Horse is starting on Levamisole and Dequoquinate(? ) hopefully later this week and I was wondering if I should add a digestive supplement to help prevent ulcers or if that is not a concern with these meds like it is with Bute. She is currently getting 1/2 C aloe juice twice daily which keeps her happy. She also gets 4 feedings of hay a day (essentially free choice, although I may buy a net to hang just to be sure), about 1.5-2 lbs Renew Gold, High Point Grass from Horsetech, a joint supplement, and Contribute fish oil. I have used Uckele’s Gut in the past (smells AMAZING) but I think I want to move away from powdered supplements to make sure my money is at least getting into her belly and not all over the stall floor. I cannot afford to spend a fortune on something like ulcer guard or GG while also doing the EPM medicine but I will do what I can afford to.
I have used that combo many many times and never had it cause digestive upset.
Oh perfect! The two horses I know that are on it now are on Ulcer Guard as well and the one that just started it was already on Smart Digest so I wasn’t sure if it was from the EPM meds or one of their other ailments (such as being generally spooky/ anxious horses
There is a theory that ulcers contribute to the protozoa entering the bloodstream and contributing to the initial infection, so if the horse is ulcer prone it would be a good idea to heal any ulcers as well as kill the bugs and have an ulcer preventative plan. But the EPM meds themselves should not cause problems for the GI.
I would not give any supplements unless you ok it with the vet. Some supplements decrease the absorption of medications. You want the EPM meds to work! If you think the horse is ulcer prone, I would feed alfalfa in addition to his regular food.
IPEsq- I hadn’t heard of that! Although I was thinking something similar- stress is usually blamed for flare ups or the onset and as we know stress is often correlated with ulcers as well so I was thinking the two maybe related/ found together often. I may just put her back on the G. U. T. supplement for 60 or so days just to be sure.
AKB - I do havealfalfa cubes I was feeding her about a scoop of before working her and as a “treat” on off days (it is difficult to have Barn workers soak them long enough so I fed them myself) but I haven’t been giving her any recently. I will double check with vet, but when I mentioned starting an immune supplement he didn’t warn me of issues with absorption. Always good to double check though.
I’m not sure if anyone has proved it, but it’s not unusual for the protozoa to be ingested. But how it goes from there to the blood then the spinal fluid is where the ulcer connection came in. Some 20 years ago, they said “leaky gut syndrome” was the reason, which was even more vague, but that was really before we understood how prevalent gastric ulcers can be in horses.
If you have questions like the question about supplements and the decoquinate/levamisole, Pathogenes (Reddick, Florida) may be able to answer them. The meds may have come from them and they may have done your testing. I have called the vet there several times with questions, and she is great. My EPM horse has done well since his decoquinate/levamisole that came through them to the vet office.
