Feeding A Horse With Stomach Ulcers

[mydaddysjag]

We are currently treating my horse for stomach ulcers with GastroGard due to suspected ulcers. We have already done a comprehensive physical exam and complete blood work. We think that my horses original illness caused ulcers. Now he is past the initial illness, but still has ulcer symptoms. With the size of my horse, treating with the gastrogard is only about $100 more expensive than having a scope done. I chose to just begin treatment to see how he responds. I dont want to use over the counter hit or miss fixes, my horse is already showing all of the signs of ulcers. My last vet had me using human medication to try to prevent the ulcers, and it didn't work. I just want to have him on a known cure and not something that I have to cross my fingers is working.

He is a 36" miniature horse, but not an air fern

Before getting sick, here was his feed and routine for the last month (during show season I add soaked beet pulp and chopped alfalfa, but don't normally feed it in the off season.

AM- .8 lbs of Purina mini horse and pony feed, a pelleted feed thats 13.5% protein, 4.5% fat, 18% fiber

4lbs of hay in a busy snacker hay feeder. 2lbs timothy, 2lbs alfalfa, both are second or 3rd cut.

Supplements: salt and remission (feed to show horses as was vet recommended to help prevent and reduce cresty necks)

Mid - Normally about 1lb of hay, which by volume isnt much. I alternate timothy one day, alfalfa the next.

PM- .8lbs. Purina mini horse and pony pelleted feed

4lbs of hay in a busy snacker hay feeder. 2lbs timothy, 2lbs alfalfa, both are second or 3rd cut.

He normally drinks 5 gallons a day, but hasn't since he got sick. He has a salt and a mineral block in his stall, and does actually use both.

He had been on that feed routine since the beginning of August. Now that hes sick, he either doesn't touch his hay, or eats very little of it. He also isnt drinking (vet has to tube him with fluids). He is usually still excited about his actual feed, and most days its one of the few days I can get food/water into him.

Right now his routine is-

Am: give him 4lbs of hay in a busy snacker hay feeder. 2lbs timothy, 2lbs alfalfa (which he usually doesnt eat)

Early afternoon: give him .8lbs pelleted feed, then measured dry 1 cup beet pulp shreds, 1 cup chopped timothy/alfalfa hay all soaked in about 1/2 gallon of water

Late afternoon: His daily dose of Gastrogard, 4lbs of hay in a busy snacker hay feeder. 2lbs timothy, 2lbs alfalfa (which he usually doesnt eat)

PM: .8lbs pelleted feed, then measured dry 1 cup beet pulp shreds, 1 cup chopped timothy/alfalfa hay all soaked in about 1/2 gallon of water

Now, I know with the ulcers, he should be off of the feed and only on free choice hay, but he wont eat the hay. Hes not an air fern, so if off everything, he would end up very thin or emaciated. If I feed too much beet pulp he turns his nose up, and the same with the chopped hay. Im wondering if it would be beneficial to replace his feed with alfalfa pellets, or timothy/alfalfa pellets. I know the alfalfa is high in calcium, but helps soothe the stomach. I do worry about a vitamin/mineral imbalance, but hopefully the ulcers heal in about 30 days. Is 30 days long enough to make a significant issue with the diet not being balanced correctly?

Sorry this is so long, just wanted to put the whole picture put there.

 

[targetsmom]

My experience with ulcers wasn't successful, so you might want to keep that in mind. But some things I tried that seemed to work at the time:

I am not a vet but I think getting him to eat something is better than not eating, so I wouldn't worry short term about the mineral imbalance. One product I like is Stomach Soother (Google it), which is simply pureed papaya, which not only "soothes the stomach" so is good for ulcers, but also tastes good and tends to encourage appetite. I would sometimes give 5-10 cc in a dosing syringe if Max was in pain, or just add a tablespoon or so to his feed. I found that soaked alfalfa cubes were popular with Max, so that was the basis of his "grain" diet. I would add the Stomach Soother and a small amount of Nutrena Senior Feed, which was alfalfa based (a compete feed) and fairly low in sugar/starch. A good day was a day when he finished (or almost finished) his "grain"!! I can't remember why he wasn't getting soaked beet pulp because everyone else was. BTW, he wouldn't eat the hay PELLETS he was supposed to be eating after his colic surgery. Again, I think the secret is to find something he will eat. Grass would be the absolute best - hand graze as often as you can - which was not possible for us last January or February. Max was on pasture (in our back yard) for 3-4 hours a day until the grass gave out.

I also fed grass hay in a slow feeder (Busy Snacker), which I would put on the fence where he and a buddy could both reach it. Basically free choice, day and night (in his stall at night). Some nights he would finish the hay and some nights it looked like he never touched it. But he did like to eat with his buddy.

