Mare moved to farm where there is individual turnout a year ago. For 4+ months she was content just grazing. She’s 20 and has been with mares, geldings, alone, all of the above. She started pacing for the first time in her life. Vet put her on Omeprazole. She has been on Equioxx for years for ringbone. He said not to fix it if it ain’t broken, but I’d rather switch her to something like GutX for long-term effects. She was never proven to have ulcers. I tried Nupafeed and that did nothing. She’s now been in a different pasture with a shed for the past 4 months and seems very content. I’ve just started her on Osteomax. Would love to get her off of some of the Equioxx as well.
I would MUCH rather try some supplements that have a chance at supporting healthy gut lininig, than keep a horse long-term on a PPI where there will be some level of nutrient absorption issues
GutX has some potential.
Purina Outlast has potential
MadBarn Visceral is another option, as are Uckele GUT and some others
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Thank you. Those are my feelings as well. Thoughts on weaning off one and onto the other? I just got GutX today, but boarder uses Outlast.
I never had luck with GutX. It’s not very palatable and when I did persuade my ulcer-prone guy to eat it consistently, I never noticed a difference. Outlast has been great for him. It’s much easier to handle and feed, too. YMMV.
I’ve run the gamut with ulcer meds and preventatives. I personally don’t like the idea of PPI for reasons @JB is absolutely more well versed than me, but I know enough to know it doesn’t line up with my horsekeeping principles.
I personally had no luck with Outlast. Gutx I did see improvement, but not enough to blow my skirt up. I absolutely LOVE Visceral and the ingredients speak to my hippie heart. Another one I’ve found incredibly supportive is Digest More Plus by Vitalize.
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Can anyone advise weaning off of Omeprazole and onto a supplement? I’ve read to start feeding less and less, but one of the boarders seems to feed it off and on. My girl has been on it for probably 8 months 1 scoop powder. It’s been years since I’ve been on the forums. I forgot how helpful and wonderful you all are.
No need. Horses do get a bit of a rebound effect, but it’s VERY short lived - 24-48 hours - and only starts when you stop the drug completely. That’s what Dr Ben Sykes found in his latest study on this
In your case, I would start the gut supplement of choice maybe 1-2 weeks before you stop the omeprazole, and for the couple of days after stopping, maybe add another buffer if you can, like alfalfa if that’s possible
I’ve been giving her a small amount of alfalfa pellets and smaller amount soybean pellets for lunch now for months. She gets so little TC Senior and balancer at breakfast and dinner that I’m able to “sneak” more supps in the soaked pellets. Her hay in hay net in during days now is good orchard grass. Pastures don’t need much supplementation with hay except for a couple of winter months.
A 2oz serving has 221mg, which is a bit over 1/2 what an average 1100lb horse needs, BUT, because it’s part of the "dirt’, a pretty large % of it is not bioavailable.
The “real” oat flour used in supplements for the purpose of providing higher levels of beta glucan, is done by usually starting with oats bred for high bg content, and then taking the bran, where bg is concentrated, and processing it down to get a high % beta glucan per serving. If you use whole oats (in any form), you’re also being along all the starch and other things, and only a small % of bg.
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