Favorite ulcer healing/preventative supplements?

[forestergirl99]

I’m moving barns, and my horse will go from being out 24/7 to being in a stall as well as getting turned out. He’ll also be training harder and going to more shows. He’s always been a sensitive, tendency to be anxious type guy, and although he shows no signs of ulcers atm, I want to put him on a supplement that could help heal any minor irritations he currently has and help prevent the development of ulcers.

The supplement needs to be available through Smarkpak as that is how he gets his supplements, preferably pelleted or available in pellets(picky, picky), and I’d love it to be $30 or less a month. I have been looking at the SmartGut though. Any thoughts on it?

Thanks guys!

[Acertainsmile]

I’m a fan of U7, used it on my horses at the track, and actually had the same results as Gastroguard. I’ve only used the liquid and dosed it, horses love the taste! It also comes in powder form from Smartpak.

[batman_the_horse]

Have you tried Stomach Soother? It’s a papaya/aloe vera juice mix. Plain aloe vera juice works too. They both have to be refrigerated after opening - don’t know if that is a problem.

[besum1]

I know it doesn’t fit under your requirements list (from Smartpak or pelleted) but I have been using Papaya Juice (vet recommended this) very successfully with my horse who was diagnosed with Ulcers and it’s been cleared up since then. It’s ~$10 a bottle (depending on where you get it) and I use between 1 and 2 a month (depending on stress load) so it fits under your price range, it’s pretty palatable so your horse will probably enjoy it and actually eat it, but it does have to be refrigerated after opening (which can be a pain).

This website is pretty informative about various ways to mange the Ulcery horse http://www.lunatunesfreestyles.com/horse_ulcers.htm

My horse’s diet is pretty regulated, I try to keep him away from processed feeds b/c they can be hard on a horse’s digestion (increases acid production) but i know that not every barn is able or willing to feed your horse special feeds. So just read up on lots of Ulcer info and ask your vet what you can do. There are lots of theories, and I think some work for certain horses and not for others, so good luck with your ulcer med search!

[Equino]

I vote for TractGard! I first came upon this product when I took on a boarder who was recovering from colic surgery. She was not a big drinker and was recently off the track so we were concerned about ulcers. We swore it helped her and when I took in another recovering from colic surgery boarder who also was not a big drinker, I started her on it as well.

http://reviews.smartpakequine.com/7493/89/tractgard-reviews/reviews.htm?sort=reviewTextLength&dir=asc

[Green_Acres]

After I used Ulcergard on my horse for 28 days, I put her on Smartgut. She’s been on Smartgut for over a year and so far all is good.

Whenever I show, she gets a full tube of Ulcergard daily as a preventative. This year I gave her a tube Friday & Saturday when showing on the weekend. I think this year I may start her on it the day before we leave for a show then through the show.

[GingerJumper]

I love Chia seeds. I know it sounds totally ridiculous, but they really have worked in my ulcer-ish TB, plus since starting them I’ve noticed a huge change in his coat. The website is equinechia.com if anyone wants to go check it out.

[GrayCatFarm]

Another vote for U7 and 1 cup cold-pressed soy oil a.m. and p.m. Have heard good thing about papaya and aloe vera as well.

[mypaintwattie]

My horse is ulcer prone and stalled (no pasture here in SoCal) I’ve used u-gard in the past with good results, but switched to SmartGut a few months ago and have been very pleased with the results, she seems more comfortable and has even been cribbing less.

[nightsong]

Favorite ulcer preventative – pasture 24/7, and a happy life. It’s a symptom of stress, after all.

[Auventera_Two]

My Arab mare has been treated extensively for ulcers with Gastrogard. For her daily regime she has been on U-Gard, SmartDigest Ultra, and SmartCalm Ultra for a long time and is doing awesome. I did try some others and had no results with her having relapses so this is the regime that I have settled on.

I STRONGLY believe in the SmartCalm Ultra or at least adding in an additional 10,000 mg. of magnesium for ANY horse that might be on the hot, nervous side, and ulcer prone. If I had everything to do all over again over the last 4 years, I would have gotten her on magnesium right away. Magnesium deficiency and ulcers go hand in hand and some people think that ulcers is actually a symptom of magnesium deficieincy.

Keeping any grain/sweet feed to an absolute minimum is critical as well. High sugar = more stomach acid. Feed soaked no-molasses beet pulp instead. Use a low starch pelleted grain as a flavoring. Triple Crown Low Starch, Wellsolve L/S, or even Strategy Healthy Edge or Ultium in amounts of no more than about 1-2 pounds a day is ok also.

If you can add some alfalfa into the hay ration, that’s excellent. Get about 5 lbs. per day into the diet. Use pellets or cubes soaked with your beet pulp, if you have to.

You can use corn oil and ground flax seed if you need more calories and fat.

Go over to Horse Care and post this and you’ll probably get a lot of responses

And FWIW - pasture and 24/7 turnout is not enough to help horses in full time work.

[jvlfrenzy]

I have had better luck with Tums than anything else. My big TB also tends to be very anxious and has had trouble with ulcers before. The Tums were one of the few things he would eat and they are readily available and cheap so I’m happy. He gets 5 in his grain morning and night and hasn’t had any sign of an ulcer since I started him on it 2 years ago!

