mini with ulcer

[NyborFarm]

My mini, Joey, has a stomach ulcer that he's had for about 2-3 years now. Ive been able to deal with it by giving him multipul doses 60CC's of mylanta. For the past few years since he'd been diagnosed with it it hasn't acted up a lot. But lately it has been acting up every few weeks. I know its because of the weather changes because its been up to 70degrees in the day and dropping down to the 40's. But as the weather keeps changing like this Im getting worried. Since it's rained here he gets a blanket on and mylanta. But since its colder at night Im wondering should I keep him blanketed at night and take it off during the day? I hate to see him in pain when it acts up and you can see the pain in his eyes, it breaks my heart. But I dont want him to lose his woolies by keeping him blanketed. But Im not sure what to do. He isnt on any medication because UlcerGuard (the only ulcer med Im aware of) only works before a horse has an ulcer, but he already has one and the meds for that are super expensive. About $200 or more for only a few doses. I dont have that kind of money though if I did he would have it. The blanket Ive been putting on him is a light shaped fleece blanket. It had been on for over a day and instead of being warm under neith the blanket, he was cool to the touch. Does anybody have any advice, or have had any experience in this?

Oh, he got the ulcer because our old vet overdosed him on bute. Needless to say, we dont use that vet anymore!

 

[chandab]

There are a few OTC ulcer meds for horses that you might try.

U-Gard is the one that comes to mind. I used it while my mare was on bute and it really helped her. I think it comes in powder and solution (they had paste, but it's been discontinued).

I know KV Vet supply carries it. Here's a link to their U-gard page:

http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/product_family....44781955956C7BC

If that doesn't work, goto http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/assets/html/hom....asp?URLCheck=1 and then type U-gard into their search box.

There are other brands, but I have tried this and it did seem to work for her.

You might be able to do a search and find a place with cheaper freight, but this is where I bought the paste. And, if I need it, I'll probably go here for the solution or powder.

I don't blanket my minis, but if the weather is nice during the day, then I'd only blanket at night.

 

[kaykay]

is mylanta the same as tagament? I have used tagament for a horse with ulcers with great results.

I have heard horses prone to ulcers do well with organic (plain) yougurt. Have you tried that?? It puts the good bacteria back in the gut etc.

 

[NyborFarm]

Mylanta and tagament are simliar. Tagament is stronger then mylanta and mum says that tagament doesnt come in liquid (not postitive on that myself).

Yougurt? Ive never heard of that for horses. Do you know about how much a mini would get per dose? That's something I'll try next time.

Chandab- even though you dont blanket. Would you recomend a fleece sheet, or a rain sheet to act like a windbreaker jacket?

 

[Reble]

Ok, I have been searching and found some home remedies for humans which I always find most often is ok

for our animals, but maybe ask your vet.

Do a search on Ulcers, amazing what I found.

Honey, Apples, or apple cider viniger, barley water, aloe juice, licorice root, marshmellow root.

 

[kaykay]

i always give yogurt to horses when they are on meds. I learned that from the university of illinois. works for humans too. medicines take the good bacteria out of stomachs human or horse so if you use yogurt with it it puts the stomach back in balance. Most of mine will like it off a plate or i use a syringe with 10 ccs

 

[Becky]

UlcerGard works extremely well on any horse that has an ulcer! I've been using it on two new horses here on my farm and both are fine now. Also, I have had a lot of success with ranitidine (generic Zantac). Both products do a great job and you might try one of those. Current findings also show that alfalfa is good for a horse with ulcers as the calcium in it tends to buffer the stomach. I don't use yogurt as such but I do use a probiotic such as Probios or Fastrack.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

The ONLY drug that is proven to heal ulcers (even nasty ones) is a product called Gastroguard. Its very expensive, but it works very well. High doses of Cimetadine can work, but not as well as Gastroguard.

 

[Bess Kelly]

Mylanta and tagamet are not the same. Mylanta coats & soothes. Tagamet can be more helpful. It can be purchased in pill form, crushed and put into water, then syringed into animal. WM sells it under their Equate label at a very good price. The problem with horses is that you must give this stuff every 4-6 hrs to really help all day.

