Horse is prone to rebounding ulcers. Treated with gastrogard at a full tube for five weeks, 1/2 tube for3 weeks, 1/3 tube for a month, 1/4 ongoing. I am considering taking him off of gastrogard and trying to manage him another way. His diet consists of vitamin mineral supplement low sugar orchard alfalfa and flax oil. He is a super easy keeper ulcers doesn’t change that. It would be great if I could here what works for others.
thanks in advance!
These are my thoughts from dealing with an ulcer prone horse.
But I think the biggest thing is to determine the cause of the stress. In your case, I’d say you probably will want to scope after completing treatment to make sure that any stubborn or lingering ulcers have completely healed.
Agree with the above.
Find the stressor. Environment? Is he a competition horse? What is his living situation like? Is he stalled? Ample turnout? Lives out? What’s his pasture like?
Another thing not mentioned is to keep forage in front of him at all times. Ulcer prone horses need to eat. If he’s rotund, let him have his allotted amount of alfalfa, and give him something less nutritionally dense like a first cutting timothy or orchard grass.
What grain is he on? You mentioned a vitamin supplement, is that a ration balancer? What is he eating and how much?
Any other supplements?
Diet is really important with these guys.
My mare is ulcer prone. She’s a very high energy chestnut mare. She’s a competition horse, so she gets gastrogard a few days prior to going to a horse show, and a few days after coming home. She is also an easy keeper. She eats one flake of alfalfa and has free choice orchard grass or grass mix at all times. Fortunately she isn’t messy with her hay. She eats what she wants and leaves the rest alone. She is stalled half the time and out half the time. She tends to worry when out for too long if it’s hot or too cold or in rain/precip. She does like being out all the time if the weather is nice (she’s been out for the last 48 hours here in Virginia.) When she’s out she’s with her two buddies, and she either has hay in front of her or she’s on grass. She is in pretty heavy work.
She does live at home, so I’m able to manage her. If she was at a boarding facility obviously it would be more difficult to manage.
I have yet to find an ulcer/gastric supplement that I’m impressed with. Currently she’s on Equine Elixirs Ulceraser. I was pleased with it at first. I started it while she was coming back to work from an injury. But as her workload has increased I’ve noticed small things that tell me her belly is probably not feeling great. She also gets aloe on her food (it’s cheap, don’t know that it really does much), and is on supplement that has probiotics in it.
I would make sure hind gut issues are addressed before assuming he’s a chronic stomach/foregut ulcer horse 
I think something like Equishure may help you now you are in 1/4 tube of omeprazole for a bit, then remove omeprazole and keep the Equishure at least for a little bit. Something like RiteTrac (Equishure plus an antacid) could help you in times of stress without using a PPI.
I think a good pro and prebiotic supplement helps. My horse is really sensitive to hay changes, so keeping him on something like that helps to prevent the GI upset that leads to more stress and flare ups. I like Platinum Balance, but you could use one of the Smartpak ones or Gutwerx from HorseTech. They have yeasts, probiotics, l-glutamine.
What kind of ulcers does he have? Squamous or pyloric? The omeprazole alone will not fully heal pyloric ulcers. I’ve had horses with both and once we got the ulcers healed and while we tapered the omeprazole I started them on Ulceraser, a great all natural supplement made by Equine Elixirs and they have been great with no rebound ulcers. We do give Gastro/ulcer guard when they travel or show.
I agree with the above notes. I will not treat ulcers without adding in a hind gut support supplement as well.
I have two ulcer-prone horses. The first is my TB I’ve posted about many times here (he colicked twice badly as a result of being on long-term omeprazole - in short, long term omeprazole led to hind gut ulcers led to bad gas colics). Typical TB-type stress case. Going to shows or changes in routine are what really set him off. And there’s no changing that. So after lots of trial and error (or maybe not “error” so much as “no change”), I’ve found what works best for him.
My second is a young WB mare who I imported this winter. She was a happy horse living out in a field with an old mare until she was a late 4yo. I think the stress of being brought into the barn and started and then imported long distance is what really set her off. I thought she was an super anxious type horse when I got her. But after a few months of playing around with her, I put her on my other horse’s ulcer program at a show and it was a complete night and day difference. I don’t really know what sets her off, but going away to shows frequently certainly doesn’t help matters!
