If my previous experience with Wedgewood is any indication, they don’t release pricing to regular people. Your vet will need to call and ask.
But hopeful that you get a response! Keep us posted!
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My horse is a 16.1hh WB who weighs about 580kg (approx 1,300 pounds). He is receiving 20ml of the 100mg/ml as a treatment dose. I’ll be doing treatment for 5 weeks then dropping to maintenance dose of 10ml, then hopefully dropping to just dosing before stressful events or in response to him showing ulcer symptoms (he stops being willing under saddle as his first signal).
In Australia a 20ml bottle is A$160 from my vets - the company producing it is Bova in association with Luoda Pharma.
Today was second dose … tomorrow is competition time! Usually just seeing the horse trailer is enough to set off symptoms … so we’ll see how he goes! Luckily the venue is close to home so if he starts to go downhill fast or colic I can get him home quickly. He’s also going out with his paddock mate - which might already help him - as we wont separate them (the paddock mate will be held near the arena … it’s an unofficial low level comp … not something that I’d do in a proper competition … but given it’s been 4 years and last time he went down in the warm up … I’ll try anything!).
I’d actually originally planned to do this competition on a high dose of the paste - just happened my vet had the injectable form available … so it’s changed what we’re testing!
They mention side effects at the injection site: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/ukve.2018.2.S1.3
but I assume that is the same for nearly anything you inject! So far my horse has shown no signs of swelling in response to his single dose (second dose went in this morning so I’ll keep checking!). It is a really thick fluid that requires lots of pressure to get it in!!! I will be following the research to find out about other side-effects. Though for me … the current side-effects of him not getting effective treatment is either colic or I buy a new horse … I’m hoping they aren’t significant!
I’ve got another horse who had a huge reaction at an injection site, requiring the removal of a jugular vein - so I am very careful!
They test omeprazole concentration in plasma - so isn’t that seeing how effective it is at getting into the blood stream vs stomach? Aren’t the protein pumps are inhibited by changing the synaptic response of the cells? (my biology is starting to struggle beyond this level! Too much neuroscience cellular knowledge, not enough organ knowledge!).
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All PPIs work on Na+/K+ ATPases (proton pumps) by the same mechanism, which is binding to the the proton pump, and inducing a permanent conformational change which inactivates it. The capacity for acid secretion is then diminished until the acid secreting cell can replace the pump (24-48 hours in humans), which is much longer than the plasma half life of the drug.
If you’re interested in super nerding out on how they work in the GI tract, pharmacologically speaking, I’d recommend Goodman and Gilman’s Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. https://www.amazon.com/Goodman-Gilmans-Pharmacological-Therapeutics-Twelfth/dp/0071624422
Thank you!
Took my horse to a competition today … given it’s been about 4 years since he last went to a competition venue (has been to lessons in an indoor) I’m mighty impressed. He kept eating as I plaited him up in the morning, he didn’t projectile diarrhea, he didn’t paw in the trailer/float, he didn’t kick at his stomach. He ate at the venue, he drank, he wasn’t fussy and wiggly. He warmed up on a dropped rein. Totally cool in the warm up with other horses around him. But … by the time we got into the test (and most likely my fault) I knew he was starting to hurt a bit (tail swishing) and after the first trot circle he ground his teeth; kept him going a tiny bit more but went to the canter transition and he said NO! So I retired!
But I’m so excited!! Last time we only walked to the warmup and he started kicking his stomach and going down. Given he’s only been on the meds for just over a week (plus about 4 days of pasting beforehand), his ulcers wouldn’t have healed, let alone any developing with new anxiety. I was happy to just get into the ring, we managed to do 1/2 the test … completing the test can be a work in progress! And I really wasn’t very fair with him, he hasn’t even been on the trailer for 12 months … throwing him in the deep end was a bit mean. We’ll now do some lower stress outings and keep up the injectable omeprazole (hopefully with a scope in a couple of weeks). This really was his last chance to show that it was worth trying to compete (I can’t justify hurting my horse or killing him with colic just so I can play dressage!) … it’s given me some hope that we’ll keep trying!