I had to take Max's salt block away and salt his feed because he would go after the salt so much we worried that would aggravate the ulcers.

ETA: One thing about scoping for ulcers: We took Max in last November to get him scoped, which requires them to fast for 12 hours (or more- I don't remember the exact time). Fasting can aggravate ulcers, so when he came home he was actually even WORSE off than when we took him, which we figured was due to the fasting. So I agree with the "treat first" policy. And another reason why you want to keep him eating.

 

[sfmini]

Unfortunately we have had a lot of experience with ulcers.

Feed him what he will eat, but he does need roughage. From what I understand, they get turned off of food because eating fires up stomach acid and causes pain. What our vet had us do was give 30cc's of Pepto Bismol about 1/2 hour before feeding to help coat the stomach. We were also giving a cc or 2 of Banamine orally to kill the pain when the ulcers first started. Yes, I know they can also have an ulcer causing effect but it is a case of picking your poison, hurting horse or small risk of making it worse. We never had it get worse. The problem with the Gastro guard is that it takes 10 days to 2 weeks for it to start having an effect so pain management is important until the gastro kicks in.

 

[lil hoofbeats]

Feed him what he will eat, but he does need roughage.

YES!!!!! the very first thing to do when someone suspects ulcers is CHANGE YOUR FEEDING PROGRAM!!!! turn him/her out to pasture and sometimes that is all it takes to correct the problem. You can add Rantidine HCL that is over the counter, but it must be given every four hours or it will loose its effectiveness after a four hour period, but it will buffer the stomach acid immediately by neutralizing it. The gastrogard will take effect in about 3-4 days before you will see it start to work, it works differently from the Rantidine because it shuts down the pumps that produce the acid, it does not neutralize it. Great meds that can be given together!

Gastrogard IS human medicine, it is just a much higher dosage, horses need that dosage due to their stomach producing much more acid than ours. Horses were designed to eat little and often, 2-3 feedings a day is allot of times not enough for them. Turn him out on a nice green pasture and that will help more than any med you give. Also there is some info out there that alfalfa hay has a natural buffering effect, so if he likes it and will eat it, buy a bale or two to get him through the rough part.

I could not afford gastrogard so i used Protonix(another human stomach pump inhibitor)that i got from the medical office i worked in, on my filly and just gave her 5 times the human dose, used Rantidine 3-4 times a day at 4 times the human dose, and fed her some alfalfa, and after a few days she started improving, and i am sure your little guy will to!!!! Good luck and let us know how it turns out!!!!

 

[albahurst]

When we had bleeding ulcers here (long story as to why this happened), our vet had us use soaked alfalfa cubes instead of the dry bales, as apparently dry alfalfa stems can irritate the stomach lining. We did feed them alfalfa leaves along with the soaked cubes. We took the girls off their feed and used soaked unsweetened beet pulp, soaked alfalfa cubes, and put them on some grass each day. They were show horses and not used to the grass, so we had to do this gradually. We also soaked any grass hay we fed, but they did not really want it too much at first. We treated with Neigh Lox (twice daily) and Gastro Gard once daily at noon. At one point, we added sucralfate for awhile. At the onset of symptoms, the vet tubed them and treated them with electrolytes which really gave them a boost and perked them up. Pain meds were changed - the horses were not allowed banamine, of course, so she had us use another medication by injection - a type of morphine, I think? Can't recall exactly... I believe the girls actually only needed one shot the first day and that was all. This worked great for us.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Today was the third day on the GastroGard, and I did notice a big improvement already. Im glad to see the improvement, as we were doing the treatment to make the diagnosis (if he responded to the treatment, the issue was ulcers, if not, we werent sure what was wrong with him and would need more testing).

Today he ate the majority of his hay, although he ate it slowly. He has two of the busy snacker hay bags. Today he made his "morning" bag last until around 5pm, then he got some hay outside when he was turned out, then I gave him his evening hay bag around 9. The biggest difference was his attitude, and drinking water. Before he got sick, he drank an entire "big horse" bucket a day, but while hes been sick, he wouldn't drink at all. Today he drank 1/4 of a bucket. Not as much as I would like, but a big improvement. He was waiting for me at the gate, and followed me around the pasture. He even stood outside the door to the feed/tack room whinnying while I was in there, begging for some food.

Unfortunately, I dont have any pasture, or even much grass in the front yard. We had a lot of flooding, and almost everything is mud, or just dry dirt. I do keep hay available for him nearly all day though. He gets his hay at certain times of the day, but if he runs out more than about an hour before the next feeding, I throw him some more.

