cafl:

Question:  Is it therapuetic/helpful to work a horse with possible gastric ulcers or not?

If you think he might have ulcers don't mess around with something that's not designed to heal them.  I would just give him the required dose for ulcers for a month or so, then when he seems like he's doing better put him on a preventative.  I know it's expensive, but in the long run you'll save money and have a happy ponee.

BoyleHeightsKid:

Is he girthy or grouchy when tacking up or grooming?

My horse is not now or has ever been the least bit girthy or ticklish in the belly area for grooming and/or tacking or blanketing Thanks for the threads.  I will check them out!

My vet recomended rest during the inital treatment, since work can be stressful (though it certainly isn't always) and that's not what you want when you're trying to heal a stress-related condition.  Not sure if that's a universal recomendation or just her.

I wouldn't change his routine as that can stress them as well.

One thing I always do to help prevent them is to make sure they are not worked on an empty stomach.  While Boy is being groomed and tacked he's got a hay bag that he buries his head into and will typically finish off a flake or two in that time period.  When it's time to bridle, I let him take one last bite and let him finish before I put a bit in his mouth.  This will help to keep stomach acid from splashing up from the hind gut.  If I knew then what I know now, I would have treated him for ulcers when he came off the track.  He has never been a picky eater and (knock on wood) he's never had trouble with colic, but there were other signs.  I'm just lucky I can board him at a place that offers unlimited pasture and as much hay as he can eat.  That helped him tremendously.

Hi - I'm just going to voice the opinion that the surgeon may have been trying to get across. It is my guess that he did not say that it is a total waste of money and does not work - there are too many studies to the contrary and surgeons tend to be logical. What he may have meant, which is a view I sympathize with, is that the introduction of this drug has been detrimental in the true resolution of ulcers.

When a drug IS as effective and proven as omiprazole, it is very tempting to simply take the pills and ignore the actual source of the problem. Too often we pop a pill and don't change the behaviors that cause the symptoms. Diet and lifestyle are key contributors. Yes, there are parasitic sources in horses as well. Diet - reduce grain, feed more forages. Lifestyle - consistency, atmosphere that agrees with the horse, and discipline that suits the horse. Parasites - worm regularly from the start! Fecals are great - but they simply tell you to worm the horse for specific species, if you have a good schedule, one that is individualized to your region, you can simply worm on a rotational basis which will control worms and help keep your horse healthy (I go so far as to not buy horses that look wormy- either now or in past pictures...). However, too many owners take the easy way out - they dose their horse with omi instead of changing the source of discontent.

Yes, if your horse has ulcers, by all means, use omi to help them heal faster and more completely, but realize that to actually "fix" the horse there have to be other changes as well.

OK stepping off my mounting block :)

Definitely go the GG/UG route if you suspect ulcers. But you can use some other things afterwards to reduce stomach acid and prevent future ulcers, such as: aloe vera juice, pumpkin seeds, oat flour, l-glutamine, papaya, alfalfa, Tums, and constant access to forage.

There's also a thread over on COTH about some people who have bought generic omeprazole from India and used it on their horses with good results. Someone who is a scientist tested the pills to make sure they had the proper coating, and they passed with flying colors. You might want to check out that thread, as it could save you some $$$.

 Thanks, everyone, for all of your excellent advice!!!!!

I started giving my boy Ulcer Guard yesterday but ended up calling the vet today because Heineken started pawing and eating dirt more and sticking out and sucking on his tongue (even though he has never shown actual classic symptoms of colic).  The vet came and palpated him to look at the consistency of his manure and to check for sand.  The manure was a little loose and there was no sand.  Then they tubed him (mineral oil and water) because they checked and noticed that he had an elevated heart rate and slower gut motility on his left side and was also a little dehydrated

He also got some banamine (I didn't give it to him until the vet saw him so that she could properly evaluate him).  While he had no impactions, he was very gassy, dehydrated and having major stomach pain from acorn ingestion most likely (we have tons of acorns!!!!)  

The vet then had me go shopping for U-7, mineral oil, electrolytes, rinitidine and had me stop giving Heiny beet pulp and his supplements.  For 2 weeks he will be off of his supplements and then we will start gradually adding each ingredient back into his diet, one at a time, every two weeks, to rule out other dietary problems...

I had to keep him in his stall for the rest of the day, to monitor his water intake and his bowels.  He showed remarkable improvement by around 8pm (ate almost all of his dinner, drank some water and had 2 normal bm's) so I was allowed to turn him back out and I turned off his auto waterer and put out buckets so that I can continue to monitor his progress.  I will let all of you know how he is doing tomorrow.  Thanks for all of your help!!!!

48northfarm:

Is Heineken's automatic waterer a Nelson? If it is, Nelson has a add-on monitor which keeps track of the gallons of water drunk. I bought one when I got the Nelson waterers for my new barn, but did not install it until I brought Juno home from her LF surgery. Then, I put it in her stall, and if I ever need to watch water intake on anyone else I can just move her into Juno's stall and make that stall the "recovery room". The monitors are on this page: water intake monitor

What a great idea!!!!  I will keep this in mind.  Right now I only have a giant water bucket hooked up to a hose and an automatic float valve (the piece that lets the hose know when the water level in the bucket is getting low.  I will definitely look at Nelson products and see if I can find something fairly portable because we rent and don't own out farm, so if I invest in one of these products, I would like to be able to take it with me in the future when we move.

This is a definite priority, though...I am constantly worrying about dehydration and this would definitely make it easier to monitor their H20 intake

 Update:  The U-7 seems to be working really well, along with the other dietary changes and the addition of some temporary Ranitidine to Heineken's diet.  He is back to having a hearty appetite for grain, is drinking enough water (right now I have turned off the automatic water float valve and am hand-filling buckets).

I put him back in work yesterday and he did great!!!!  He seems to be feeling much better and even already looks a little shinier. I had a lesson on him for his first day back in work (a gentle one) and our trainer definitely noticed an improvement.

I think I am probably going to keep Heineken on the U-7 (the vet says that it absorbs the toxins from the nasty acorns and also coats his stomach.  I am also going to start giving Ulcer Guard as a preventative before and during shows, travel, any major changes to daily routine.

Question:  Have any of you tried U-7 with your horses?  If so, what did you think of it?

48northfarm:

UlcerGuard runs almost $10 per day.

The generic omeprazole that I mentioned earlier is only $175 for a month of treatment (I believe $95/month for prevention) versus almost $1000/month for treatment with GG/UG. Here's the website for those who are interested -- http://equine.omeprazoledirect.com/ It comes in either tablets or little blue Dippin' Dots-like "granules."

48, I've actually thought about using Yea-saac before; now, I'll definitely have to give it a shot!

cafl, I've never used U-7 or known anyone who has, but if it's working for your boy then I would keep using it. Glad to hear he's feeling better!

 Be careful with generic omeprazole.  I know some folks are trying it out, but the tester on COTH ONLY tested the enteric coating.  Not the amount or efficacy of omeprazole contained.  If it doesn't have lot numbers and it doesn't have any kind of inspection process, dosages and distribution could be very uneven.  My vet has several clients here with dead pets due to buying cheap medications from Australia.  Obviously, an omeprazole overdose or underdose is less risky than some other things, but I like to know I am getting my money's worth and Solo's experience with ulcers was so terrible, I was not willing to take a risk that he might not actually be getting a consistent amount.

48northfarm:

The Yea-sacc comes in SmartPaks, 28 days for $10.95. UlcerGuard runs almost $10 per day.