I care for a horse that stresses internally and can get off his feed and be grouchy because of his stomach. He has been on daily omeprazole but it is so expensive. Looking for tasty alternative to add to feed that a picky horse might like. What have used that you have had great luck with?
I have 3 products that I love:
- Ulcer Eraser (www.equineelixirs.com)
- THE Equine Edge Gastro Plus
- Dr. Xie Jingtang’s Chinese Herbs - Stomach Happy
And then I suppose I should mention SmartDigest Ultra.
I have 2 very ulcery horses. One is my OTTB who shows at the GP level. I’ve posted about him MANY times here. I started him on omeprazole years ago and wound up causing gas colics/hind gut ulcers as a result of the daily omeprazole. That sent me into a scramble to find products that could allow him to manage his stomach episodes without omeprazole. He lives on SmartDigest Ultra year round and then when I go to shows I add in the Gastro Plus and the Ulcer Eraser.
My other is a WB mare who is very much the high strung/reactive type. She lives on Ulcer Eraser and when I go to shows I add in the Gastro Plus.
And then I mention the Stomach Happy because it was my go-to for years and years. I started backing off of it simply because it’s expensive. But it’s super effective, and it allowed me for a long time to have horses on omeprazole for 1-2 weeks at a show(s) and then cut it off cold turkey with no negative effects (I’d feed the Stomach Happy for 1-2 weeks after returning home).
All 4 of the above products are super palatable. I haven’t had issues getting my picky horses eating any of them.
Appreciate your thorough response. Anyone use Assure Guard Gold? Was just informed about it by a rep at a show. I just don’t want to invest so much $ in a product for fear this horse won’t eat, as it has happened a few times.
I checked out the Ulcer Eraser because it seems to be popular. Where is the data that demonstrates it does something? I see that they posted studies that show individual ingredients do something positive for gut health but nothing to say they can prove using this product will help gut health. It is pricey and I would use other treatments like alfalfa hay (or hay with calcium) lots of turn out, constant grazing/hay, limited Banamine/bute/, Sucralfate before rides, etc.
I also am a huge fan of Ulcer Eraser. I didn’t worry about data when I made my decision as I saw it drastically improve the lives of three horses at our barn. I became the 4th and within a month my gelding FINALLY started gaining back his weight and stopped pecking at his right side. One horse went from horribly grouchy and difficult to as pleasant as can be. One was also skinny and stressed and gained weight back nicely. The third had constant colic episodes which stopped. The only dietary change was adding this supplement. I started in December and noticed a slight different by end of January and the side pecking was completely gone. By March I no longer needed to use a half-pad with my saddle (which was custom fit for him before he was forced on the stall rest which caused him so much stress). There was no pasture grass to influence the weight gain as it was winter.
It worked for me and I have it on auto-ship.
They are super nice. Perhaps reach out to them with specific questions you have?
I agree with atl_hunter. The products I listed are all ones with which I’ve seen a significantly noticeable difference in my nervous type and/or ulcer-prone horses. I’ve fed many, many others, including ones like Purina Outlast that many friends suggested (and I saw zero difference with). The biggest “tell” for me is how the horses adjust to being at shows. The two horses I mention above have 3 reactions to being at shows: 1) no product - they turn into antsy neurotic-types that are distracted and difficult to manage the whole time 2) a product that helps, but not enough - they turn into antsy neurotic-types for the first couple of days and then level out 3) with the products listed above - they stay calm and collected through the transportation and start of the show and are manageable the whole time. IOW, the products I like make omeprazole unnecessary.
On a side note, I do still occasionally add omeprazole to their diets if it’s a big and/or important show. I know I come across as anti-omeprazole often, but I think it has its uses, just not as a daily/long-term feed additive. And through the second half of last season (and first part of this season), I’ve managed both of my stress-type horses with only the products listed above. And I didn’t mention it, but I also feed them a flake of alfalfa a day and apple cider vinegar (usually 1 oz 2x a day).
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Very valuable info. I am not against omeprazole except if it seems like the horse needs it every day or problems will start happening. Looking for a better solution for this horse. Thank you.
Very interesting and good to know.
Interesting… my mare is on Ranitidine. She got to a point where she was very spooky and upset and the trainer thought Ranitidine would be better than the Omeprazole. It worked like a charm and now I’m down to about every other day of giving her ranitidine. But I have she has very loose stool, but doesn’t seem ulcery like she did before. I was thinking about adding probiotics, or do you think I could still be dealing with an ulcer type of irritation? Now I’m thinking the ulcer erase might be a better choice.
If you search my old posts you’ll find my many many descriptions of what omeprazole did to my horse. And ranitidine is not significantly different. Short story is that the long term omeprazole use led to hind gut ulcers (which ultimately ended with Right Dorsal Colitis/colics). A common symptom of hind gut ulcers is loose manure. I no longer feed anything that reduces stomach acid without a product to help the hind gut (e.g. Succeed, SmartDigest Ultra, etc). But in an ideal situation (which I know things often are not), I no longer go to omeprazole (or anything similar) at home or for longer than a few days.
Check out Purina’s Outlast. Lots of research. I work for a farm store chain, and we sell a TON of it, way more than any of the other ulcer products that we offer.
Yah! Thanks! Colitis colic is my current concern! Though, I will say she will have a well formed stool, then have a ploppy one. Kind of unexplainable, and she’s not on Ranitidine daily-just every other or second day. But, who knows, it could still be the cause. @PNWjumper - do you think stopping the Ranti. and adding some Probiotics would help in short order. Smart pak could take 10 days to get here. Thanks.
I would also add we recently added electrolytes for the summer, but I’ve never seen those create bad stools??