Ulcer Gard is the paste that is a milder version of Gastrogard, both produced by Merial and both contain omeprazole as the healing ingrediant. Gastrogard is the expensive one that works great ..... Ulcer Gard is a little less expensive, doesn't require an RX and was marketed to help prevent ulcers in stressful times.

These are both paste and the manufacturer has spent much time & money to develop a paste that delivers the medicine in a fashion extremely acceptable for the horse. I have not been able to find ANY off-brand omeprazole product, OTC -- like the WM Equate, etc.

THAT said, the OTC product Prilosec has the same omeprazole ingrediant and is in pill form. While there is not a tested result in using this in the horse, certainly there may not be as successful a duration of med as the paste type developed by Merial, I can say that I have used this product with extremely good results in two of my own animals. I broke the pills, placed in water to dissolve and administered them to my horse. In both cases, the meds were given 2X a day for 3 days, then 1X a day for the next 30 days. It is not a cheap medicine but still is VERY much less expensive than the Gastrogard. ( I did speak with my vet before this use.) Feed was controlled and at the end of the 30 days of meds, I used aloe vera juice in their feed for another 30 days. Beet pulp without molasses, moistened, was eaten and the aloe juice worked fine in that....watch the manure. I have found that aloe vera can tighten them up sometimes -- have used it to stop loose manure. A few wet alfalfa cubes were fed morning & night. Soft grass hay was available free choice if they were not on some amount of pasture.

What & when you feed your horse has a lot to do with how his stomach handles the gastric acids. It is a fact that horses on pasture have fewer ulcer issues than those that are not. It is believed that this is partially due to PH balance and partially due to their having something in their stomach to keep the acids lower/less concentrated. Things that are easily digested do not require as much acid to be produced by the system for this process of digestion. These are reasons that a horse with ulcers will often leave grain and eat hay/grass. And vet studies have shown that alfalfa tends to keep the stomach PH in a kinder range for a longer period of time.

This is what I found to be successful for ME and MY horses. I hope that it may be helpful information for you. We all know that each situation and animal is different. Certainly cost is a consideration. IMO you may see better results if you use one of the ulcer meds rather than mylanta.

 

[Marty]

I keep gastroguard on hand here. I had to buy a whole stupid case of the stuff for the vet to order it for me. But it does say that it cures the ulcers.

After using it on two minis with ulcers there has never been a re-occurance so I am convinced that the ulcers were gone in about 2 weeks time.

Have your vet order some and try to cure it for good. Worked for us.

 

[bevann]

I had great success giving Aloe Vera juice 6 cc 2 times daily in the mouth using a syringe.This was suggested to me by a very well known equine nutritionist DMV.She had been told by clients that it worked so I tried it.Makes sense-if you put aloe on a burn it heals it&an ulcer is an open sore.The stuff is cheap&it surely won't hurt the horse.Good luck.

 

[NyborFarm]

How many days is the aloe vera juice given?

Are there any good sites that give information on gastroguard? Id like to look into it, but being a full time college student internet time is surprisingly rare for free use.

Does anyone know where to get a blanket that is simmilar to a persons windbreaker? Im looking for a light blanket for him that will reple the wind and rain and snow. All the blankets I have and have found all seem to be too heavy where he'll lose his winter wollies. I have a rain sheet but I hate how it fits.

 

[Becky]

Check out the Merial website Merial

It will give you some helpful information on the products Gastrogard and Ulcergard. You can purchase Ulcergard over the counter and I have found it to be very effective in treating a horse with ulcers. Most feed stores carry it.

 

[NyborFarm]

Thanks for the site Becky! I found it very helpful!

Does anybody know if there is another place to get ulcer meds? Ive been seeing that you can only get it through a vet, but are there any mail order catalogs that sell anything like it? That's also a tad bit cheeper.

 

[Frankie]

Kroger has a generic brand of Tagament,,,,,,the exact same ingredients.

I crush the tagament,,,,,,,,mix with plain yogurt,,,,,,,,put in syringe,,,,,,,,,,,,it has always done the job. Noticed a difference within 24 hours.