I feed 50% of my hay as second or third cutting alfalfa, so I do already have 50 bales put up. Luckily, I wont have to try to hunt down a supplier last minute.

I do have Sucralfate ordered. The vet clinic didnt have it in stock, so the vet called it into dover pharmacy for me. She said to take 3 1gram tables three times a day for 7 days, and not to take it within 30 minutes of taking the gastrogard.

 

[Barbie]

When I had a horse with chronic ulcers I had her scoped. Dr Porter of the University of Florida put her on a full dose of Gastroguard for a month, then a half dose for 2 weeks. He also said NO sweetfeed. She has been ulcer free now for years.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Matt73]

My Willow developed ulcers after a severe bout with colitisX (or PHF) last year. I was using the Gastrogard and then my vet gave me omeprazole (the active ingredient in Gastrogard) suspension. It was much cheaper; I saved a bundle using that. The only difference is the name... If you can get the suspension from your vet, try. Willow got better very quickly and hasn't looked back

Good luck with your boy.

 

[disneyhorse]

As far as feeding goes... the more hay/grass/roughage you can keep in the stomach as a buffer, the better. If not on pasture, feeding many small meals stretched throughout the day is preferred (minimum of four times daily).

Alfalfa is a good choice, as it is high in calcium. Beet pulp is good to add, it is higher in calcium as well.

Other information given here is good, too...

Andrea

 

[Sandy B]

What a good momma you are with your care and concern for your boy. It sounds like you are on the right track. As others say it takes many days for you to see the Gastroguard begin to work. The hay you are feeding is great and I would encourage you to soak or heavily wet the hay at every feeding. Studies and my own experience have shown horses with ulcers to be hay dunkers on their own accord. The added benefit of wetting the hay is it provides extra fluids as well. I am not sure that alfalfa pellets will provide quite the same "roughage" as regular hay for a horse with an ulcer. However, I do feed pellets to an old mare and soak them to make a mash which she loves. The key is to provide him with some sort of hay 24/7 at least for 30-60 days until his ulcer heals. Then he will be prone to them again. Once his appetite is back you might try to find a pasture grass hay(in addition to his alfalfa) that is low calorie but that can keep him grazing as this is what a horse's stomach really needs to function at its best.

 

[mydaddysjag]

We started noticing a difference in his appetite and disposition yesterday, after 3 days on the Ulcergard. Not 100%, but a big difference from what he was. He is now excited for his food. He doesnt always finish his hay, and it takes him all day, but he actually wants it now. He is eating the mash. He started drinking again, and while its only about 1/4 as much as he used to drink, Im happy about it. He was what I would consider a "big drinker" for a mini, he normally drank 5 gallons a day.

I've been trying to soak his hay, but when I do, he doesn't eat it. Not sure how much of that was him not feeling well vs. him not liking it soaked. I feed him 50% alfalfa, and 50% timothy grass (not mixed in a bale, but I have a bale of each, and feed half of his hay from 1 bale and half from another. This is how I feed hay year round, not just since hes been sick. I cant find nice mixed alfalfa/grass hay here).

I wouldnt replace his regular hay with the pellets, he defiantly needs the long stem fiber. I was considering replacing his pelleted feed with alfalfa pellets, or timothy/alfalfa pellets. Some days he doesn't want his regular hay, but does want his mash and pelleted feed. Ive been reading that he shouldn't be on his regular pelleted feed while he has the ulcers, but I dont think he will eat enough regular hay to maintain his weight, especially through winter. Right now he is not eating all of his long stem hay, but will clean up his fiber mash and his soaked pellets. He started eating again yesterday morning (I think, hes been sick for a few weeks and days are starting to jumble together.) I was thinking that he would probably eat the hay pellets even if he didnt finish his long stem hay, and that may help keep him from dropping a lot of weight, and also would not be like feeding grains which can aggrevate the ulcers.

Out of curiosity, how much do your minis normally drink per day?

 

[Sandee]

Out of curiosity, how much do your minis normally drink per day?

You said he is 37" so he's not such a mini mini. My Shetland/mini (around 37") drinks at least 5 gallon a day. But he also wets his stall like a mare. (small swimming pool !) After I got him on a salt block which the trainer doesn't offer his water intake slowed. Also he's here in the winter when they all drink less.

Both of my 34" show minis are suspected to have ulcers. I normally feed them hay 3X a day, the mini Purina feed, and soaked alfalfa cubes (during show season). I too have given Pepto Bismal (or Malox which doesn't make them pink-LOL) just before feeding and it seems to make them feel good enough to want to eat.