Ulcery after every show?

[DarkHorse1]

My young horse has now been to 4 shows. Each time he comes home, he’s off his feed and crabby about going forward. I think he’s developing ulcers every time we take him offsite. He’s just a sensitive guy, so it wouldn’t really surprise me.

We really don’t overdo it at shows. I like to keep the experience easy and positive at this stage. He does a few classes, but mostly he just hangs out and hand walks.

I give him the maintenance dose of GastroGard for two days leading up to the show, every day at the show, and two days afterwards. He drinks normally at the show, but is very picky about eating there (both his grain and hay). I hand walk and graze him very frequently so his stomach won’t be empty. What can I do for him?

[tulachard]

Maybe consider using a full tube/treatment dose instead of 1/4 tube? My guy has to have the full treatment dose when traveling. Also, adding lots of alfalfa hay helps.

[lorilu]

What about adding Purina Outlast to his meals during and after the show?

[DarkHorse1]

Interesting suggestion. He gets soaked alfalfa pellets with his grain, but he won’t eat them at the show. Maybe he would find alfalfa hay more palatable when traveling? Would it be a bad idea to make sudden changes like that at a show? I don’t have access to alfalfa hay on the regular, but I’m sure I could get my hands on a bale or two for each show.

You give your guy a full tube every day at the show? That’s solved the issue for you?

[tulachard]

I feed some alfalfa year-round because of his sensitive stomach so not really a change for him at a show. Even weather changes will start a flare up for him…ugh…sensitive horses!

Full tube (I use generic Nexium, but a full-tube dose equivalent) a few days before, during and after the show. Then fingers crossed he doesn’t flare up. It usually works.

I’ve also had some success using a liquid HA supplement - like GutX along with everything else.

[DarkHorse1]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but…

Is there any truth to the rumor that alfalfa makes them hot?

ETA: Mine is also on GutX.

[tulachard]

No, alfalfa doesn’t make them hot. I have a chestnut Arab/Hanoverian.

[candyappy]

@DarkHorse1

Is there any truth to the rumor that alfalfa makes them hot?

For some horses it can affect them that way. It did my mare but I didn’t realize it until we moved and I no longer fed alfalfa / grass mix hay.( hay we grew) We switched to the grass/ clover grown here on our new farm.

It wasn’t bad by any means but noticeable enough.

[Angela_Freda]

Horse vet Corner, on Facebook, where only equine vets respond to questions is searchable. Last I looked, the consensus is no alfalfa does not make them hot.

[suzyq]

I feed my horse a flake of alfalfa whenever he is in the trailer. I could see adding some to his show feed but I wouldn’t replace all his hay with alfalfa.

[Fiesta01]

@tulachard

Maybe consider using a full tube/treatment dose instead of 1/4 tube? My guy has to have the full treatment dose when traveling.

I agree. My vet said to always do the treatment dose whenever my gelding was under any stress. For him, that was mostly traveling or having a new foal in the barn. (His stall was next to a foaling stall. He was fascinated by them and would spend his time staring at the little ones instead of eating).

[DiamondJubilee]

Not sure if your horse would eat them, but my “hotter/nervous” boy loved his soaked timothy/alfalfa cubes, and I never noticed an attitude change in feeding them and he’s the type that would let me know!. I would give him a generous scoop soaked about an hour or two before I rode and it worked wonders for him! I did this about 3 x a day when he’s at a show. He loves them and I continue to feed them 1 x a day through the winter and even now when hes on pasture. It kept the weight on him and I always felt better that he had something in his stomach before I showed.

I still feed timothy hay as well and he would pick at that in-between his cube feedings.

[Maude]

Do not give him alfalfa at shows unless his gut is used to it. Switching from a grass hay to a legume can send a horse’s gut into a tizzy as it takes time for the horse to develop the proper gut bacteria to digest it. Better to introduce alfalfa slowly at home over a couple of weeks. Then feed as needed at the show.

