra, and apple cider vinegar and has been doing great.

On another side note, my vet suggested ACV and Aloe Vera juice. I decided to start with one rather than both, and arbitrarily picked ACV. But she also feels that Aloe Vera Juice is great for horses prone to getting ulcery.[/QUOTE]

What is ACV?

As far as colic concerns, I’ve owned this horse for 4 years and (knock wood) he’s never colicked. I bought him knowing that he was an avid cribber, and I don’t think lifestyle has anything to do with his cribing. He’s semi-retired, is turned out with a buddy at least 8 hours a day and at this point never leaves the farm except for the occassional trail ride.

I’ve never had him scoped, and the only thing that makes me suspect that he could have an ulcer is his cribing habit. He is also prone to gas and always has an active gut. So, I could be jumping the gun suspecting ulcers, although I study I read cited that a very high percentage of cribbres (70%, I think) have ulcers.

He does seem less “gasey” since I started feeding him the aloe vera juice 4 days ago.

[rockfordbuckeye]

Don’t have time to do a full lit search but I came across this erm…“study” http://blog.samlennon.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/AloeVeraCure.pdf

The thing is that the paste they used in there was pretty carefully made. I would be careful as many commercial aloe vera juices are likely mostly water and may have citric juices added for flavoring which would be a kind of obvious no-no. I would be curious to take some pH paper to the juices being used…