I know that horses with gastric ulcers generally are given low doses of ulcerguard for a few days before and after a stressful event to try and head off an ulcer flare. What do those of you do who have horses with hind gut ulcers who are treated with sucralfate? Do you use that protocol but with sucralfate instead?
I have my ulcer/hind gut ulcer -prone horse on hind gut ulcer support always. He gets SmartDigest Ultra and Apple Cider Vinegar on his grain every day always. I add omeprazole (gastrogard) at shows along with a chinese herb for stomach support, but the hind gut ulcer protocol never changes.
I don’t think that hind gut ulcers are typically developed in a short term situation and out of stress like stomach ulcers. So I don’t think you would need to do the before/during/wean-off-after process. I think it’s simply - if your horse has HGU, you put them on something (sucralfate, succeed, SDU, etc.) and if they don’t you don’t. Or you do what I do - my horse had them and so he’ll stay on a HGU-friendly diet forevermore.
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My guy had HGU - he will probably stay on that supplement forever. It’s basically the Equishure product but made by a local feed store. I agree that they aren’t something that develops in short term. I suspected he had something going on in his hind gut last summer but treating for ulcers last fall really seemed to aggravate that problem. I’d encourage anyone who is using omeprazole to use a hind gut supplement as well.
My horse is prone to developing gastric ulcers from stress. I’m weaning him off his latest dose of omeprazole now and the nutritionist I work with recommend putting him on brewer’s yeast to help him manage stress. In the mornings (or a couple days before) I know we’re doing something a bit stressful, he gets a good dose in his morning meal. Apparently B vitamins help horses manage stress better and brewer’s yeast is a good source of B vitamins. I wasn’t sure I was a big believer but since being on brewer’s yeast, he is definitely less anxious - particularly when hauling.
Again I agree it’s not a short term issue. Alfalfa hay buffers the hind gut pretty well as does equishure.
There is no clinical evidence to back up what I am about to say, just my own observation on a very few horses. My feed store was doing a free trial of purina OUTLAST for horses with known ulcer issues. A few of us had horses with hind gut symptoms as well. I have not used succeed or smart guard or any similar product except U guard many years ago.
All of us who tried the outlast have been very pleased. You can feed a lot, up to six times a day. I feed it three times a day now with feedings as a top dressing and once alone at bedtime.
I was going to wait to start it until his GG taper was over and maybe not even try it at all as I’m not a Purina fan but I panicked when he had to go back on equioxx and started it then.
Dex was on GG for two months. He still had strong reactions to you touching his flank area.(like kick your head off strong) After a 1/2 bag of outlast it stopped. And he has not appeared tender since then. I did have one very mild episode of gas colic after starting it. I later discovered that the DH had purchased the wrong horse feed and dumped it in the bin. Pellets look like pellets so he got switched all at once to a different feed…:no: it didn’t prevent that episode but it’s the first time he hasn’t had to be hospitalized with an episode though I can’t say it would have been worse without the OUTLAST.
A few of the people who trialed it reported previously acidic manure PH increased to neutral so that MIGHT indicate it offers some hindgut buffering as well. I didn’t start testing ph until I was well into the second bag so I can’t speak to that first hand.
Just tossing it out as option as it is certainly more cost effective than some of the other available buffering supplements.
My trainer does sufalcrate like a half an hour before they jump, both at home and competing. She also does 1/2 tube of ulcerguard before they get on the trailer and each day they are away, and some of them get Ranitidine daily at home. She felt that injectable Ranitidine made the biggest difference with the horse with the most noticeable issues.
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