Ranitidine

[pines4equines]

My vet has prescribed this for my horse. Eight 300mg pills twice a day long term use. I had asked the vet about long term affects of an acid blocker and what it does to digestion. She didn't have a response. Does anyone have any experiences? Suggestions?

(We've tried the U7, ProCMCs, Neighlox, Tums of the world, just want to know about Ranitidine use.) Thank you!

[TheOrangeOne]

Eight is actually a very low dose- my gelding gets 20 twice a day. See if it works, but don't hesitate to up it a bit if you aren't seeing results. It seems to help him a lot, though.

[Riley0522]

My horse went from crazy, barely rideable jerk to practically a calm, collected lesson horse after 2 days of ranitidine. He's a 16.2 1/2 hand TB Gelding (about 1100lbs) and we started on 12 300mg pills 2x/day and now we're down to 10 2x/day. Will do 2 weeks of that and then try to wean down to 8 2x/day, and finally 6/2x per day and if he does fine he will be on 3-4 months of that and then we will try to wean him off. He's also getting 5g of Sucralfate (Carafate) 2x/day.

[pines4equines]

Thanks all. The vet called the prescription in and she already changed to 10 of the 300 mg pills twice a day.

Any side effects anyone else had?

[aspenlucas]

Is it cheaper through your vet or Costco? http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11285699&search=ranitidine&Mo=1&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=ranitidine&Ntt=ranitidine&No=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

Granted you'd have to do 20 2X a day, but just wondered?

I've given it to youngstock in the past with great success. When I saw a foal was a bit down, or a yearling, I'd pop some in the feed and within a week they were back to normal and I'd slowly wean them off.

[JB]

Eight is actually a very low dose- my gelding gets 20 twice a day.

You have to pay attention to the dosage of each pill ;) I HOPE your horse isn't so large he's getting 20 of the *300mg* pills twice a day ;)

20 of the 150mg pills is more like it ;) That's 10 of the 300mg pills. That's a dosage for a horse about 1300lb.

[TheOrangeOne]

No, it's twenty 300mg pills ;)

Dosage is 6.6 mg/kg of body weight. My horse weighs 1500 pounds, 680 kg. Thus, the dose is 15 pills, 3 times a day. My vets said that because I am only doing it twice, I should increase it, and I notice a significant difference between 15 and 20.

[Riley0522]

No, it's twenty 300mg pills ;)

How big is he??? I would think that unless he's 2000lbs, you're wasting money giving him that much since you only need 3mg/lb.

[Pancakes]

How big is he??? I would think that unless he's 2000lbs, you're wasting money giving him that much since you only need 3mg/lb.

No, the OP's math is correct.

3mg/lb is the same as 6.6mg/kg.

[Androcles]

(We've tried the U7, ProCMCs, Neighlox, Tums of the world, just want to know about Ranitidine use.) Thank you!

Interesting that you have tried all those others; I wonder what does Rantidine do differently?

I know of a horse on Ranitidine which is the source of my interest, but from what I gather he is a colicker and this is supposed to help with that aspect, or perhaps treat the ulcers to minimize the colicking?

I am still curious about products like SmartGut, the ingredients in which are purported to be able to heal ulcers (such as the glutamine and I think DGL).

[Horseshowaddict]

I would guess that ranitidine works better because blocking stomach acid production is what it does. All of the other supplements just aid in stomach buffering etc etc, and do not actually stop the body's stomach acid from being made. If you see results from the supplements, by all means, use them. But some are quite pricey, and there are very low side affects from using ranitidine/cimetidine. For the price, I would go with using what is scientifically proven to work. Quite a few of the horses at the barn I managed were put on ranitidine and had very positive results that we saw especially about 4 weeks of consistent treatment.

[Androcles]

But is it excess acid production in these horses or just normal amounts, that the medicine blocks? Don't horses need some acid to digest their food? It sounds like it could be interfering with digestion. The horse I'm thinking of is extremely underweight and can't put any weight on and from what you say the Ranitidine could be preventing him from utilizing his food.

[Horseshowaddict]

Id have to ask for more detailed specifics as I am not a vet, nor am I a nutritionalist. From what I can recall, the horse's stomach actually doesnt break down the bulk of what the animal consumes. Most of it occurs after the stomach. Also, horses with gastric ulcers usually have the problem of producing excess acid, so these blockers would reduce, and probably not halt all acid in the stomach. Plus, sticking to the correct dosage for the horse, and only giving it 2-3 times a day wont do your horse any harm. Although we are different species, this is the same product as Zantac and is approved for human use by the FDA for the same acid blocking property.

The causes of gastric ulcers are pretty vast. So if your horse doesnt have ulcers, or isnt being irritated by excess acid production, then none of these drugs will help. We had a horse that had a TON of ulcers, who was actually put on a round of gastrogaurd. He had a very poor appetite, and many of the other "ulcer symptoms". After his treatment was finished he was scoped again and had no real signs improvement.
Turns out after some tests were done (as a hunch really) the horse was allergic to pretty much everything, most grass hays, soy products, and corn! As drastic as it was, he was put on another round of gastrogaurd and a pretty strict diet of oats and alfalfa. He was still on pasture with grass, but wouldnt you know it, his attitude improved, as did his weight and coat. He stays on anti ulcer medication (as far as I know), and its still a bit of a challenge to make sure he has all of his nutritional bases covered, but the ulcers are GONE.

To answer your question better, I guess you wont know until you try. I have never seen negative side effects of ranitidine, but it is possible to see little to no response to it. Most of the horses that I had on it, did end up gaining weight. Horses that are uncomfortable are stressed, and stressed horses dont gain or keep weight on very well.

