Yet another ulcer supplement thread: U7 vs Equine Elixirs Ulcereraser

[hunterjumper98]

I’ve been toying around with the idea of putting my sensitive chestnut mare on an ulcer/gastric supplement for a while now. She doesn’t show any of the classic signs associated with gastric ulcers per se and looks amazing body condition wise, but her mild reluctance to go forward and sensitivity to my left leg under saddle has me questioning if she’s in the early stages of developing some minor ulceration. I figured that it may be worth a shot to see if adding a ulcer/gastric support supplement to her diet would make a difference before starting down the road to more expensive diagnostics. We all know how expensive scoping and treating with Gastrogard is.

Just for some background information about her if you’re curious: she currently has access to a timothy/alfalfa hay blend majority of the day, is fed 1# of Seminole Perform Safe, 1 scoop of Platinum Performance, and 1 scoop of Cosequin ASU twice a day, and is turned out for 8 hrs a day in a solo paddock. I would love for her to have access to more turnout, but unfortunately, our area doesn’t have enough pasture space to accommodate that at the moment. Overall, she has a pretty low stress lifestyle right now as she’s only ridden 3-4 days a week on the flat due to my school schedule.

I’ve read a bunch of threads about various ulcer supplements here on COTH, but I noticed that there isn’t a lot of talk about U7 or Ulcereraser on here. Both of these products are interesting to me since U7 claims to have studies backing it by veterinarians and Ulcereraser just recently posted some case study photos that showed improvement in fibrinous stomach ulcers in two horses. That seems promising! Have any of you guys had any firsthand experience with U7 or Ulcereraser? If so, I would love to hear what you think about them!

[Maria]

I have been using U7 on my mare for years after being diagnosed and treated for ulcers with gastroguard.

I have been very happy. I believe a 60 day supply of the powder is around $67.00. My horse eats it without reservation.

[trakehners]

This isn’t one of the two you’re referencing, but if you’re looking for a gastric supplement, Alimend is 100000000% the way that I would go. I had my horse on U-Gard pellets for a while but they didn’t seem to be making a difference and he was indicating some discomfort with brushing/girthing so I switched him over to Alimend on a friend’s recommendation and it was like night and day (I should add that the friend’s horse is a medical marvel and we’re not sure how he’s still upright, so the fact that Alimend has an effect on him is a miracle). One of my friends started giving it to her two horses as well after I’d had mine on it for about a year and she has also noticed a huge difference.

This study discusses the ingredients that you’ll find in Alimend if you want the scientific backup on it (they promote healing, not just prevention!), but either way: 10/10, liquid gold, probably the most important supplement that I feed my horse and that’s with the acknowledgement that his hooves would probably crumble to bits without the supplement that he’s on for those. Is it the cheapest thing in the world? No, but definitely cheaper than a full course of GG.

(I am in absolutely no way sponsored by them unless you count the 2lb bag of cookies that they gave me in KY this year, I just really love the supplement.)

[S_in_Seattle]

i can’t click through on the study link - do you mind listing the entire link? Thank you.

[PNWjumper]

I love UlcerEraser. I have used it with my ulcer-prone horses for many many years.

I’ve never used it on it’s own to deal with ulcers, just as a good additive to their feed regimen. And all of my horses go on it at every show for the duration of the show (the more ulcer-prone ones stay on it at home too).

For more direct ulcer concerns, I use a chinese herb called Stomach Happy, and/or SmartDigest Ultra.

[Whoosh]

Forgive my ignorance, but would anyone be able to describe or explain the mechanism behind U7? I know it’s very popular, but the active ingredient seems to be Vitamin C. Horses should be able to synthesize their own vitamin C, correct? I’m just curious how that treats or prevents ulcers.

As for me, I’ve been pretty happy with my Outlast. It’s reasonably priced and easy to feed (pellets), and I understand how it works (haha!). I mostly chose it because it was popular with other owners of my mare’s breed (APHA/AQHA). But I absolutely could see how Outlast wouldn’t pack the punch needed for a really dire ulcer situation.

If you’re in the “unsure about ulcers” camp (as I was), consider asking your vet for a week or two of sucralfate. It’s a much cheaper and easier “test” than Gastroguard. I was shocked at the change in my fat, shiny, lazy mare after a week. Her years of girthiness evaporated overnight. Note that sucralfate does not TREAT ulcers, but it can work as a sort of GI analgesic. A Nexium trial is another option. So there are ways to check for ulcers without the major commitment of scoping and hundreds of dollars in treatments.

[JB]

@Whoosh

describe or explain the mechanism behind U7? I know it’s very popular, but the active ingredient seems to be Vitamin C. Horses should be able to synthesize their own vitamin C, correct? I

there’s a lot more to the product than just Vit C:

Active Ingredients per scoop (1 oz.)

|Ascorbic Acid|870mg|
|MSM|540mg|
|Apple Pectin|110mg|
|Brewers Yeast|54mg|
|Grape Seed Extract|34mg|
|Zinc Gluconate|10mg|

And then there are the “inactive” ingredients

Aloe vera powder, cabbage powder, carrot powder, cinnamon powder, citric acid, corn gluten, honey powder, licorice root, potassium chloride, salt, slippery elm powder, sodium benzoate, xanthan gum.

Oddly enough it’s the inactive ingredients which are more likely to be beneficial - aloe, cabbage, licorice, slippery elm

I don’t see enough of the active ingredients to provide any value. And there’s no info on how much of the inactive ingredients there are

[greysfordays]

I think U7 is the only supplement I haven’t tried honestly, so I can’t speak to that. I have had mixed results with Ulcereraser, but I recognize it’s really popular here in SoCal.

Our vet knows Dr. Ben Sykes who is maybe the best regarded expert on EGUS. He developed a supplement called Protek GI. We’ve seen quite a few horses with really stubborn ulcers resolve and more importantly, stay away, while on it. I have a mare I had to put on pasture for 9 months now for ulcers starting to resolve and we are off medication. For now, this is the supplement I’ve seen with the broadest anecdotal success.

That said, I do think it’s important to scope if you suspect ulcers. Glandular vs. squamous are two different problems that you want to address best you can.

[evtrmom]

@greysfordays

I do think it’s important to scope if you suspect ulcers

agreed, we just scoped our OTTB we suspected of ulcers, and yep, stomach and pyloric ones. So 2 different meds $$$ UGH. His only reaction is when he’s being tacked up. Then he’s fine. Eats well, drinks water, is out in a diet pasture as he’s a chubby dad bod type TB.