Does anyone feed Protek GI as a preventative without seeing symptoms and without scoping? Ive heard a really high % of show horses have ulcers and Im wondering if I should feed it. Im VERY hesitant to feed unnecessary supplements, but this one has some actual science behind it. For background these are low level eventers competing 1x a month, trailering to lessons, horses out on pasture 8+ hrs a day together. The possible signs i’ve seen: horses clearly stressed out when a friend leaves barn at home or at shows, some very lite teeth grinding by the OTTB and one horse with mild diarrhea traveling. Everybody seems generally happy and Im not one to feed a lot of supplements (feed is lots of roughage, ration balancer, flax, and magnesium). I like the gut health properties of Protek GI and I thought I should try it. Im not sure what I should expect to see so I was wondering if others are feeding it as a preventative?
It better do something spectacular at that price! Ouch.
I wouldn’t spend that kind of money on even a scientifically proven supplement for this, when there are no symptoms at all.
Instead, I’d focus on a very gut-friendly diet and management. Feed as low in NSC as is reasonable, that still affords her the energy she needs for the job. So, likely less than 20%, less than 15% if possible. That amount of work doesn’t need 6lb+ of a >20% NSC feed. And, you’re doing that.
the symptoms you describe are normal anxiety/stress symptoms, and if they only happen in those situations, a gut product isn’t going to prevent that.
The anxiety when another horse leaves can be improved with training, which does take some time
As someone who uses this supplement, and am borderline evangelical about, I actually agree with JB completely.
It really doesn’t sound like you have a problem based on what you wrote above. If you’re still concerned, you should scope to be sure. Or try a round of gastrogard to see if the limited systems you see disappear.
I live in Southern California, and while I’ve addressed diet, I’m really limited with what I can do about turnout. All the horses I have on it have had ulcers before. I will probably put any new horses on it, but they are not as lucky as yours in terms of lifestyle. Hopefully someday soon when I can leave here.
