I just had to share these images because part of my journey with this guy was the search for images of him in the wild. And I found the photographer and my horse. So when I say he’s mystical, you can see why. 
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and when I get my bacterial analysis back I’ll post it here so we all learn more.
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H. pylori exists in horses. It was discovered during a study trying to determine if H. p was involved in equine gastric ulcers like it is in people. The findings were that H. pylori was present both in horses with and without ulcers, and was absent in both horses with and without horses.
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I believe he got it from a contaminated water or food resource while over seas.
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Those are fantastic! 
I’m so glad you were able to track them down.
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This is coming from a chemist so…
A lysosome is a membrane-bound structure that is found in cells. They’re involved in various cell processes such as breaking down things such as cell components (worn, damaged old etc), invading bacteria and viruses.
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Thank you! So if lysosomes are mitigated in effect because of proton pump inhibitors, it sounds like one of their activities - breaking down invading bacteria - can’t be performed?
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Yeh I would think that PPI’s could reduce their ability to function properly since the lysosomes need an acidic environment for the enzymes to function properly. That’s always been a concern of mine. Things that are aging or damaged that shouldn’t be there in the cell could end up hanging around so to speak (again lol I’m just a chemist).
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Do you recall how long it took to get results of the bacterial analysis? Days? Weeks? A month? From what I read some of these take a long time? Maybe different timetable if it’s direct stomach fluid versus fecal? Does anyone know?
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@starsandsun And what did they think of his colic after each of the vaccines? That is interesting.
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You poor thing. What a long journey. And you peppermint oil and avoiding antibiotics got you back to health? Did you work with a naturopath to finally get straightened out?
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@starsandsun Another question about your journey through this. Did you feed probiotics and what did you notice in behavior/health? Can we say horses always benefit from them or not?
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My local vets were less convinced but the medical team at New Bolton indicated they have seen lots of cases where horses are colicing after vaccines - I can imagine something going on where his immune system was not functioning well.
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Great question, and no - didn’t add anything extra in his feed. I tried a variety of things reported to be great for gut health, and he simply turned his nose up. He went on a big food strike and it was hard to get him to eat - probably dropped 200 pounds in the process.
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The bacterial analysis of stomach fluid was back in about a week. I have never gotten the results of any fecal testing though … it is supposed to be included in a few different research programs, but I’m not even sure they’ve tested the fecal matter yet.
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Did they happen to mention whether the vaccines were broken up or all given at once? I wrestle w my vet over this/ we break them up.
We always space them out. The quickest/worst colic was right after Potomac Horse Fever.
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Hello - I am new to this forum and frankly only made myself part of it because of your story. I apologize that I do not know how to send a PM.
I have a 3 1/2 year old gelding that has had chronic problems with bloating and colic (I’ve known him since birth). He’s had a very low stress upbringing, outside 24/7 with buddies, eats hay, a ration balancer and a pro+pre biotic. His episodes range from slightly enlarged abdomen to obvious discomfort with severe bloating (looks like a full term mare ready to deliver, no definition behind rib cage and hard abdomen, fever, colic).
He was on Rifampin/clarithromycin @ 4 months old for pneumonia though it turned out to be common strep pneumonia, not foal pneumonia. I’ve always suspected this fried his gut and biome but I’ve never even considered ulcers until I ready your story. Perhaps not ulcers in my case but LOTS of really unusual similarities in our horses.
I have spoken to too many vets, nutrition savvy horse people, companies, experienced horse owners, etc. to count. No ideas that help him, much less cure him. I have come to the heartbreaking realization that if I can’t find a way to solve this problem, I will probably loose him tragically someday to colic. His story is long and like any obsessed horse owner, I have so much more information about him I could share but will resist unless requested.
I am in a central PA and many in my area go to Cornell or New Bolton for non-routine care. I’m guessing you must be in this part of the country as well. Are you able to share the name of the vet that was instrumental in his recovery? I am desperate to help him.
Any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated, thank you for your time and thank you so much for sharing your story!
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Absolutely: Dr. Amy Polkes - equineimed@gmail.com - that’s for her assistant who would do the scheduling. She’ll ask for copies of all health records, schedule a call, and then from there will figure out best next steps.
Dr. Polkes is the most dogged and determined internist I’ve ever met. She simply doesn’t stop until she finds the solution. She also is very active in research and collaborates across the country, if not the planet, for any new science that can make a difference.
I hope you do decide to reach out to her - it was completely life changing for my horse. Literally, I am convinced he is only alive because of her diagnostic skills and treatment.
Please keep me updated. And, if you can figure out how to PM, I’d love to hear the whole story.
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I think many of us would be interested in the story, if you’d be willing to share. I think we are all interested in learning something.
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