Anyhow, I have an at-home routine and an at-shows routine:
Baseline (meaning all horses including non-ulcery horses) is that everyone gets free choice or 3-meal-a-day orchard grass, LMF Showtime Grain, and Platinum Performance. And all horses live out 24/7.
In addition to that, at home: 1 flake of alfalfa with morning feed, SmartDigest Ultra, 1 oz of Apple Cider Vinegar.
At shows: I add a Chinese herb called Stomach Happy, I increase the Apple Cider Vinegar, and I also add Lysine and Zinc (though I do that for all of the horses as a way to support their immune systems - not as something aimed at ulcers). If I think my big guy is still a little ulcery I will add omeprazole back into the mix as well. But I cut it cold turkey on the last day of the show, and as long as I have him on Stomach Happy he doesn’t seem to have any issues as a result. I keep feeding the Stomach Happy for a week or two after the shows as well.
Honestly the last gastroscope in May showed three small erosions margo plicatus it the rest of the stomach was clean. But I fear he may have a new ulcer now as has developed sensitivity over the flank. I could either try and get another gastroscope or treat him for a month on gastrogard or try and manage him either ways. The clinics a bit of a trailer ride and I don’t have my own trailer, so it’s expensive and stressful on him.
Took two full months of daily full tube ulcergard to clear my guy up. He was scoped three times.
After he was clear I used 6 tubes of ulcergard and a daily tube of suceed. Yup…like $380 a month? For a year and a half.
He’s an Eventer. He won almost always. So I continued to dish out the cash.
Then he was injured and had a year out of hard work. I didn’t give him all that stuff. Just pulled his shoes and tossed his butt out in a field with a mini donkey.
The two years out of competition fixed the ulcer issue.
Now I use BioSponge and benedryl as needed.
When he was young and ulcery he ate free choice alfalfa and ONE ENTIRE REG SIZED HORSE BUCKET of Triple Crown Senior or Growth per day. I gave a full bucket to him in the AM And he nibbled allll daaaay loooong.
He’s eight now. No tummy issues And he eats 1.25lbs of Enrich Plus and 2 flakes of alfalfa daily.
lol.
idk if the BioSponge works, or if he just grew out of his ulcers.
Or maybe it was the inclusion of Benedict, the mini donk.
But when he was ulcery, I tried a shit ton of products. Buying omeprazole from Wallmart. Pop Rocks. TracGard blah blah blah. None of that worked.
Buy some BioSponge. And Rescue a small donkey…or two.
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[QUOTE=PNWjumper;n9904546]
I agree with the above notes. I will not treat ulcers without adding in a hind gut support supplement as well.
I have two ulcer-prone horses. The first is my TB I’ve posted about many times here (he colicked twice badly as a result of being on long-term omeprazole - in short, long term omeprazole led to hind gut ulcers led to bad gas colics). Typical TB-type stress case. Going to shows or changes in routine are what really set him off. And there’s no changing that. So after lots of trial and error (or maybe not “error” so much as “no change”), I’ve found what works best for him.
My second is a young WB mare who I imported this winter. She was a happy horse living out in a field with an old mare until she was a late 4yo. I think the stress of being brought into the barn and started and then imported long distance is what really set her off. I thought she was an super anxious type horse when I got her. But after a few months of playing around with her, I put her on my other horse’s ulcer program at a show and it was a complete night and day difference. I don’t really know what sets her off, but going away to shows frequently certainly doesn’t help matters!
Anyhow, I have an at-home routine and an at-shows routine:
Baseline (meaning all horses including non-ulcery horses) is that everyone gets free choice or 3-meal-a-day orchard grass, LMF Showtime Grain, and Platinum Performance. And all horses live out 24/7.
In addition to that, at home: 1 flake of alfalfa with morning feed, SmartDigest Ultra, 1 oz of Apple Cider Vinegar.
