Sucralfate, need a new way to give it or try something else?

[js]

My ulcer prone horse has been on Sucralfate for months, I get the powered version that is apple flavored. I have been mixing it with a little water and top dressing it on his feed (Purina Enrich). He was good for the longest time and would eat it without hesitation. Suddenly he is unwilling to eat it like this now, leaves his grain uneaten. He really needs to get it as I suspect he is trying to get ulcers again. I’ve tried squirting it into his mouth but he spits it out. I tried mixing it with apple juice and apple sauce but that also was a no go. On the label it says not to inhale so I have been hesitant to put it dry on his feed. He is a very picky eater, he doesn’t like supplements or anything that comes in a powder form. I’m going to try something else other than the Enrich, we have limited choices on grain in our area so not sure what to try. I’d do a course of Succeed but he won’t eat the powder and spits out the paste. He also gets Outlast and UGard.

Suggestions?

[DawgLady]

We put the tablets in a syringe with applesauce and water, let them dissolve, and then give it like a paste.

[RegentLion]

I get sucralfate pills from Walgreens (vet calls in prescription), and they’re chalky and bland. (I have tasted them). I can dissolve them in water and mix in feed or just grind them or break them into halves. My VERY suspicious pony doesn’t mind them.

[Gardenhorse]

I do just put the powder dry on my horse’s food (don’t think my label says anything about inhalation) but I doubt that will help if he’s just decided he doesn’t like the flavor any more.

I suggest trying a different flavor powder. I’m not sure where you are getting yours, but I know Rood and Riddle say they offer an alfalfa flavor as well as the standard apple flavor.

Another option is to get one of those dosing syringes that puts it farther back in the throat so he can’t spit it out as easily. But syringing every day gets old.

[js]

[candyappy]

@js

I tried mixing it with apple juice and apple sauce but that also was a no go.

Did you give this via syringe? It is what I would do before changing his feed.

[Simkie]

Abler makes sucralfate granules:

AbSucralfate

But try mixing what you have with peppermint coffee syrup or pancake syrup and dosing orally.

[sascha]

Oral dosing can be a pain, but you can train your horse to make it less so. Start with favourite treat, dose with plain apple sauce, end with favourite treat. Repeat a few days until ponio is trying to grab the syringe. First week of dosing with actual drugs have 2 syringes, one with plain sauce and one with sauce and drugs. Follow same routine inserting meds syringe after plain sauce syringe. Gradually diminish the frequency of the plain apple sauce syringe over the next week, but always start and finish a meds dose with a treat. If you’re lucky and your horse is compliant, eventually you can probably lose the apple sauce altogether … just don’t rush it or you’ll be back at square one with a non-compliant giraffe on your hands.

This works a treat for people who say they fight to deworm their horses too. Be patient. Let them know that not everything that goes in their mouth via syringe is The Worst Thing Ever. After finally successfully deworming, follow up with a couple of days of plain apple sauce and the next time will go even easier. They remember the last time they had a syringe stuffed in their gob was actually quite tasty even if a couple of times previous it was not.

[js]

Yes, tried this already and tried the treats afterward which he will not take, though he will anytime after you’ve tried giving him meds. He really doesn’t like it this way, last time he spent the next several minutes attacking and eating the wood trim around the window of the stall, I’d rather avoid this since I only have one barn and need it to survive. I’ve also tried the squeeze tube applesauce with banana or mango, that was worse, he really is picky and doesn’t like new tastes. I could have ordered peppermint but I’m thinking he won’t like that. I’ll ask the vet next time I have to order some about the alfalfa flavor. I’d try molasses but I think the thickness and stickiness of it might not work.

Going to try mixing it with a bit of Omalene sweet feed, maybe it will be enough for him to eat wet on his feed.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

Something that worked for my old guy was trying different electrolytes until I found his favorite flavor and then mixed that with water and meds. Sometimes I think the salty/sweet covers better than the sweet alone. He was a very big dude (18h with a long neck), so if he didn’t want you to put something in his mouth, he was likely to win. This method had him lowering his head and readily accepting the dosing syringe within a couple of days. Good luck!

[pompeiii]

I mixed mine with strawberry applesauce and dosed with a syringe. My horse became obsessed with strawberry applesauce (it’s now an occasional snack as he’ll empty a snack size container in 3 licks) that I lost a few syringes due to his enthusiasm… but I did try dosing him with several things without meds to see what he liked the best (I discovered the strawberry applesauce as I had some sitting in the fridge and he liked it the best). It’s easier to experiment without the meds and then add in drugs. He’s now phenomenal to medicate.

[candyappy]

@js

Going to try mixing it with a bit of Omalene sweet feed, maybe it will be enough for him to eat wet on his feed.

I’ve never known of any animal ( well none of mine) that turns their nose up at Omolene!

[js]

Horse couldn’t resist the Omolene even though there wasn’t very much in his feed but he ate it and the meds up completely. I did leave out the Outlast and UGard so I might try adding those back one at a time in smaller amounts.