On the way home he has ALWAYS pawed in the trailer when we got to our road … I spent months trying to trick him by taking him out multiple times a week and driving home different ways or going past home etc … but always “bang bang bang” down the road for the last 7 years … today he didn’t make a squeak!
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@DressageDreamerInAust did your horse have a third dose of the IM Omeprazole? How is he doing? All your updates and information are greatly appreciated
My trainer just purchased it for 2 of her horses. They got their first injection a few days ago. I can report back and let you know how well it works.
Dani0303 it would be great to hear someone else’s experience with it, do let us know how your trainer goes.
Dose 4 went in today! Next week we scope!
Really impressed at how he’s come back from his competition. Usually it takes 2-3 weeks for me to be able to start to do collected work again (for example: after a lesson, using the paste, it’s at least 2 weeks long and low, no circles smaller than 15m), this time it was 4 days!! I also had a “goosebumps” ride yesterday - massive power and engagement, soft off the leg, balanced and stunning! Been a long time since we had one of those.
Unfortunately we’ve had a bit of a stressful week which set off his fence walking again (he had to be moved paddocks at short notice and then we’ve had horses coming and going … fairly unusual for my quiet place). So I don’t feel he’s “cured” and I don’t believe he will be the kind of horse that will go through one treatment cycle and get over stomach ulcers. He’s acting so much calmer (he’s already a VERY quiet horse!) and he no longer has very mild diarrhea (solid poops but juicy afters), his socks are staying white. Ulcers/acid will always be an ongoing issue for him (have been for the past 6 years!) and I’m going to have to work out what to do long term.
Can’t quite afford $160 a week … but to have my super star horse back? … maybe that’s what it costs!!! :eek: Given he’s an incredibly cheap horse to maintain otherwise (no feed costs, lives on grass, basic shoes etc) is this the price of keeping him healthy?
Next week’s scope will hopefully be really telling … does he still have ulcers? if so, what type? how bad? what next!!!
Have you considered talking to your vet about anxiolytic meds? Why continue to treat result of dz. vs. dz itself? Note, I am not saying do not treat his ulcers!
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100% agree about treating his anxiety and the causes of the ulcers rather than just reacting once the ulcers have formed. I’ve changed a number of things about his life that have reduced the stress … but unfortunately the biggest stressors for him are travelling and being pushed too hard under saddle. He now travels with a companion (which has made a huge difference) and I mostly stopped competing / having lessons to stop him travelling. Of course most effective anxiolytic meds are banned for competition which rules them out as a long term solution (and I’ve tried every single herb possible!!!). Have definitely spoken with my vets about other drugs - but given the things that set him off are varied and often unknown, we don’t have an easy solution.
He now has such a life long experience of ulcer pain that random things can set him off. Because he’s such a quiet horse … normal anxiety behaviours/symptoms are not present. One of his symptoms is he stops being forward under saddle (and I’m talking a minor unwillingness to canter, but will canter with a kick) … for another horse, this is nothing … for my boy, this is ulcers! If only ulcers were a wound on a leg, it would be easier!
It could take a tiny incident to start an ulcer … and then 4-6 weeks of treatment … and that’s hoping I caught the ulcer early.
To stop the problems causing the ulcers would mean turning him out and never riding again (and never moving another horse on the property, and hoping there are no weather changes, or maybe the wind blows in the wrong direction) … which is where I’m at. Do I stop trying? Should my insignificant aims of riding him come after his health? And I look out my window this morning … and he’s banging the gate because he wants to be ridden!!! He loves dressage … he loves dancing on the arena … I’ve never met a horse that squeals with excitement the way he does because we’re “playing”.
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There are studies showing that learning can occur with some non-competition approved sedatives. Once a good behavior is LEARNED, meds should not be needed to continue the behavior. Check into acepromazine, there may be others.
