Ranitidine is amazing!!!!

Some of you might have seen that I was concerned about my 13 year old OTTB mare having an ulcer. After reading some other posts about ulcers and doing some research online I decided my best bet(being I can't afford to do an endoscopy at the moment) would be to start her on ranitidine and see if I noticed any improvement, the day before I started her on it I touched her belly and she whipped her head around with her ears back and gave me the death look, if I kept touching it I could see her hind leg getting ready to kick, monday I started her on it, 13(150mg)tablets twice a day ground up and given in some apple sauce and molasses(which she gobbles right up) this afternoon when I went out I felt her belly and she turned around with her ears back, but after a second she ignored me and I thought, mhmm, this couldn't be working this quick! So this evening when I went out to give her pm dose a felt the belly again and this to NO REACTION! I've also increased her alfalfa pellets and decreased her grain(i'll be putting her on triple crown, but right now she's on strategy healthy edge) I also give her rice bran for weight gain, how is rice bran on ulcers? She's also on beet pulp, but i'm sure that won't agitate an ulcer will it? Oh and I read on her that it's a good idea to give tums before working her to neutralize any acid before it upsets her belly swishing around, we have walmart brand tums which have 1000mg calcium carbonate per tablet, any idea on how many to give her? We aren't doing any work just yet because of all the snow and ice, but hopefully soon! I'm so happy that her belly is starting to feel better, I just wish I knew sooner, I honestly just thought she was being a moody witch

Bump any advice on a diet for her?

Ok so there are two different threads on this subject for you but since im addressing diet I guess I will post here

Anyways yes Ranitidine is AWESOME!!! If you have a costco or something of that nature around you you can actually get it WAY cheaper than walmart because its 290 pills for I think 5 bucks or something but its works great EVERYTIME. I have a filly who will develope ulcers at the drop of a hat and she is a worrier just like your girl (warmblood but her mama was a ottb) and honestly whenever I notice ANY ulcer signs I do a week or so of ranitidine and it cleans everything up. We do a whole months course if she hasn't been on her you guard in awhile though.

Once the ulcers clear I would definitely suggest uguard or maybe even some smartgut pellets as a daily supplement to help ward off further developement. Remember ulcers can develope in as little as 3 days so keeping up her maintaince is key.

As far as diet goes lots of alfalfa or alfalfa pellets. Alfalfa naturally helps to treat and manage ulcers so the more alfalfa hay you put in front of her the better. Also cut back on the grains as sugar can irritate the stomach lining and leave your mare more suseptable to ulcers in the future. Lots of beet pulp and alfalfa pellets and if you have to feed grains I always suggest senior grains. Any horse can be fed senior grains and they have a lot of bran mash and what not in them so its easier to break down and digest.

Just a side note I know it sounds weird but what type of wormers do you use? I found that my filly was developing ulcers after wormings when I used any sort of moxidectin based wormers like quest. It seems to be too abrasive for my filly's digestive tract. I switched to ivermectins and pyrantel pamoate based wormers and we haven't had a ulcer incident in months.

Anyways good luck with your girl!!

Just adding to those reading that you should NOT start your horse on Ranitidine (or any medication) without checking with your vet. There can be serious drug interactions, and heart, liver, and kidney function must be assessed before starting the drug as it can have adverse affects on these organs in the horse.

I'm also suspicious of how fast your horse showed improvement. We'll never know if ulcers were causing her problems without a scope, but as a sufferer of gastric ulcers myself I know that once they are flared up it takes weeks to get them under control and less painful. I don't doubt it is helping but perhaps it was not ulcers after all?

On the diet- rice bran should be fine since it is mostly fat. You cannot colic a horse on fat and it is easy on ulcers. The beet pulp should also be ok and personally I'd cut out grain all together. If she is on a good hay, beet pulp and rice bran you shouldn't need it. I have an OTTB who is also a hard keeper and prone to ulcers and he does great on just rice bran, beet pulp and quality hay (with a bit of alfalfa for it's buffering effects).