[forestergirl99]

[QUOTE=nightsong;6053913]
Favorite ulcer preventative – pasture 24/7, and a happy life. It’s a symptom of stress, after all.[/QUOTE]

I wish that was an option, but it’s not(the 24/7 turnout part. not the happy life, obviously). However, he’s on 24/7 turnout right now, and though he really likes it, he still manages to find thinks to stress out over. Like deer. And rain. And ghosts that no one else can see. So even 24/7 turnout isn’t totally stress free for him. I still do wish it was an option though.

[forestergirl99]

[QUOTE=Auventera Two;6053926]
My Arab mare has been treated extensively for ulcers with Gastrogard. For her daily regime she has been on U-Gard, SmartDigest Ultra, and SmartCalm Ultra for a long time and is doing awesome. I did try some others and had no results with her having relapses so this is the regime that I have settled on.

I STRONGLY believe in the SmartCalm Ultra or at least adding in an additional 10,000 mg. of magnesium for ANY horse that might be on the hot, nervous side, and ulcer prone. If I had everything to do all over again over the last 4 years, I would have gotten her on magnesium right away. Magnesium deficiency and ulcers go hand in hand and some people think that ulcers is actually a symptom of magnesium deficieincy.

Keeping any grain/sweet feed to an absolute minimum is critical as well. High sugar = more stomach acid. Feed soaked no-molasses beet pulp instead. Use a low starch pelleted grain as a flavoring. Triple Crown Low Starch, Wellsolve L/S, or even Strategy Healthy Edge or Ultium in amounts of no more than about 1-2 pounds a day is ok also.

If you can add some alfalfa into the hay ration, that’s excellent. Get about 5 lbs. per day into the diet. Use pellets or cubes soaked with your beet pulp, if you have to.

You can use corn oil and ground flax seed if you need more calories and fat.

Go over to Horse Care and post this and you’ll probably get a lot of responses

And FWIW - pasture and 24/7 turnout is not enough to help horses in full time work.[/QUOTE]

Thank you SO much for all this information. He is actually on Quiessence(16,000mg Mag.) which has helped him chill out a lot, but I didn’t realize Mag. helped prevent ulcers. Maybe that’s part of the reason he’s calmed down as he used to also not eat as well as he does now and be a lot more antsy under saddle. As for grain, he gets Strategy Healthy Edge. He was on Ultium, but gained a good 50 lbs on the Healthy Edge which was fantastic since it’s also cheaper! I’ll see if it’ll be possible to give him some alfalfa at the new barn as I highly doubt he would go for soak cubes or beet pulp. He LOVES good quality hay though. He’d rather have that than treats. Weirdo. :lol:

[Darden]

Blue pop rocks from Mumbai. http://www.omeprazoledirect.com/ He gets a package a day and it has cleared up his very, very bad ulcers. I have heard that some people cut back to 3x a week for maintenance.

[reay6790]

My horse has a few things that help greatly:

most important for stall life:
-freedom feeder restricted free choice hay net - mimicks pasture grazing, extremely easy to use, and safe (fb page below for more info)

-compounded buffered omeprazole from my precision pharm (blue pop rocks work very similarly)
-1/4 scoop alfalfa pellets before riding to absorb acid and keep it from splashing in the stomach in the unlined part of the stomach
-low starch feed
-gastrogard or ranitidine before deworming - infact, just do fecals and don’t deworm if not necessary

I have gone through 4+ rounds of 28d gastrogard…i finally spent about a year researching and this is the best plan i have come up with and my horse is on a full show schedule and has been healthy for over a year now since changing his diet and the way he eats hay

[MintHillFarm]

[QUOTE=Equino;6052212]
I vote for TractGard! I first came upon this product when I took on a boarder who was recovering from colic surgery. She was not a big drinker and was recently off the track so we were concerned about ulcers. We swore it helped her and when I took in another recovering from colic surgery boarder who also was not a big drinker, I started her on it as well.

http://reviews.smartpakequine.com/7493/89/tractgard-reviews/reviews.htm?sort=reviewTextLength&dir=asc[/QUOTE]

I have a mare on TractGard and I am very pleased. I did this after a colic episode.

I have recently used GastroGuard for one that had surgery and wasn’t eating. I asked Cornell to put him on something and this worked beautifully. He was on it only for 8 days or so. I would suggest the TractGuard for daily use…

[myvanya]

I have tried U-Gard and Smart Digest Ultra in the past. They were useful but he still seemed to have symptoms on occasion (at whichpoint I would do additional treatment)

I recently switched to Tract guard and am finding my horse seems happier on it and hasn’t shown any symptoms since and it has the advantage of the electrolytes as well.

I also feed my horse some tums before and after every ride. He was getting alfalfa but now that he is on the tract guard he seems fine without it so he is just on regular grass hay now. He does have hay at all times since his hay ration is generous and he isn’t a fast eater.

[Katjianna]

I use SmartGut and am very pleased with it, but will say that I noticed an even bigger difference when I combined it with their digestive pellet as well. SmartDigest Ultra. My guy is a sensitive TB cross.

[PaintedHunter]

Aloe juice over the feed can also help, and it’s low-cost.