At shows: I add a Chinese herb called Stomach Happy, I increase the Apple Cider Vinegar, and I also add Lysine and Zinc (though I do that for all of the horses as a way to support their immune systems - not as something aimed at ulcers). If I think my big guy is still a little ulcery I will add omeprazole back into the mix as well. But I cut it cold turkey on the last day of the show, and as long as I have him on Stomach Happy he doesn’t seem to have any issues as a result. I keep feeding the Stomach Happy for a week or two after the shows as well.
I haven’t tried stomach happy I will look that up. His worse near death colic was small intestine he was on gastrogard at the time. I never knew the cause of this colic but he had about 4 litres of reflux come out of the stomach tube. He was a surgical candidate but was given a rather poor prognoses. They said surgery or euthanasia but his heart rate had been down to 40 and I just felt he was fighting so I discharged him against medical advise and by some miracle he got better. My vets said the odds were 1/100,000 and they are happy he’s alive but he must have more than nine lives. I have treated him for ulcers because of a fear ulcers were a contributing factor in his colic. He has had no further colics since June but has recently become sensitive around the flank. No weight loss just one spot he doesn’t like being touched.
I may get him another appointment with internal medicine specialist but it’s a long haul and I have to hire a hauler so very expensive. In Canada my vet sells gastrogard at $50 a tube and he’s getting 1/4 daily as recommended. He’s also getting soaked alfalfa pellets, platinum profomance vitamin minerals, relyne GI and recently added viscearal. However I don’t feel this is effective and am thinking of changing his ulcer management. He gets an orchard alfalfa which is tested low in sugar.it’s lovely looking hey that was a little courser or than I wanted. As it’s all in my barn I can’t afford to discard it but I am thinking something softer next time maybe even Timothy. He likes alfalfa but doesn’t care much for the orchard.
Has anyone tried Purina Outlast? My vet just recommended it to me – he suggested one cup with both breakfast and dinner and one cup before any work. He also said I could eliminate alfalfa cubes if I went with the Outlast. (Horse is very easy keeper and in fact could stand to lose some weight.)
I just started looking into the product, but the way my vet explained it to me is that it’s a slow-release (i.e., lasts 2-3 hours) antacid.
I currently have my horse on SmartGI Ultra (SmartGut and SmartDigest combined), but am concerned that her ulcers are coming back after successful treatment this summer. If I go with the Outlast, I think I’d get rid of the SmartGutUltra.
@Pico Banana I’ve had my horse on Purina Outlast for about the past 3 weeks based on my vets recommendation. He just came off a a month treatment of Ulcerguard and Succeed. I tapered him for about 10 days at 1/2 tube of Ulcerguard and finished that up on Sunday. He is currently getting SmartGIUltra but once his Smartpak’s are done, I plan to just stick to the Purina Outlast.
I give him 1 1/4 cup with his breakfast and dinner and a serving before I ride. They can get up to 6 servings a day. My horse gobbles it up so it must be tasty at least! So far so good on the Outlast, but he hasn’t been on it that long so I don’t have a lot of feedback for you. But so far it seems to keep his tummy happy.
@Fharoah: Maybe you should read the Assure thread started by @CindyCRNA . Perhaps, if you and I approach our local tack chain, they might carry that brand for us to keep both our horses’ guts happy?
Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful replies. I have decided to try one more month at a full tube of gastrogard. I agree with addressing any hind gut issues. His weight has not changed in years he looks the exact same, never had a loose stool a day in his life. Generally gastrogard makes no difference to his wonderful temperment only clue is his coat is less shiny than it should be. Always hard to tell because it’s coming winter and all the horses are getting winter coat and they are dirty. I blanket at night but he’s not clipped and looks winter. He has sensitivity over the flank and I’m trying one month of gastrogard as I started worry. But I’ll wean the dose and go another route after this. Gastrogard works wonders on ulcers but it’s disconcerting how often they recur. I always weaned the dose they still came back. I have heard anecdotal success stories with dietary management and I think that may be a better long term solution.
I was wondering if you have tried GastroMend by SynNutra? I have used it on two different horses that showed very different symptoms of ulcers and it worked great on both! Was a much more affordable option long term for me and it doesn’t seem to have the “come back with a vengeance” response that antacids seem to cause when a horse is taken off of it.
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