Has anyone ever had their horse on ulcergard permanently? Found grade 2 squamous ulcers in my tb gelding a few months ago, did a month of gastrogard and saw great improvement but did misoprostol for an additional month since the glandular region still had some. Still not totally cleared up so my vet recommended maintenance dose of omeprazol permanently. Any experience? Good bad?
You could try other supplements for ulcer maintenance such as Visceral, Succeed, etc, though those can often run pricey as well. Could check out the Abler omeprazole, I know people have had luck with that. Or, ask your vet for generic omeprazole. Im in Canada and a tube of that is only like $5 CAD. It doesnt always work the same but ā¦ it might.
Our OTTBās are on daily ompeprazole and sucralfate. We get it through Abler. We had one diagnosed about 10-12 years ago with serious ulcers. We did two rounds of gastroguard and then did omep/sucral heās been clean ever since.
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Thank you! If you donāt mind me asking, how much does that cost you per month using Abler?
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Iād have to do some math. We buy it in bulk from Abler and it is used in variable amounts across three horses. If you go to their website you can provide info and they will provide cost estimates.
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I was going to recommend Abler. Iāve used them before for a boarders horse. The bulk granule bag is about 50 doses (for the average horse) used as a preventative, it costs $98 before shipping according to the website. The same amount of doses in a tablet is a little cheaper at $92 before shipping, but theyāre harder to feed. https://abler.com/abprazole
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I have one on sucralfate for the long term. I go thru my vet clinic and go thru their pharmacy choice. The pharmacy handling cost is what makes it a bit pricey but otherwise no issues.
Iāve known several horses on omeprazole permanently; they were super ulcerprone and/or had health issues that would cause ulcers. Most of the owners used Abler pellets or tablets.
One of mine is on nexium pretty much permanently. Itās cheaper than even Abler and is keeping his ulcers at bay.
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I am a person who is on Omeprazole permanently. I am the human equivalent of ulcer prone; thatās just my body functioning at its normal. If I go off the Omeprazole, I get terrible rebound acid to the point I can barely eat. The rebound acid eventually settles down, but āsettles downā means comes to a point of daily heartburn that can wake me up at night and I need to take Tums constantly. You donāt seem skeptical of the advice for permanent Omeprazole, but since your horse canāt speak I wanted to tell you that for me Omeprazole is a permanent maintenance drug that has powerfully improved my life.
Not sure if long term Omeprazole reduces magnesium or other nutrient absorbtion in horses the way it does in humans. I have reduced bone density likely because of the Omeprazole, and I know it can interfere with magnesium absorption when taken long term. So unless others here know and answer on that, it would be something to ask your vet - does long term Omeprazole in horses cause any nutrient absorption issues the way it can in humans and, if so, do you need to do anything? Supplement? Be watchful for any potential symptoms? Etc.
On to horses. When I had my OTTB after reading endless ulcer threads here on COTH I tried the then-popular āblue pop rocksā Abler omeprazole. Did it as a treatment, saw some improvement, and then did a reduced dose as maintenance. The maintenance sustained and further developed the positive impacts of treatment. His topline and coat improved, demeanor improved, he kept on weight. It made such a difference.
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All of the horses that I know of on Gut X have done really well. Not an ad for the stuff but it has made major changes. All for the better
My OTTB gelding was on omeprazole/ranitidine from a compounding pharmacy with vetās prescription for the last 8 years of his life. He died of old age heart murmur at 38, nothing related to ulcers. Dosage was 1/3 tube a day, so 10 tubes a month, for a total of $107 a month. Worked well for us, YMMV but maybe itās worth a try. Good luck!
ETA: Sorry, $117 a month.
There is an injectable form of omeprazole too that might be worth looking into.
Are you just tossing the capsules on top the feed? How many are you using?
Yes I just throw the capsules right on top. I use 3 of the 20mg pills. He eats them no problem.
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It does, and thatās why it needs to be a very very last resort. I havenāt seen anything that suggests how MUCH of the nutrients to supplement, I donāt think itās been studied to determine what the balance is.
Long-term sucralfate is an option for sure. It has some effect of increasing prostaglandin production which helps the integrity of the GI lining
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I would definitely read the nexium thread and consider that as a much better financial alternate for gastrogaurd. I did not have good results with abler, I had a horse on it for awhile and it did not clear up the ulcers, I switched to generic nexium and it cleared up.
I have one that is probably a candidate for being on omeprazole or esmprazole constantly. But I have been able to avoid that by doing the following: he has access to forage at all timesāfree choice hay 24/7 and heās out in a pasture 24/7. He gets alfalfa once a day, which helps buffer the stomach. I pulled him off all grain. Instead he gets beet pulp with vermont blend pro and ground flax. Taking him off pelletted concentrates made a big difference for him (not sure if it will for everyone). Any time we something potentially stressful happens ā if I trailer him somewhere, if Iām going for a show, if heās having anything beyond routine vaccines done by the vet I give him nexium that day as a preventative.
Thereās a big thread on Nexium for ulcers! 3 pills at 20mg each is what everyone seems to be using for treatment dose. Iāve done the Nexium treatment route a few times and I personally like the clear mini capsules, theyāre about the size of my horseās grain pellets. I get a bulk pack of 42 capsules for about $30 bucks so itās pretty cheap for both the treatment and taper course.
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N. O. P. E.
DONāT DO IT.
I am willing to bet your horse has ulcers that do not stay healed, because his gut has some problem (pH balance or bacterial overgrowth).
Why do I say this?
I treated my horse with ulcerguard for years - more on time than off.
He almost died. The long-term effects of a proton pump inhibitor are poorly understood but almost certainly upset the beneficial environment in the stomach.
Get your vet to pull stomach fluids, test for pH and do a bacterial analysis before you go down that road. PM me if you want more, or look for my long (long, long) post on this subject.
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Why not link your thread right here? It can be very hard to search things ( at least for me).
ETA: is there a difference in Esomeprazole which is Nexium and Omeprazole that others here are using on their horses??