[desertmyst]

How is everyone giving this to their horses? I'm going to try the Ulcergard on my mare and see how she responds, but would like to try the Raniditine as it is a bit cheaper ;) Do you grind it up and mix it, dissolve it in water? When is the best time to give it? I read twice a day before eating, but if that isn't feasible with the feeding schedule\my work schedule, what other way would work?

THANKS!!!!

[TheOrangeOne]

I just throw the pills in with his feed, whole, and he eats them along with everything.

[sid]

Have not read all the replies, but "in the old days" (I'm talking about the 90's) Zantac was a Godsend for foals with ulcers. This was before it was OTC. It was expensive even then, but did the job better than Tagamet for those with severe ulcers.

In those days, the vet would have to call in the Rx to a human pharmacy. I laughed when I went to pick and they freaked out at the dosage. Once I explained it was for a horse, the whole pharmacy staff at CVS would ask me how the little guy was doing every time I went to pick up refills.

In a few cases where I had to use it back in the 90's there were no after effects. And those I had to use it for are now in their late teens.

But... it was a good 5 weeks of treatment before the ulcers were gone. Expensive, but there was little else in those days. If foals did so well on it will no other side effects, I sure wouldn't worry about it for an adult horse.

[pines4equines]

Hi guys. Thank you so much for the responses.

This horse was on 28 days of UG in January with excellent results however the ulcer symptoms came back in June and the horse was put on another round of UG. Then vet then prescribed the Ranitidine for long term use and the prescription is for a year. I ordered it from SmartPak (one because they are so gracious with the free shipping code we all use here) and two, because I wasn't quite sure how to do the prescription thing and they walked me through it. It was so easy for a newbie prescription for horses person.

This horse had colic surgery about 2 1/2 years ago and just has not been the same horse since. When he did go on the 28 days of UG in January, he was like the same old horse pre colic surgery. The vet thinks in this horse's instance, the surgery is what brought on the ulcers.

Horse is on TC Senior which has the probiotics in the feed. I was thinking of looking into a natural prebiotic but need to do some research before I willy nilly add it along with the Ranitidine.

Horse is lightly trail ridden, trailered to trail heads about 20 minutes away. 12 hours of T/O (at this time of year, usually more but it's been so wet here!!!) Free choice hay NY 1st cut grass hay.

Again, thanks all for the responses. After the 12 days of UG and starting Ranitidine on Wednesday, he is my same old adorable, full of personality horse. I really hate when he feels bad, you can so tell. He's mournful.

[TheOrangeOne]

Just so you know: Ranitidine is the only medication that I have found is significantly cheaper at the vet's office than online, even with free shipping. You might want to double check with your vet to see how much they will charge.

[bellboots]

My horse gets daily Ranitidine because the other supplements just didn't do anything for him. The first time we did the 28 days of Gastrogard and used a supplement, the ulcers came back within 6 months. We did another round of GG and then started the Ranitidine.

The dosage for us is 10 tabs (300mg) 2x per day - horse weighs +/- 1250 lbs. We have revisisted trying to reduce that, but both the vet and I don't think it's worth the risk of recurring ulcers (if it's not broke, don't fix it).

I buy Ranitidine by the case (12 bottles, 250 tabs in each) at $21 per bottle from my vet.

[pines4equines]

Thank you for the advice on purchasing from the vet!

[tuttifruitti]

I have a mare that responded so well to this new product. It works differently than the anti-acids....it actually strenghtens the stomach cells. It doesn't counteract the normal acid needed to digest. It was developed at the tracks. Like, a cup a day and believe me, it doesn't taste cause this mare is very picky about her feed.
I used 3 containers of it since May. It's cost around $50 a month.
I have been really pleased with the results, as is my mare!

[Riley0522]

I think I'm the only person in the world who's vet is more expensive for Ranitidine than online! I pay $44 for a bottle of 250 300mg pills. Smartpak has the same size bottle for $36.95. Another vet I knew charged $52 for the same size bottle!

I need to move!

[MunchkinsMom]

My gelding was on ranitidine for almost 2 years, with no side effects. At first it was cheaper to purchase from SmartPak, then my vet's office lowered the price.

His preferred method of dosing was via oral syringe with raspberry jello mix. I would dose him before feeding.

We used it for suspected ulcers, this horse was a chronic colic case. Turns out the colics were due to ileal hypertrophy, not ulcers.

[JB]

I think I'm the only person in the world who's vet is more expensive for Ranitidine than online! I pay $44 for a bottle of 250 300mg pills. Smartpak has the same size bottle for $36.95. Another vet I knew charged $52 for the same size bottle!

I need to move!
:eek:

My vet has the 250ct/300mg bottles for $26. The calculations came out to just about the same as the Costco bottles, on a per-gram basis.

[JB]

FYI, my gelding is currently slurping down his 2c alfalfa pellets, 1gm bute paste, 10 300gm ranit pills (crushed), and his selenium/copper/zinc/tri-amino supps, plus vit/min supp, all without question once I add 1 carrot pureed in 2c water. He ate everything in that list, pre-bute/ranit, without the carrots. Didn't like just adding the bute/ranit. Slurps it all down with the carrot water. Sure makes life easy for me!

[Androcles]

I have a mare that responded so well to this new product. It works differently than the anti-acids....it actually strenghtens the stomach cells. It doesn't counteract the normal acid needed to digest. It was developed at the tracks. Like, a cup a day and believe me, it doesn't taste cause this mare is very picky about her feed.
I used 3 containers of it since May. It's cost around $50 a month.
I have been really pleased with the results, as is my mare!

Do you know what's in it?

[Rodeio]

Do you know what's in it?

Link to label from Valley Vet website: http://www.valleyvet.com/Library/lib_39273_-label1.pdf