Ulcer supplements that are actually proven...

[horsegirl520]

I think my horse might have ulcers again, despite being on an OTC supplement (he’s been on U-Gard, U-7, Gastro, and Neighlox over the past few years). In 2004, he was scoped and had fairly severe ulcers so we treated him with GastroGard for a month and so ever since then I’ve given him Ulcergard any time he travels… but he hasn’t traveled anywhere lately. He’s always on one ulcer prevention supplement or another. Right now, I’m treating him with a full tube of Ulcergard once a day.

Anyways, my question is this: Has anyone had their horse rescoped after feeding their horse an ulcer supplement (that was previously known to have ulcers)? Did the horse have ulcers? What supplement were you using? I’m thinking about putting him on Ranitidine instead of a supplement… has anyone known a horse to have ulcers while on Ranitidine? I’m looking for something that’s realistic to feed every day (not Ulcergard) that actually works.

Please share your stories and experiences!

Thanks!

[LookinSouth]

@horsegirl520;2913829

I think my horse might have ulcers again, despite being on an OTC supplement (he’s been on U-Gard, U-7, Gastro, and Neighlox over the past few years). In 2004, he was scoped and had fairly severe ulcers so we treated him with GastroGard for a month and so ever since then I’ve given him Ulcergard any time he travels… but he hasn’t traveled anywhere lately. He’s always on one ulcer prevention supplement or another. Right now, I’m treating him with a full tube of Ulcergard once a day.

Anyways, my question is this: Has anyone had their horse rescoped after feeding their horse an ulcer supplement (that was previously known to have ulcers)? Did the horse have ulcers? What supplement were you using? I’m thinking about putting him on Ranitidine instead of a supplement… has anyone known a horse to have ulcers while on Ranitidine? I’m looking for something that’s realistic to feed every day (not Ulcergard) that actually works.

Please share your stories and experiences!

Thanks!

No experience with ulcers here (personally anyway) but I am pretty sure if your horse has ulcers again he will need to be treated. Supplements don’t treat; they only prevent( to some degree) The only thing proven to treat is Gastroguard I think.
2004 was 4 years ago, especially if there were severe it is possible you just need to re treat and then go back to supplementation. I would talk to your vet but maybe someone else with have more info.

[horsegirl520]

LookinSouth- That’s why I’m treating him right now with a full tube of Ulcergard. Ulcergard is the exact same thing as Gastrogard, except that its sold OTC and labeled for use at 1/4 tube, not a full tube. I’m looking for something to keep him on after I finish treating him, again. I want something that will actually work and keep the ulcers away. I can not afford to keep him on 1/4 tube of Ulcergard forever (that’s still about $8/day!)…

[onetempies]

What’s his diet consist of and turnout situation?

UG & GG are the only things that treat ulcers. Supplements prevent. What I have ended up doing for my young Ulcer Boy (been treating since he was a weaner in 2003!)… is diet has to be low starch high fat/fiber. Added soaked alfalfa cubes & beet pulp once a day (except for this past week as I’ve been at home laid up from getting dumped by my mare). Turnout is pretty much 24/7 with the exception of bad weather then he’s inside. This has allowed me to bump the UG to the 1/4 tube dose about every 8-12 days. Unfortunately, this will always be part of his life (& my checkbook!) as it’s the only thing that keeps him flare-up free & happy.

[horsegirl520]

He’s on TC Complete… he’s turned out every day and in at night. He was on Ultium, but my new barn doesn’t feed it. I’m adding rice bran pellets to the Complete to try to decrease his grain consumption. He has free choice hay.

[deltawave]

Big fat ZERO in terms of good, solid data on anything besides omeprazole therapy, in spite of the number of things marketed for ulcers. No supplement has been shown to prevent, treat, or reduce the incidence of ulcers. Ranitidine is nearly as powerful as omeprazole, at least when compared to regular antacids and all the various potions and nostrums that are marketed.

If I had a horse with ulcers I’d treat with omeprazole and then look to something like ranitidine, tagamet, etc. (H2 blocker) for more long-term “prevention”. With the money you save NOT buying the billion and one different supplements I’d think you could find ranitidine, etc. pretty reasonably.

[horsegirl520]

I know there isn’t any solid medical research on ulcer supplements… I’m looking for field results here… just experiences people have had.

I’m certainly leaning towards putting him on Ranitidine after he finishes his Ulcergard treatment. What is the recommended dosage? Where is the cheapest place to buy it? I’m sure my vet would prescribe it to my horse… he suggested it in the past.

His symptoms: eating a lot of grain and not getting fat, girthy, refusing jumps, icky coat, “burping” noises occasionally, not cleaning up his meals, not wanting to go forward and nervous/spooky. Pretty much exactly how he was before he was scoped in 2004.

[AppJumpr08]

Free choice hay.

