how quickly should Tums work? and is this enough?

[JackSprats Mom]

So I was testing my horse with tums dual action (acid blocker and reducer) 2 pills 30 mins before I ride to see if that would make any difference if he had ulcers.

My question is, is this enough to make difference, is 30 mins long enough, is this something that needs to accumulate over time (I kept him on this routine for 2 weeks, no noticable difference).

Tums Dual action :

Famotidine 10mg
Calcium carbonate 800mg
Magnesium hydroxide 165mg
Do not use more than 2 chewable tablets in 24 hours (hence only 2 before I ride- I know he's 5 times more then a person but I was worried to use too much!)

thanks!

[lstevenson]

I'm sure 2 would do nothing. You need to multiply the human dose by 10 to 12 depending on how much your horse weighs, not sure how you came up with 5.

I know Tums works pretty fast on me. I would think 30 to 60 minutes before a ride would show a difference if it's going to.

You do know that you would just be very temporarily covering up the symptoms though right? If your horse has ulcers, Gastrogard/Ulcergard are the only things that heal them.

I'm curious, what ulcer symptoms are your horse showing under saddle?

[Angela Freda]

I'm sure 2 would do nothing. You need to multiply the human dose by 10 to 12 depending on how much your horse weighs, not sure how you came up with 5.
I dunno'
If 1-2 Tums Dual action are enough for a 200# man, then a 1000# horse would only need 5.
1000/200=5
But then I weigh 112# and would probably take 2 also, so it's a conundrum.

I would certainly not expect anything from 2.
My horse gets five 1000mg Tums with each meal.

[lstevenson]

I dunno'
If 1-2 Tums Dual action are enough for a 200# man, then a 1000# horse would only need 5.



Drugs and supplements don't use a 200lb man as their average weight, they use a more average weight. And they are VERY conservative on the amounts they use as maximum. For example, the bottle of Advil says to take no more than 2 capsules at a time, and doctors say it is totally fine to take 4.

[JackSprats Mom]

I was worried as it said two MAX per day for people....hmm maybe I should retry it then.

You do know that you would just be very temporarily covering up the symptoms though right? If your horse has ulcers, Gastrogard/Ulcergard are the only things that heal them.

Yes I know that, I don't think my horse does have ulcers BUT he can get cranky under saddle and refuse to want to move (now I'm 99.9% certain this is attitude BUT wanted to rule out ulcers- have already ruled out tack/vet-back/teeth etc etc) so just really wanted to mask symptoms and see if it worked.

Maybe I'll retry with more....

[SLW]

When my then yearling was done w/ his gastrogard I used Mylanta for awhile as a preventative/acid buffer. I think I gave him 20cc orally, piece of cake and he did not seem to mind the minty taste. The source I used gave a large horse, 1200#, 60 cc prior to a meal.

[Mary in Area 1]

We give about 5-6 regular Tums before riding. They like them.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

When my horse was on stall rest/bute for a little while I gave him 10-12 tablets of mint antacids with calcium. They weren't the Tums brand they were just Rite Aid pharmacy generic brand. He eats them like candy. I have some left and occasionally give him some as a treat.

I think they're chalky and gross. :lol:

My horse is around 1100lbs. A trainer at my barn suggested it and all seemed fine with the dosage and everything.

[Equitate.]

I've never used Tums- when my horse had an ulcer I used Maalox (like you, we wanted to see if it made a difference, it did). 60cc a day made horsey much more comfortable until we got her GG.

[Mav226]

I've used TUMS, but in a much higher dosage than you tried. 10-15 depending on the horse. Some horses tend to like Rolaids better as they are less chalky. A few of mine prefered the cherry flavored liquid Mylanta. It's a temporary fix, but once you realize what the problem is you can get them on Gastrogard.

[hollyhorse2000]

Bite the bullet and try one tube of Ulcergard each day for a week and see if the grumpiness improves. That will tell you whether or not you have an ulcer issue. Tube are about $30 each online and don't need an RX.

I've had very good luck with Smartpak's Smart Digest after teaching with Ulcergard.

I also use Tums as treats, but don't really expect them to "solve" the issue . . .

[Angela Freda]

Drugs and supplements don't use a 200lb man as their average weight, they use a more average weight. And they are VERY conservative on the amounts they use as maximum. For example, the bottle of Advil says to take no more than 2 capsules at a time, and doctors say it is totally fine to take 4.
My point was that the dose has a wide range of wt that it covers.
I never said the drug/supp peeps use a 200# person as their avg. wt, I simply pointed out that the dose for a person my size {112#} and a larger man {200#} is generally the same unless there is a metabolism issue for one or the other, therefore using the 100#/pill or dose formula isn't terribly scientific or based on reality.