Ulcers - can horse be scoped at barn?

[tpup]

I am suspicious of ulcers. Does a horse have to be trailered to a clinic for scoping or can it be done at the barn with sedation?

[Simkie]

The vets that I know that have scopes do not take them out of the clinic environment. As I understand it, it's an expensive, fragile piece of equipment that's costly to repair.

[Auventera Two]

They told me that the little camera eye itself is around $15,000. The whole setup is a fairly big piece of equipment with lots of tubes and wires, hooked up to water bottles and a computer. And the horse has to be in stocks, so I can't imagine that the unit is portable.

[tpup]

That's what I figured. Thanks - vet is coming back out today.

My guy was treated for tick fever Wed. and that is fine and gone, but he is only eating 1/2 of his food/grain at the most, and pinning his ears while he eats. He also exhibits some other behavioural symptoms that could point to it - it's possible that the Oxytet exaggerated the ulcer pain and brought it to the forefront. I noticed him eating slower than before a week prior but he would finish 90% of his food. Now he leaves over half. This is a horse who normally DEVOURS his food - nickers and dances in the cross ties if he sees me preparing it. Something is definitely causing him pain. Teeth were just done in Nov. and were fine.

He grazes and yest. I took him on a walk to some nicer grass and he grazed like crazy. ?? Not sure what's up but hope we figure it out. He's a hard keeper and we can't afford to have him losing weight this time of year.

I should add he is prob. a prime candidate for ulcers. He cannot chew much hay (teeth are worn down) so we rely on 10 pounds/day of TC senior (he was on complete a few months ago)...so his diet is heavy in grain and low in hay in winter. In spring/summer he eats grass just fine.

[toowoomba2]

You shouldn't have to scope the horse to treat for ulcers if they have the symptoms, that should be enough for the vet to prescribe meds. My vet didn't require it.

If grain is a major source of ulcers, is it possible to replace a majority of your horse's calories with soaked beat pulp or alfalfa cubes instead? That helped my hard keeper/ulcer prone gelding tremendously.

[Saskatoonian]

Ask your vet - my guy was scoped at the barn. He wasn't in stocks, but was tranq'd.

[tpup]

Thanks everyone.

Toowoomba, he gets alfalfa/timothy cubes and beet pulp...but I would say they make up only 1/4 to 1/3 of his diet. (He gets maybe a total of 3 pounds of cubes and BP per day)

The rest is grain. He also gets 1 lb. rice bran pellets, plat. performance CJ and a small scoop of Nutra-flax (1 oz.) He will eat some hay but only perhaps 1/2 a bag at night in his stall. His teeth are so worn down in the back it takes him a long time to chew. He can't really process the long pieces. He's turned out all day and munches on what he can. When we have grass, we are good to go. But in winter I think I need "plan b" as in a big trough of denghi or chopped hay or grass.

Some of the behavioural changes have been recent bucking on the trail (mild bucks, but bucks)...throwing head some when I tighten girth, kicking out some and stomping hoof toward end of riding sessions (as if to say he's had enough). Tough to say as he also has arthritic hocks (treated) and he's older. I feel bad thinking that perhaps he has had ulcers all this time. Stress of the fever, etc. may have set the ulcers off this time though. So very subtle signs but now the refusal to eat and pinning ears when eating could be a sign. We'll see what vet says. I know he'll treat without scoping. He mentioned that last visit.

[abbydp]

The answer depends on the vet and the scope. I just had my boy scoped yesterday at our barn. The scope was little, about the size of a shoe box with a small water bottle attached. It isn't a video scope, though, just an eyepiece. For a serious issue or upper airway, video scopes are better but almost always have to be done in a clinic or hospital setting. I did have to take away all feed and hay at midnight, and water in the morning (it needs to be gone for at least 2 hours). The timing didn't go so well, they were late and didn't get here until 1:30. It was a very long morning. He was quite hacked off, being the only one left in and not fed. I got the "SHE FORGOT TO FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED ME" whinny all morning.

[mroades]

Yes, they can be scoped at home, but you MUST withdraw every scrap of food for 12 hours prior or it will be a waste of time, all they will see is food.Ask me how I know....:mad:

[rcloisonne]

Yes, they most certainly can be scoped at the barn IF the vet has a portable gastroscope. They are much larger in diameter and length than the scopes used on the upper respiratory system. My vets cart it around in a large, hard case that also contains a built-in video monitor.

You'll need to have a good electrical set up at the barn with the three prong outlets. The horse must be fasted for at least 12 hours and tranquilized (usually dorm/torb) before the procedure. Amazing what the horse's esophagus and stomach looks like!

[Blinkers On]

Scopes are portable. Heck these days they don't need an electrical plug, they have a battery pack.
You do need to fast your horse to scope a stomach.

[Auventera Two]

Well that's interesting! I had no idea they could be portable. :lol: You definitely have to fast the horse COMPLETELY for 12 hours. They even told me if my horse has ever been prone to eat shavings that she should be in a totally bare stall over night.

[decorum]

My horse had to go 24 hours with no food and he was muzzled the whole time. That alone should give a horse ulcers. lol Mine did not have them, at least not at that time.

He was done at the clinic, not in stocks but he was sedated.