I’ve always said my horses can nearly live on air … well … took my boy in for the scope this morning … last night stabled him on a dirt floor for 14 hours (had a tiny bit of wood shavings in there) … get to the vet’s for the scope … and he has a stomach full of dirt and shavings!!! So they could only see if he had squamous ulcers - which he didn’t … but couldn’t get through to see if he had glandular ulcers - which are the ones that are much harder to treat and take longer to heal. VERY frustrating!! I took the day off work (which means no pay for me!) and the little piglet stuffed his stomach!!!
I did get to see two other horses scoped … one which wasn’t expected to have ulcers (another WB dressage horse) had tiny two squamous ulcers and mild glandular ulceration; another was a pony which had been treated for ulcers (including 2 doses of injected omeprazole a couple of weeks ago) and had previously been scoped to show severe ulceration 3 months ago and they were hoping it was healed - no squamous but it had quite red glandular ulcers.
The vet clinic is having a repeat scoping session in May … next time he’ll be muzzled!
He will be getting his 5th injection today, then I’m going to drop to half dose for a week or two … (which will also depend on outings etc) and then decide what to do next! He has had a swelling from last week’s injection site … doesn’t seem to hurt … but has been there for a week now. Vets weren’t concerned about it.
Bringing this thread back up to see if anybody’s tried treating ulcer this way and how it went. Anyone?
My horse got scoped again 2 weeks ago … given it has been nearly 6 months since we first tried the injectable omeprazole and he’s been “drug”-free for awhile, I was interested to see how he was going. He’s had some issues in the intervening months so I was concerned that even if we had managed to treat them the first time around, there could still have been reason for him to have developed them again. He’d had another person ride him and had started stopping for her (which used to be a big sign for him - refusing to move!).
At least this time I managed to get him to the vet with an empty stomach (!!!) … so we had a very clear scope … and lots of evidence of previous ulceration with much yellowing of the lining of the stomach but no active ulcers. But once we got deeper into the stomach … three mild glandular ulcers (raised welts but not bleeding).
sigh
Not surprising … but still disappointing to realise I do need to treat him again … and of course I wonder what I’m doing to my horse if this is occurring without us even doing anything really stressful!!! Back on the weekly injections. Really hoping we’ll get to scope again within about 7 weeks to see whether we can see if the glandular ulcers have been healed from the injections … as the research suggests that it can take even more than 8 weeks.
The medication has come down in price a little though … given it may have to be a long term solution for him if I want to ride … even a little bit helps!
I have another rescue horse that I’m using the omeprazole paste on (just because the charity has chosen this method - they are paying!) and it reminds me what a pain daily pasting and wasting it is!!!
Am I the only one whose horse doesn’t mind pasting? We did a lot of counter conditioning where sniffing the tube or letting me stick the tube into his mouth all the way got him cookies and attention. Now he stands still even for me to give him yucky stuff, and ulcergard really doesn’t taste that bad…I haven’t seen him spit any out so far and he’s been on it for two weeks.
Nope. My picky mare loooooved gastrogard. And she’s known to pout about being pasted with things she doesn’t like–holding the meds in her mouth and not swallowing, drooling it out, refusing to eat. :rolleyes: Drama queen. No problems with gastrogard.
Even with the compounded paste product from Precision…never any issues in any of mine.
But now I just do the nexium…
My gelding is notoriously picky but gobbles down Ulcerguard like it’s candy! He only gets Ulcerguard for showing as it’s prohibitivly expensive and for his daily maintenance is on generic omeprazole, which he also takes with no issues! You can jus5 walk up to his stall, he’ll hang his head out and open his mouth for the stuff! LOL
Honestly I would treat with 30 days of gastrogard, 2 weeks 1/2 tube, 1/4 tube daily after that. The vet once told me Some horses are chronically plagued with ulcers.
Ordered some of the injectable that should be arriving tomorrow. My horse didn’t respond to gastrogard so we’re giving her some more time but with the more effective versio n. Cost me $137 for weekly shot, so cheaper than gg.
