Horse not overly interested in her food? Ulcers?

[*JumpIt*]

Mare is a 10 yr old OTTB (11 tomorrow!!), she gets 2.5 quarts of Safechoice and farriers formula in the AM.

In the past few months she has been becoming more disinterested in her food. She has never been piggy about her food but now she takes an extra long time to eat often eating hay inbetween bites. Occasonally not eating all of her food overnight. She does not eat hay well either, but this just may be habit.

She does have some behavior issues (that have always been there), mainly spookiness and occasional explosions on the ground. However she has a very shiney coat and very happy expression. Though she has been on more bute/banamine this year then ever due to injuries.

The only changes in her life was that she moved from 24/7 turnout to 12/12 turnout last winter, same farm just now gets a stall. Gets along great with her pasturemates.

Does there sound like there may be ulcers to you?

Our vet is not capable of scoping and the closest I know of that can is an hour away. Since we've used up out vet money this year (22 stitches across her rib cage, and a broken splint), I'd like to see about treating her as if she has ulcers and see if there is any change in her appetite or her behavor.

Is there any point in starting her on something cheaper like smartgut before jumping to the gastroguard? (:eek: so expensive!)

I was also considering starting her on soaked alfalfa cubes/pellets, generally how much is give?

Thanks for any help or opinions! I really appreciate it!

[Laurierace]

Do not mess around with alternatives. Treat with at least one week of the theraputic dose of ulcerguard or gastroguard to get an answer. Otherwise you won't know if the horse didn't have ulcers or if your chosen treatment didn't work. You can experiment later on if need be.

[Equibrit]

She may just hate Safechoice.

[SFrost]

I suspected my horse had ulcers due to major behavioral changes. He never went off his feed and look healthy. He was just not himself. Since this happened shortly after I moved him up here I was tight on cash and could not afford to scope him. I suppose it wouldn't have mattered if I did because the vet thought I was nuts. Said he most likely didn't have ulcers.

I started him on Smartgut and shortly after the horse I knew came back. I love the product. (My horse hates the taste though. It has to be mixed well to get him to eat it. This can be a challenge at a boarding barn.)

Anyway, while I don't think ulcers should be played around with, I understand the situation. If this is the only thing you can do for the horse right now, I say do it.

[SOTB]

Sounds like it could ulcers to me! My horse backed off his feed gradually as his ulcers developed. I really think the only way to initially treat ulcers and be sure you're fixing the problem without a scope is the go with ulcerguard. Try a daily treatment for a week or two and then try a supplement like neighlox. Also, fee him alfalfa 10-15 minutes before you put his feed in his bucket. Once my horses uclers were treated, he not only started eating his feed quickly, he became a HUGE hay eater. He gets hay or grass at all times. Good luck!

[Tegan]

Does anyone know when Merial's patent on the paste formulation expires? I heard it was soon but don't know the date.

IMO, you can't substitute Ulcer/Gastrogard. But maybe you have caught the problem early before behavioral changes start and you can try SmartGut. I use it as a preventative but don't have any experience on how it is to treat ulcers.

[Equibrit]

FDA Doc; http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/Products/ApprovedAnimalDrugProducts/FOIADrugSummaries/ucm118038.pdf

U.S. Patent Number Date of Expiration
5708017 April 4, 2015

Check this out; http://www.equine.omeprazoledirect.com/
Spier® 700mg Omeprazole Granules and Tablets direct from manufacturer, no script required.

What's the offer then?

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(3 sachets a day for an 1150 lb horse @ $1.50 each)

[hollyhorse2000]

actually, you're pretty much describing symptoms of ulcers, even with the shiny coat and the change in turnout alone could be enough to push a potentiall ulcery horse in that direction. I personally don't scope. I just treat with Ulcergard ($30 a tube online with free ship). You can easily do a test with one full tube a day for about a week. If she starts eating better, then you have your answer. I do like SmartGut and am using that now (after Ulcergard treatment), but I wouldn't expect that product to cure, only prophalatically protect.

Good luck!

[Eventaholic]

Hollyhorse, where are you finding Ulcerguard for $30 and free shipping online?! Please share!

[tpup]

You can also try Ranitidine and Sucralfate for a few days. These pills completely turned around my horse who completely stopped eating to eating his whole bucket FAST. (he was a slow eater for a year before he went off his feed...). Or try Ggard for a few days. Within 48 hours you should see an improvement if it is indeed ulcers. Simple answer fast. The Ranitidine is way cheaper but a pain dissolving the pills and giving 2 to 3x per day.

BTW, Banamine and Oxytet are what my vet feels brought his ulcers to the forefront. He was treated with these meds for tick-fever and stopped eating the next day. So the use of Banamine/Bute over the year may have definitely contributed to the ulcers.

[murphyluv]

I agree- I think if you want to know if you have ulcers, treat for 7 days with gastroguard. It sucks, but it's better than wasting your money, for a longer period of time, on something else.
After the week, pick another treatment to go with, based on how bad you can "guess" the ulcers are.
I personally like papaya juice- I've seen great results with it and you can get the papaya puree (not stomach soother) cheap.

[Mare mom]

You can buy ulcergard at www.discountpetdrugs.com for 30 a tube with free shipping. Ulcergard worked great. Smartgut did not work at all on my horse.