[joiedevie99]

Two days isn’t enough. It takes 4 days for Gastrogard to reach its full effectiveness. My first move would be to start two days earlier.

Second, is 1/4 tube enough for the maintenance dose? I believe one syringe contains enough for a 1200 lb. horse. If your horse weighs more than that, 1/4 tube isn’t enough for the maintenance dose, and 1 full tube isn’t enough for the treatment dose.

Third, I’d try the full tube instead of the 1/4. To avoid rebound, for the two days after you return home, I’d only give 1/2.

Fourth, I’d scope the horse to see if there is something there, and he is just masking it better at home? Maybe he needs a full round of treatment.

If all else fails, try experimenting. Some horses do better with sucralfate for stress than ompeprazole. Some people sweat by liquid HA (i.e. ReLyne GI or Gut X).

[JB]

@DarkHorse1

Is there any truth to the rumor that alfalfa makes them hot?

It’s a myth that alfalfa WILL make horses hot. There are simply way, way too many horses getting some, or only, alfalfa, who are mellow, for that to be true.

What IS true is that it CAN make a given horse “hot” if there’s a sensitivity or outright allergy to it. Allergies don’t always manifest as hives or other physical appearance issues. Sometimes it’s their behavior.

Same with soy - 100% fine for the vast majority of horses, but a problem for a small %

[mdp9]

First - get him scoped. Then you can see where and how bad these ulcers are. Gastric ulcers are not one size fits all, and you won’t know what you’re dealing with unless he’s scoped.

The vet will likely prescribe a month or so of gastroguard or sucralfate or another drug I can’t think of right now that’s starts with an M, re scope to make sure they’re gone, and then help you come up with a maintenance plan so they don’t come back.

For the horses in my program, this usually means a full tube before during and after stressful times like showing, alfalfa hay especially before meals, feeding 3 meals rather than 2, and as much turnout as possible.

[DawgLady]

So, I have mixed emotions about scoping. In order to do a proper scope, you’re (probably) trailering the horse to hang out at a clinic, and removing all feed and water for 10 hours. If the horse didn’t have ulcers before, he probably will after that. For me (and my vet agrees) I just assume ulcers and treat with the full 28 day course of Omeprazole for stomach ulcers (plus a weaning-off period). If symptoms persist, I treat for hindgut ulcers with Sucralfate. If all that failed, then I guess scoping would be my next step. But I haven’t had to cross that bridge. Usually the treatment is enough. Feel free to poke holes in my argument, because this is a really important topic and I’m trying to keep an open mind about it because I’m no vet.

[JB]

@DawgLady

Feel free to poke holes in my argument, because this is a really important topic and I’m trying to keep an open mind about it because I’m no vet.

The biggest risk is that it’s the kind of ulcers you really need misoprostol for, not omeprazole (or maybe you need them both). So, while you could affect improvement with omeprazole due to the higher stomach pH, you could easily not affect healing, so you’ve spent $1000 or so for nothing

Does that mean “you must scope or else…”? No But that is one hole in “no need to scope, just treat and see what happens”, to at least take into consideration.

A cheaper way around that hole is to use Nexium (brand name for esomeprazole magnesium) for that treatment period and see how things go. For < $100 you can use the lower dose (3-4 intact capsules once a day) for 30 days and see what you see.

[DawgLady]

Use it alongside the Gastrogard, or…by itself?

[blob99]

@DawgLady

Use it alongside the Gastrogard, or…by itself?

By itself. It’s an alternative to Gastroguard. I’ve used nexium/generic nexium very effectively with my ulcer prone horse. I first used them to treat and now I use that as a preventative when we are going to shows. It’s not only cheaper, it’s also very easy to feed. The pills are tiny and my horse doesn’t even notice them. You can drop into feed or I sometimes just feed it in a handful of food right out of my hand so I can be sure no pills get flung.