18/12/2023
Let’s talk about ULCERS!!!
This is all my own experiences so just for those that don’t have the opportunity to experience some of the stuff I get to experience, riding many new horses each year!! What I KNOW to be true however is that 90% of performance horses have ulcers!!! 🤯
This doesn’t mean that I treat every single horse for ulcers but I do try to do preventatives. So let’s start with signs…
🦄I take note of how each are personality wise. If they are a more anxious horse, pacing, pawing, weaving, angry (especially at feeding time). These all can be signs…also running p**p is a sign of an irritable tummy!! Sometimes a good probiotic will clean that up too.
🦄Infront of my front cinch, kind of by their elbow…if you run up towards their withers, sometimes that will tell you. If they are real reactive, usually means they are ulcery. I will keep in mind, especially on young ones that they could just be cinchy from being fresh, so I will keep an eye on it, taking note each day if it gets better or not. I might give them some omeprozol, nutribac, afx when I ride them to see if that helps also. Remember to pay attention
🦄if you saddle or blanket your horse and they pin their ears at you, turn and bite at you…this is your sign!!!
🦄 Won’t hold weight, guard hairs, unhealthy coat…these are also signs of needing to be dewormed but can cross over so make sure they are dewormed or that you have checked if they have worms but doing a f***l analysis.
Treatments…
So obviously the more natural way is using products like nutribac, zesterra, afx and I’m sure their are more products but PLEASE understand that these DO NOT TREAT ULCERS!! These products help maintain or prevent in my experience.
Omeprozol is a product I use mostly as a preventative, not saying it isn’t a product that is and can be used for treatment however I do not feel like I can get a steady dose of the ingredients needed consistently to treat. By this I mean 🦄 omeprozol comes in a bottle of mixed ingredients similar to gastroguard. The thing is these bottles sit and those ingredients settle. So when they say shake well, it’s not a couple shakes, it’s a vigorous 5 minute shake and even still there is no way of 💯 knowing for sure that the ingredients are evenly distributed on a daily basis which I think is detrimental to ulcer treatment. So I choose to use this as more of a preventative or on a horse that shows minimal signs but there is a possibility so I treat when on the road.
Gastroguard!!! By far my favourite and most effective choice of treatment!! 🌟
I know that this option is highly expensive, but it is most effective and the company is so confident in how effective, that they guarantee the product!!! If at the end of a 28 treatment, with proof of a gastroscope of remaining ulcer, they will cover the tubes needed to finish the full treatment! Also shop around with vets…I know one vet that is considerably cheaper than others!! With gastroguard I usually also use sucralfate to treat hind ulcers. The gastroguard I will give first thing in the morning 10-15 min before I feed them so that they are treated with an empty stomach. An hr later I will give them sucralfate and then again after lunch and again before evening feed. You can get away with only doing it 2x a day but 3 is best!!
🦄🦄Understand if you treat and cure ulcers it is highly likely that they may come back. So it is your job to do all you can in prevention!!!
Preventative measures…
🦄if your horse doesn’t like to be by themselves and they are never getting over that, help them out…give them a friend!!!
Stella is aweful…always has been, always will be!! She IS NOT getting over that!!! So she always has a friend at the trailer, in the trailer, at the vet, on the road!!! I rarely put her in a boxstall and if I have to, the only time she’s in there is for 6-8hrs at night so I can sleep. The rest of the time she is at the trailer with her buddy. But 98% of the time I am on the ball and half a pen booked for her that is big enough for her buddy!
🦄When I have an event I’m getting ready to go to, I will start them a day or 2 before leaving on 10cc of omeprozol and then once on the road they will get 20cc of omeprozol. The horses that are more ulcer prone or that I have treated already will get half a tube of gastroguard on the road and a full tube on days that we run. I usually give them sucralfate with that also.
🦄With each horse I run, I always give them 40-60cc of AFX right when I go to get on. I’ve used this product for 10 yrs and I have had really good luck with my horses stay sane and solid mentally in the road and I truly believe that that is because their bellies feel good.
🦄Feed…I always ALWAYS have hay infront of my horses. I try not to change from what I’m feeding at home. I can’t get squares from the same hay producer so I try to have the same mixture. I like a 60-80% alfalfa/20-40%brome. And I do not want a course stocky hay. It doesn’t digest properly and my horses aren’t going to fully utilize a course hay like they would with a softer hay.
I also feed beet pulp to EVERYTHING! Along with my BUCKEYE Nutrition! I have been feeding this for 15 yrs to 100s of different horses, and I know the product and trust the product to provide my horses with the nutrients they need for optimal health with no fillers. I believe changing products every month, not knowing your feed, just rolling with the new “it” product is hard on a horses tummy!! So whatever feed you may be using, understand it and it’s benefits to your horses and stick with it. When I go somewhere for sometimes weeks at a time, I will make sure I have enough buckeye to carry me through my trip. There is nothing worse to me to be south and have to figure out the best product off the shelves for my horses. This is when my nutritionists get the panic phone call!!! 😂 Jo Woolsey I also like to feed a herb to help keep their tummies at healthy pH levels!!
Also I feed a probiotic regularily especially to those on the road!! Keep their tummy happy!!!
The biggest thing is know your horse!! Know what is normal and what is not!! Horses are creatures of habit so less change the better. And any stress is gonna affect their tummies first and foremost so lessen the stress. Build a routine and stick with it, on and off the road. It can be as small as what order they go in the trailer!!! Pay attention!!
Also remember that stress most times than not can come from soreness so make sure to vet your horses and make sure all is looked after!!
