How much rinitidine for aou at 1200 horse. I’ve heard it two ways, give it twice a day; give it 3 times a day. What did you do?
How much cimetidine, and you give it 3 times per day?
To the original post question.
Yes.
[QUOTE=blueribbonpanel;8485705]
How much rinitidine for aou at 1200 horse. I’ve heard it two ways, give it twice a day; give it 3 times a day. What did you do?
How much cimetidine, and you give it 3 times per day?[/QUOTE]
We gave it 3 times a day, religiously. so it was far less expensive than GG but a LOT more intensive (horsie does not live at home). The dose I got from the vet, cheapest source was in powdered form from an equine pharmacy.
I told my vet that I thought my horse had ulcers and that I wanted to scope him. But she said not to given that he is the archetypal “ulcer horse.” (A war-horse OTTB who cribbs and had been abandoned in a pasture for the 9 years before I got him. And then I stuck him in a stall for half the day and started riding him. Ulcers made sense.) She said treat him with ulcer guard for a month and see if the symptoms resolve. She said if they were reduced, she would scope and see how bad it still is. She said if there was no difference, he is a grumpy old man, or there are ulcers in his hind gut that can’t really be fixed. Does that sound right? I didn’t really question it, because she wasn’t trying to take my money, and she is always trying to take my money.
At any rate, ulcer guard made no changes in my horse. The vet still thinks that scoping would be pointless, so I never did it. The horse has mellowed out in the last six months and finally started to put on weight. He acts like he likes me now too, which is cool. The conclusion that was made is he is a cranky old man who would yell “GET OFF MY LAWN!!” a lot if he were a human.
[QUOTE=mvspencer;8485916]
I told my vet that I thought my horse had ulcers and that I wanted to scope him. But she said not to given that he is the archetypal “ulcer horse.” (A war-horse OTTB who cribbs and had been abandoned in a pasture for the 9 years before I got him. And then I stuck him in a stall for half the day and started riding him. Ulcers made sense.) She said treat him with ulcer guard for a month and see if the symptoms resolve. She said if they were reduced, she would scope and see how bad it still is. She said if there was no difference, he is a grumpy old man, or there are ulcers in his hind gut that can’t really be fixed. Does that sound right? I didn’t really question it, because she wasn’t trying to take my money, and she is always trying to take my money.
At any rate, ulcer guard made no changes in my horse. The vet still thinks that scoping would be pointless, so I never did it. The horse has mellowed out in the last six months and finally started to put on weight. He acts like he likes me now too, which is cool. The conclusion that was made is he is a cranky old man who would yell “GET OFF MY LAWN!!” a lot if he were a human.[/QUOTE]
Please read my thread. I believe the title is Drug Resistant Ulcers. Anyway, his are at the pylorus (the exit to the stomach). He’s had at least 7 scopes now, and is 8+ months into treatment. We’re finally getting some improvement, but the end of treatment is not yet in sight.
Second, hind gut ulcers are diagnosable and treatable. My vet ultrasounded the colon, and ran a fecal occult blood test. It’s not 100%, but its a good idea of what you are dealing with. If positive, she prescribes meds for the hind gut as well as a strict diet.
I’d personally be pushing for more information, but I fully acknowledge that my view is somewhat clouded by having the odd-horse-out.
Thanks for all the responses. He is a hard keeper, had him most of his life and recently has become spooky and bolted twice in last year.His stool is normal in the paddock but on trail it becomes apple sauce. When he does spook he is shanking with fear. He is 14 and so hard to keep weight on him its embarrassing. Alfalfa he won’t eat and to much grain makes him hotter. He gets pasture,good hay ,supplements and beet pulp.Also new behavior is hiding in the corner of the field when he knows i want to ride. I feed him first and he won’t come for his feed only on days when i’m riding. He loves is feed.
Do you get meds from vet or order them?
[QUOTE=GallopHer;8482104]
I’m curious. Other than going “off feed”, what are the symptoms of ulcers?
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
My horse was fat and shiny and wasn’t drinking as much. He became very depressed. He was scoped and his ulcers were very bad. Crabby to saddle or work can also be symptoms.
I’m super happy I scoped!
I have a very non normal case… My guy and I had just completed a very successful show season and we trailer out to my trainers 2x week. Beyond not eating in the trailer and being easily distracted, he didn’t show any symptoms. I would do UG for shows but when I tried it for a lesson haul I noticed increased focus. Because I wanted to cover all maintenance in the off season, I got him scoped during the work break between Christmas and NY thinking maybe he’d come back with grade 1 or 2 ulcers. He came back with grade 4 ulcers. He’s now on GG and getting rescoped in early Feb. he still doesn’t eat in the trailer and still has ADD but seems a little less tight in his back. Had I never scoped him I wouldn’t have known he was suffering but hiding it well.
I did with my old horse who passed away from colic a few yrs ago…self treated on and off for a long time and would never do it again. He was a super hard keeper…went off feed on and off for years. Constant battle. Tried Ranitidine, supplements, alfalfa, ulcerguard. I don’t think they ever completely resolved. Also many reputable vets strongly feel that the dosage and especially the way you wean them OFF Gastroguard varies depending on the type, number and severity of the ulcers. If you don’t wean them correctly, they can and will come back. I would rather deal w/facts.
This past fall, my otherwise healthy and quiet OTTB started acting up under saddle. It could have been a) old leg injury still bothering him which we x-rayed and ultrasounded b) the saddle and saddle fit c) ulcers. Ruled out “a” and then scoped for ulcers. Guess what? He had them. Treated with GGuard based on type and severity with a weaning dose over 2 weeks after the main treatment. I paid to rescope and he was clear. Behavior issues resolved.
Since you are dealing with bolting, I would scope. Scoping is around $350-400 here…if you don’t rid of the ulcers by self treating and they come back, you are out way more money having to retreat.
I noticed no one mentioned the fecal test for ulcers. My vet recommended it after my colt colicked post cryptorchid surgery. Had been on banamine for eye infection prior to surgery; then surgeon insisted on giving him bute…Long story short–the test showed fore and hindgut ulcers. Then I did the test for chuckles and grins on my OTTB and it showed hindgut ulcers. Both horses are now on the Smartpak supplements for ulcers/colic and I keep Ulcerguard on hand for whenever it’s needed. The fecal test is 90% accurate, according to my vet, which was good enough for me. Cost was around $30 per test. I thought it was a great non invasive alternative to scoping.
I will be trying poprocks on my horse for the first time as soon as they get here. I haven’t had her scoped. She’s been spooky, walking away from her food, more touchy than normal. She gets super stressed in trailer and I’d have to trailer to vet school to scope anyway.