And it doesn't cost you a ton.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I'm with Bess on this. Though I have never tried human formula "Prilosec", with your vet's approval, it sounds like an idea worth trying. Everything I have read about "Gastroguard" and "UlcerGuard" indicates that Ulcerguard is for PREVENTION, and Gastroguard is for CURE, so I would personally use the Gastroguard, and exactly as directed by your vet(and, it has to be prescibed/sold to you by, a vet.) It IS expensive, but much less so for a mini than for a 'big'! My 'big' Paint had an episode of presumed ulcers about two years ago; I took her up to my 'in-town'vet; I had 'caught it' early; since all the symptoms were fairly mild, but indicated ulcers-- instead of spending a mint to scope her, we opted for a course of veterinary-strength ranitadine-about $250 worth, for her. It worked fine; since, I have adjusted her feeding schedule and hay proportions, and I give her a significant 'shot' of corn oil daily, since reading in 'Equus' magazine about a research study which indicated that it can act to help prevent ulcers and/or their reoccurance.

I am also a fan of pure aloe vera juice. Years ago, I gave it (daily,for approx. a year afterward) to a youngster who'd had colic surgery(hair/debris impaction; he was one of those 'ground vacumns', even as a very young foal). The vet agreed that it might help minimize the occurrance of adhesions-a potential problem after such a surgery-AND help to keep his digestive system in good 'operating condition'. As was said, dosed properly, it surely shouldn't hurt anything. It was only a part of a total feeding/care management system geared to him, but taken all together, it seemed to work(he had only one mild episode of presumed adhesions afterward, and with the vet's telephone directions, I was able to deal with it.)

I agree about the benefit of giving some alfalfa. It should also be helpful to try to ensure that he has more frequent hay feeding, to keep his stomach from getting/staying completely empty for very long. If you can utilize the Gastroguard, then following up with certain feeding management practices can be of great help. I have used the U-GARD; in fact, am using it now for one of my mini geldings who has had a couple of episodes that were clearly ulcers. It might also help, once you have him healed, to help prevent reoccurance.

Sorry, can't help on the blanket thing-except to say that if he already has his winter coat, using even a heavy blanket continuously probably won't cause his to 'lose' the coat, but it will flatten it, and might lead to skin problems. I almost never blanket full-coated horses in the winter. As long as he has access to a windbreak, and can get in out of rain or heavy snow, I'd think he'd be fine, if otherwise a healthy horse.

Good luck!

Margo

 

[PaintedLady]

Hello,

My horse was overdosed on bute in May '06.

Among other complications, she did develop ulcers. Upon the recommendation from my vet I did switch from Gastrogard to Ulcergard. According to the vet I consulted with, it is purely a marketing strategy. Ulcergard is marketed to the general public and gastrogard is marketed to vets. They are the exact same. Same doseage. Same exact medication.

As for ulcergard being only a preventative, it is not true if it is exactly the same.

I have been getting it from 1800 petmeds. I cannot find it at any stores in my area and I can't beat the pricing with free shipping over $39.00.

As for my experience with yogurt, I am not a fan of it. I prefer non-dairy as not to disurb their intestines any more than they already have been.

As for multiple hay feedings, yes, yes, yes. For quite a while my mare had hay in front of her at all times. She was a very slow eater when she was at her worst. It looked like she was eating one strand of hay at a time.

When my mare was at her worst, it was extremly difficult for her to regulate her temp. So, I took her temp. frequently. Sometimes a "shiver" was actually a pain response and not an "I'm cold" response.

Please call your vet to verify any information you have received in treating your horse. One missed symptom could lead to something much bigger.

Please feel free to pm me if you would like to talk further.

 

[NyborFarm]

I love having all these options to chose from! Thanks to everyone!

I was in the tack shop today and I found two things for ulcers. One is put out by Absorbine, to me it seems like its an apple flavored version of mylanta because it coats and sooths. Though it looks like Pepto Bismol. The other I found is called G.U.T. Its suposed to be given to horses already with ulcers. Has anybody had experience with G.U.T. or the stuff from Absorbine? They are quite expensive though. G.U.T. is $45 and Absorbine was up there. Just something I wanted to throw out there.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

There are dozens of remedies out there

Don't just go to the tack shop and get whatever. I did look up the difference between Ulcergard and Gastrogard, and they are the same ingrediants in the same amount. It is expensive, but it works very well.

 

[NyborFarm]

When I go to Eqine Affair in November I plan to look there and see what information I can get. Im getting super wishful by hoping for free samples! :bgrin I do want to put him on something next year since I plan to start competitive driving and dont want his ulcer to worsen.