Hi Everyone!
I am dealing with hind gut ulcer issues and have read previous posts about feeding dried banana powder to help the healing process. Can anyone tell me how much to feed a 1200 lb horse? Thank you!
I’ve never heard of using banana powder for hind gut ulcer issues, but I have used oat flour with good success. 1/4 cup once or twice a day worked really well on my mare who had hind gut issues. It is also one of the main ingredients in Succeed.
Odd that this is in the dressage section.
@leheath what do you mix the oat powder in? My horse gets very little grain, and only in the evening so I’d have to find another way to get it into him. He doesn’t like soaked alfalfa pellets or actually anything wet. Definitely no beet pulp.
@Gestalt I mix it in whatever feed I give them - never had to make it wet and they always eat it well without needing help/encouragement. Most of the time, my horses only got fed grain once a day (in the evening) and so that is when I fed the oat flour and it worked just fine. Does he eat unsoaked alfalfa pellets? Or even just try adding it to the small amount of grain he gets each evening.
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How would banana powder even reach the hind gut?
I’ve never heard of banana powder or oat powder helping ulcers. HOW do these foodstuffs help hindgut ulcers? As in - mechanism of action?
Succeed is a formula of soild oil and oat flour. It seems to get the to the hind gut. Some proprietary formula.
I believe papaya is the new “thing” in some of the barrel racing world for ulcers.
Lots of things are plausible for coating and calming stomach ulcers that don’t make sense for treating hind gut ulcers because for something to get to the hind gut, it has to not get digested in the small intestine.
Same with people. There are many things to drink or eat like tums that work directly on stomach acid but if you had bowel problems tums wouldn’t be of much use.
Really. Do people think Succeed works for hind gut ulcers? It’s:
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Crude Protein (Min)[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]12.08%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Threonine (Min)[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]1.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Glutamine* (Min)[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]1.44%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Crude Fat (Min)[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]28.96%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Crude Fiber (Max)[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]1.79%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Ingredients (Granular): Oat Flour, Oat Oil, Irradiated Dried Yeast, L-Threonine, L-Glutamine, Guar Gum.
Guaranteed Analysis (Paste Formula):
Crude Protein (min)- 8.32%
Threonine (min)- 1.75%
Glutamine* (min)- 1.40%
Crude Fat (min)- 44.72%
Crude Fiber (max)- 3.28%
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient for horses
Ingredients (Paste): Oat Oil, Oat Flour, Sunflower Oil, Irradiated Dried Yeast, L-Threonine, L-Glutamine, Guar Gum.
OK, Smartpack cites some older research, I’ll have to check it out. One is:
Estrada A, Yun CH, Van Kessel A, et al. Immunomodulatory activities of oat beta-glucan in vitro and in vivo. Microbiol Immunol.1997;41(12):991-8.
I wonder how this ties to ulcers, but will check it out. Thanks!
Well, Succeed has been discussed on COTH a number of times. I’ve never needed it so never really investigated the claims. Of course one important part of the puzzle is that hind gut ulcers are hard to definitively diagnose, unlike stomach ulcers that are easily scoped.
So a certain number of cases of hibdgut ulcers are just “suspected” and are in fact imaginary.
That means a treatment for them doesn’t need to be effective :).
Thanks for the discussion. Was hoping to wean him off the 3 different meds currently on and replace with natural alternatives for maintenance. Unfortunately, he has lesions from esophagus to the hind gut so healing is going to take some time…
How have you confirmed the hind gut lesions?
My understanding is that stomach ulcers clear up relatively fast with medication and proper management. What lifestyle changes have you made?
Also stomach ulcers and hindgut ulcers are different things brought on by different problems.
As far as weaning off meds, let the meds do their work and then try other supplements for maintenance once he is cured. I’ve heard that the meds for stomach ulcers that decrease stomach acid production can have a negative impact on the hind gut because of how they disrupt digestion. So once tthe stomach ulcers scope as cured, I would think you’d want to discontinue those meds.
Hindgut problems are often connected to too much undigested starch getting past the small intestine into the colon where it disturbs the gut flora so I would certainly reduce real grain during this period.
Sorry, what I meant to say is that I would like to use natural alternatives for maintenance AFTER he has healed. No plans to discontinue meds. I am adding a variety of herbs to his multiple mushes throughout the day and was hoping someone could simply help me with how much banana powder to feed… Endoscopy confirmed lesions, Succeed manure test confirmed blood most likely due to hind gut ulcers.
Wow. From esophagus to hind? I’m just curious what causes this? What is he on now? Prayers for poor little guy 
Thanks Tanny98, for your kind words. It has been stressful, frustrating and exhausting with the numerous trips to the barn to administer meds and mix up his mush meals. I am learning as I go and have had to do my research and be strong with the vets - insisting on certain tests. Lots of things can cause ulcers - travel, training, competing, lack of turnout, too long between feedings, to name a few. Not sure what caused it in our case. Most likely, travel and competing. Thanks again!
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Oh I am so sorry. I was just curious as I’ve never heard of them that bad but it doesn’t surprise me. I have one who I watch like a hawk and know the minute
he starts acting funny that it’s tummy issues. We are going through it now as he just got over the flu and now is having issue. I have a recipe containing aloe Vera juice, Metamucil, baking soda and tums and friend gave me we are going to try. I am really surprised at the effectiveness of Benonite clay as I’ve used that after treating with traditionals to clear the initinal outbreak, but mind you I’ve never had a vet tell me they suspected hind gut ulcers in him. I’ve only ever had him scoped once. Now when I start seeing changes in his habits and behaviors I already know and just start treating. My vet knows this horse well though.
My understanding of how Succeed works isn’t by coating the gut like we think of coating the stomach for ulcers(thanks Maloxx commercials). Rather it slows down digestion on the front end so that food that reaches the hindgut has had a better chance to digest and isn’t as harsh on the hindgut. So this isn’t so much about other products reaching the hindgut, but rather finding products to slow down how quickly food is digested. It also allows for more nutrient absorption so often you will see coat and other things improve when you slow down the digestive process.
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It is exhausting, been there done that. You might try posting this in the Horse Care section - you’ll get more answers.
Hang in there.
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Ok that makes sense and is interesting!
Does it slow the passage of food through the small intestine? How does that work? Will the small intestine hold onto its load until the fat in Succeed is fully absorbed? In that case would any oil supplement do the same job?
