[QUOTE=Winding Down;7643089]
I keep forgetting that ranitidine is a proven ulcer preventative.[/QUOTE]
Proven where?
[QUOTE=Winding Down;7643042]
Omeprazole is worthless in treating ulcers unless it can actually get to the ulcers. [/QUOTE]
Omeprazole does not have to “get to the ulcers”.
It works by inhibition of the proton pump responsible for production of stomach acid.
[QUOTE=Winding Down;7642913]
I don’t understand why Abler hasn’t done this research. It would NOT be that expensive and surely they would have the funds from the profits of sales.
Fox Wood Farm: I have used ulcergard for years as a preventative and treatment without scoping and did so last summer when he showed behaviors that could have been due to ulcers. Worked great but who knows if he had ulcers all along even though he didn’t act or look like he did. But the same goes for claims that the drug works to treat ulcers based on behaviors and not scoping. If folks don’t want to take behavior as evidence of ulcers or lack thereof, then no one can claim that the pop rocks work at all… Can’t have it both ways. :)[/QUOTE]
OK - didn’t realize from your original post that you had years of experience with this horse and his symptoms. I’ve been struggling with this on a horse I haven’t had a year yet. When the vet suggested ulcers, I didn’t believe her so decided to scope. Vet was right. 3 pitting, bleeding ulcers. I treated with 30 days GG and then was tapering when some life stresses prompted me to go back to full dose GG for 2 weeks. It was at that point I decided to re scope and yes, the ulcers were fully healed.
So I can state that for my horse, I know he had ulcers and I know that treatment with GG cured them. I have some abler packets but have not yet used them at all. I would very much like to see some research from them. My vet told me to ask them for studies showing the blood concentration of omeprazole after dosing. I plan to ask them but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Actually if you contact Abler they have a number of before and after videos, quite a number are also listed on Youtube (here’s one http://youtu.be/zq_WjvpgDxs ).
My mare won’t touch the vet prescribed Ranitidine. However, she doesn’t have any issues with the generic from walmart. I think some of it might be that the pills are smaller and the coating tastes a bit better so not as big a deal for her to eat them and not pick around them like the larger pills I get from the vet.
[QUOTE=Winding Down;7643062]
ooops! You are right. For some reason, I was thinking that they were more expensive… Nonetheless, the research for this would NOT be expensive and I suspect that it has already been done…[/QUOTE]
They’ll never do it because they could never legally use the results to sell their product. To do that they would have to go through the whole process including CMC and file with the FDA. Why bother when they can just get away with selling what they have (which is not actually legal anyway).
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;7643142]
Omeprazole does not have to “get to the ulcers”.
It works by inhibition of the proton pump responsible for production of stomach acid.[/QUOTE]
My apologies for sloppy writing. I know that omeprazole is an acid pump inhibitor…
[QUOTE=Winding Down;7643062]
ooops! You are right. For some reason, I was thinking that they were more expensive… QUOTE]
This is why I am an Abler fan…I am not sure I could afford my two ulcer-prone horses if I had to use gastroguard/ulcerguard on both! It does seem to work for my horses and ulcerguard is just SO expensive. I am sorry they didn’t work for yours, that really sucks because it is a huge moneysaver. I understand your feelings though, I wouldn’t want to use it if it hadn’t worked either. It is good to hear your experiences so people know it doesn’t work for all horses.
I don’t use Abler constantly, I use Uckele GUT pellets as a maintenance product and use the omeprazole when they start showing discomfort. I do three weeks of Abler packets then go back to just the GUT. I also keep them on hay with a good bit of alfalfa in it. They are little princes but this seems to be working.
The GUT is a great product, my TBs have done so much better since I added it to their diets. I am not typically a supplements person but this has been a game-changer for them. My one TB now consents to be brushed and girthed around his middle without making faces at me most of the time. Amazing! It is not particularly cheap either, though, a little over $1 a day each.
Umm, if the supplement works so well, why do you need omeprazole when they “start showing discomfort”? Sounds like GUT isn’t all that effective.
[QUOTE=foggybok;7643871]
They’ll never do it because they could never legally use the results to sell their product. To do that they would have to go through the whole process including CMC and file with the FDA. Why bother when they can just get away with selling what they have (which is not actually legal anyway).[/QUOTE]
Exactly. And they also get all this free advertising on COTH 
I have used Ranititidine as a treatment and a preventative. Treatment is 3 times a day, which us challenging, but for me has been doable. Preventative is every 12 hours and a smaller dose. My Vet sets dosage by weight. I put the pills in a syringe and draw up some warm water into the syringe. In a couple hours it is a runny paste and easy to dose with the syringe.