[ShotenStar]

Ranitidine will certainly help with prevention once you have treated … but (and there is always a ‘but’ with these statements) … you need to dose four times a day for it to be effective. Once or twice a day is wasting money.

star - who owns the queen of ulcers and should own stock in Merial

[Simkie]

The other thing to look at besides ranitadine is the compounded omeprazole. There have been a few threads here where people sing it’s praises, and it IS significantly cheaper than the Merial product. Of course, Merial claims their buffer is what makes omeprazole work for horses…

I haven’t used the compounded omeprazole, but I sure have thought about it for my princess mare. I’ve been using ranitadine and I do think it helps–WHEN I can get her to eat it :-/

[horsegirl520]

Simkie - I was looking at SmartPak’s Rx section and they said they can make anything a powder and flavored since it’s a compounding pharmacy… just thought I’d share.

[cartera45]

Add corn oil - it is one of the few things that has been shown to help with ulcers - even the lesions in the gut that you may not be able to see with a scope. If he’ll eat hay with oil poured on it, try that - like salad dressing. You don’t want to have to increase the grain to get the oil in him. See if he will eat the bagged forage without the molasses and put oil on that. Daily use of all those acid interfering supps can cause rebound hyperacidity, and cause more harm than good. There is no evidence that anything but Ulcergard or Gastrogard work, but even they don’t recommend that the horse be on it forever. They need acid to digest so sooner or later, you will just screw up the digestion generally. You may also want to get a stemmier hay that will increase salivation. Do not exercise him on an empty stomach - the movement can push acid onto parts of the stomach not designed for it. I don’t mean to feed him grain before riding, but maybe some alfalfa cubes or chopped hay. You may want to try a dose of Ulcergard before exercise. I got a lot of info about ulcers from a vet at Dupont Equine Center - they have done a ton of research on ulcers. He recommended the corn oil and I have since read research on that too. He also said that some horses take much longer to heal than the 28 days recommended for Gastrogard. He has seen it take 6-8 weeks or longer - very expensive I know. The only way to know is to re-scope.

[Seal_Harbor]

We did the ug for 28 days, then 40 more days of 1/4 tube of UG. Changed his feed schedule split what he was getting into 4 meals, changed that from Ultium to Ultium and LMF Low Carb Stage 1. He is now on Tagamet twice a day as well. Also upped his alfalfa hay to 1 flake three times a day along with his 2 flakes of timothy 3 times a day. When he goes to shows he is back on the maintenance dose of Ug for the duration of the show, including shipping both ways. The only treats he gets are alfalfa cubes.

He has nearly stopped cribbing, yay!, and has become much sweeter.

I take Prilosec and I can take it every three or 4 days instead of daily and keep my heartburn under control. I suppose they could too. I never forget his stuff but can’t remember to take my own pills to save my life.

[deltawave]

WHERE is this information that corn oil is “proven” to help with ulcers? This is like the 3rd time I’ve seen this mentioned (which of course means that it’s officially “factual” now) :rolleyes: yet I’ve seen NO EVIDENCE anywhere…can someone please supply a link to this research??

[horsegirl520]

Delta- I’ve also read the oil can help with ulcers… it was in a magazine… PH or Horse Journal I think. Don’t know if it is “proven,” per say, but if nothing else, it will let you decrease the amount of grain they are getting by increasing fat… which certainly can’t hurt!

Seal Harbor- How much Tagamet do you feed?

Thanks to everyone else! If anyone has had their horse scoped after having him on some sort of ulcer prevention regimen, please share what the results of the scoping were.

[deltawave]

I have no problem with feeding oil and think it’s a great addition for many horses and many reasons. But I object to the statement (casually flung around FAR too often) “it has been shown to…” on grounds of precision and accuracy. Just the scientist in me!

Magazine articles (even the Horse Journal) are not RESEARCH.

[Eventer55]

FWIW Here’s my experience: We did 30 days of ulcergard then backed off to every other day and finally got down to 1/4 tube every other day. I give U7 becasue my vet told me to and he events and has ridden ulcer horses. I now give 1/4 tube once a week and every day during stress times. I too have an ulcer and I find I can get away with taking it evey other day or less. (It works almost immediately by the way)

Basically my vet said you have to find what it’s going to take to keep your horse comfortable. I’m still experimenting, but I find 1/4 tube is ok for now.

I also feed Platinum Performance. This ulcer thing is a PITA!!!

[ShotenStar]

The ‘Corn Oil’ information came from a study done at one of the universities in Florida … well-known researcher, good study protocol. Give me some time and I will hunt down the citation.

star

[Glorybee]

although no “research” I had one equine nutritionist recommend flax seed…perhaps the oils in flax do something similar to corn oil.

I would also like to hear from people who have scoped/rescoped and used supplements… interesting to hear what has truly held off ulcers and been “photographed” for lack of a better word.

If we wait for true research on EVERY product ever created for horses:if we wait for research on every equine medical condition: we will surely grow old first…

[ShotenStar]

corn oil study

here’s the citation for the corn oil study:

Effect of dietary corn oil supplementation on equine gastric fluid acid, sodium, and prostaglandin E2 content before and during pentagastrin infusion.

star