@Angela Freda agreed. I can stem them in myself for a bit with a lot of dairy (milkshakes preferred), but that doesn’t do anything to heal them. Interestingly, Ranitidine does nothing for me other than make me ill, but it’s been wonderful for my mare. She even eats the pills with her soaked alfalfa - she is super picky and typically eats almost NO supplements or meds of any kind.
I use ranitidine or famotidine for the acromegaly cat, when his BG is all over the map, making his tummy upset, and/or off food.
We both know how fast unable to eat can turn into sour stomach, and worse
Update: we are still struggling. He’s now on day turnout. When he’s in, he has free choice 3rd cutting western alfalfa and western orchard grass (also top quality). Two massive piles that are hardly touched most nights. Outside, he has two friends and a roundbale (rarely see him eating the round bale). He has a bucket of senior feed — literally free choice all night. He got a full tube of ulcergard for a month and a half, now getting a half tube each day. Vet has been out and pulled blood — everything was normal. Teeth were floated. Fecal checked. I stopped his supplements incase he didn’t like them. Tried triple crown alfalfa forage but he doesn’t like it. I’m so frustrated and out of ideas. I’ve spent a fortune of my own money trying to help this horse and it hasn’t made an ounce of difference. I’m hoping the grass will help. Is there anything else to try? He is not depressed or lethargic in any way.
Now that you know he’s not eating the free-choice hay provided, I would try different types of hay until you find one he eats, to start. Try Timothy, try Brome, Bermuda, Tifton, Peanut, etc, whatever you can get your hands on. I’ve noticed an odd number of horses here in Florida who either do not like the Orchard in O/A mixes, or it makes them super gassy, and I believe most all of the O/A down here is shipped in from the west. In comparison, the standard “grass hay” in Ohio was usually Orchard or an Orchard/Timothy mix, and I never knew a single horse to have a problem with it. IDK if it’s because the Western stuff gets fertilized, if it’s just the soil differences, or what, but the Orchard here is definitely not the same as Orchard was in Ohio.
Otherwise, sounds like you’ve exhausted most all your options other than the extremely expensive ones, unfortunately. Did the vet provide an opinion on additional options?
No, vet is out of ideas. The round bale is local Timothy. I have two different local orchard grasses too. He simply doesn’t have an appetite. The western orchard and alfalfa are separate — not mixed. I don’t know anyone in the area who sells any other types of hay but I’ll ask around.
He probably can’t eat hay. I would make him a small pen where he is close to other horses all the time and feed him free choice complete senior feed. Offer hay but really he won’t get any calories from it. Also offer a decadent sweet feed, the molasses full kind, in large amounts twice a day. When they reach this point, I definitely go for calories in despite some colic risk. I have been doing retiree boarding a long time.
also try stuff like adding syrup/maple syrup instant oatmeal/etc. mix up the food you offer, some like variety. Whatever they will eat. Hay will NOT work for some when elderly because they can’t chew or digest it. I am a free choice hay person but at some age it won’t work any more.
Ranitidine or Nexium for potential ulcers. Bill the owner. Bill the owner for extraordinary feed costs. You aren’t a charity. I have in my contract that I can bill for such treatments or I will terminate the retirement board. I can’t stand to see a horse suffer.
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I guess I assumed his teeth were fine to eat hay since OP said they were floated, but that is a possibility too. Could try to soak hay pellets or soaked Senior/completed feeds.
I would have vet out. To me - reading what you have posted - something is up. If vet gives all clear, then try rice bran pellets, a senior feed or when I had to fatten up my horse, I free fed something called All-in-One which is a chopped alfalfa and molasses mix. Easily chewed and highly digestible/palatable. I also agree with @mmeqcenter about the antacid. Good luck to you and poor Mr Skinny.
Omeprazole.
Sounds like he was happier on 24/7 turnout with 1 buddy.
Is he eating the senior feed you keep in his bucket at night?
When my old man’s teeth went to pot, our go-to was a high-fat high-fiber senior feed, soaked beet pulp, and timothy/alfalfa cubes. I may have overlooked it in the list of Mr. Skinny’s dislikes, but have you tried soaked beet pulp?
Do do you have access to Buckeye feeds? I’ve gotten positive feedback from people using the Ultimate Finish 40% fat supplement for picky hard keepers, not only for palatability but putting weight on in tough conditions.
My old TB was the same. In perfect health but a stress case who would not eat. I finally in desperation put him on MagRestore at 3x the normal dose and he started to eat. He was on it til the day he died, and just 2-3 days off it and he was a huge mess again.
He was also happiest out in the herd, so I fed him with a nosebag in pasture. The only time he was actually fat was when he spent 6 mos in a stall with an infection tho - and he lost that weight back in pasture but he was happy and in good shape for an old TB.
Best of luck - I know it’s stressful.