[hollyhorse2000]

entirelypets.com also has it for about $30 a tube (check for coupons that are usually available for 5% off or so). Free ship over $100, as I recall . . .

[fivehorses]

thanks for posting those sites for ulcergard.

I am awaiting some ulcergard and gastrogard is coming next week. I found kvvet to be the least expensive for the gastrogard.

While I am waiting, my vet sold me the stomach soother. Where do you get papaya juice?

I have one horse with very very similar symtoms to the OP's.

Another question, gastrogard states it has a coating which allows it to get to the stomach to treat ulcers, and other ulcer meds don't do that and are killed by the stomach acids. Anyone know if ulcergard can do the same thing? I know dosing is different, but I am talking same dosage, but is the product itself exactly the same?

[GatoGordo]

Yes, the product is exactly the same, just the labeling is different. One tube of Gastrogard = one tube of Ulcergard.

[Flipper]

One week on Gastrogard might not be enough to see improvements. My horse was scoped, the vet only saw 1 ulcer (which doesn't mean anything - there could be lots more), and put him on 1 tube of GG for 28 days (YIKES!!) followed by 2 more weeks at 1/2 tube. I'm also giving him 12 tums tablets every time he's worked.
I didn't see any improvement in him until after 2 weeks on the GG. Granted, he's a big boy, but just be aware that 1 week might not cut it for your horse. Good luck!

[LauraKY]

Or, she could hate the SafeChoice. It's not a fixed feed formula. We used to use it and one of my picky thoroughbreds took forever to eat it (this was after he happily chowed down on it for over a year). We switched to TC Senior and he calls for his food.

I would try switching feed first, before you go to the expense of GastroGuard. Only switch one thing at a time.

I do know that alfalfa makes my OTTBs HOT. You may not have the same experience.

EntirelyPets no longer sells UlcerGuard, unless you are in state.

[eqsiu]

If $$$ is an issue, try alfalfa pellets or cubes or hay. You don't need a whole lot, and it has been shown to help with ulcers. Maybe the high calcium content? I like U-Gard for regular maintenance. It has antacids and kaolin and pectin (like feeding tums, rolaids and kaopectate all together) which help sooth tummies and neutralize acids. It won't cure them, for that you'll need omeprazole, but I think it helps manage them.

[LauraKY]

Or, she could hate the SafeChoice. It's not a fixed feed formula. We used to use it and one of my picky thoroughbreds took forever to eat it (this was after he happily chowed down on it for over a year). We switched to TC Senior and he calls for his food.

I would try switching feed first, before you go to the expense of GastroGuard. Only switch one thing at a time.

I do know that alfalfa makes my OTTBs HOT. You may not have the same experience.

EntirelyPets no longer sells UlcerGuard, unless you are in state.

We just had a HUGE problem with TC Senior. Don't know what's wrong with it. All the bags from the new lot number smell different and no one will eat it. Now they won't eat the old bag either. They're a very suspicious bunch, those OTTBs. So, we've switched back to SafeChoice for the winter. Of course, my guy is back to not finishing up his feed. Horses.

[eqsiu]

My mare recently stopped eating sweet feed. Sweet feed! What horse doesn't eat sweet feed? :confused:

[GirlGeek]

Yes, the product is exactly the same, just the labeling is different. One tube of Gastrogard = one tube of Ulcergard.


GatoGordo,

Isn't that supposed to be something like 1 tube of Ulcergard = 1/4 tube of GG?

[Desert Topaz]

My mare recently stopped eating sweet feed. Sweet feed! What horse doesn't eat sweet feed? :confused:

Horses who have ulcers in their stomachs. Sweet feed makes it feel worse.

[GatoGordo]

GatoGordo,

Isn't that supposed to be something like 1 tube of Ulcergard = 1/4 tube of GG?

No. Both formulations contain 2.28 grams of omeprazole. The difference is the amount of omeprazole per "dose" - Ulcergard has 1/4 the amount of omeprazole per dose but 4 doses per tube. The Ulcergard dose - 1 mg/kg, which is 0.568 g for a 1250 lb horse, or 2.27/4 - is the one approved for the PREVENTION of ulcers, to be marketed OTC. The Gastrogard dose - 4 mg/kg, which is 2.27g for a 1250 lb horse - is the one approved for the TREATMENT of ulcers. Hence the weight markings on the GG tube - one full tube is marked as a 1250 lb dose.

[fivehorses]

I called merial and really quizzed them about the ingredients, and even the flavoring.
Basically, the weight measurements or dosage are the only difference and the directions. So, ulcergard is meant to be the preventative and gastro the cure. I am using the ulcergard, since it is way less money, even though my vet has given me a script. one tube gastrogard = one tube ulcergard.

I am using one full tube ulcergard for a month, and then will do 1/2 tube for two weeks, and 1/4 tube for two weeks, and then figure out what to use in the meantime to keep ulcers away.

I just started a couple of days ago, and my senior gelding is just about eating his grain. So, in my case, I have seen results in short order(couple of days). My other gelding, not so much of a change.

I have been looking high and low for papaya juice or puree. Stomach soother is just too much money. I did buy some papaya tablets today. Anyone know a good source for papaya puree or juice?