Stomach Ulcers Questions

Ah the famous stomach ulcer question. So I have a geldibg that presumably has stomach ulcers (have never scoped him) he has shown all the signs and symptoms. I put him on Neigh-lol advanced in July and kept him on it until the beginning of November. I had moved him to a barn that was more laid back with pasture for 12 hours a day and a nice amount in his stall. Well something triggered the return of them and he didn't eat his grain for two days and I put him back on the neighlox again. I am looking for a preventative after they heal this time around as the neighlox is pricey. Also wondering if I can put a free choice mineral block or salt block in his stall to give him something to do while he is in his stall. If so which one would be better?
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My mare is terribly prone to ulcers. The ulcer preventive that I use is ulc-r-aid, that has been working great, every once in a while she does get a flare up but they are few and far between and much less severe then before. A small hole hay net while stalled would also helpful, I use this one, I have the smallest one which can hold about 10lbs of hay, Normally it would take her an hour or so to eat that amount, but with the hay net the hay lasts her most of the night. I actually wish I would have gotten the bigger one so I could put more hay in it, but it works. When she does have a flare up, I have some of these in the pill forum, they are the same as gastrogard for about 1/5th of the price, they come in paste, granules and pill forum, I got the pills but if I need to buy them again I'll get the paste or granule form as she is a master at picking the pills out

The Ulc-R-Aid seems to be working on my Arab with stomach ulcers. He has finally put some weight back on.

It will also help if you get your horse off grain - maybe it is off grain and you're just saying that because it's the common word for anything going into the feed pan?

At any rate, nothing with grain in it - too hard on the digestive system.

Being in a boarding situation always makes these things tough unless the BO treats all the horses better than their children

If you've posted about this before I am sorry I don't remember what you're feeding your horse and what you have access to.

Can you get McCauley's or EquiPride?

McCauley's M-10 Balancer is grain-free and soy-free, as is EquiPride.

McCauley's average amt to feed is 1 - 2 lbs daily whereas EquiPride is a flat ten ounces daily.

EquiPride is very expensive but that still comes out to about 75 cents per day; the horse gets 5 ounces AM and PM. Some like the taste others do not, it could be mixed with timothy pellets for an easy keeper or rice bran for a hard keeper.

If it turns out you can't get this horse's ulcers to settle - I have one of my hard keepers on rice bran and a liquid vitamin that only takes one ounce. He's been on that diet for a month and the difference in him is jaw-dropping in a good way.

Soon as my other ulcer horse finishes up the TC Senior, his little Arab self is going on the same "liquid" diet but he will need pre-probiotics added. The other horse already gets "Succeed" for his hind gut ulcers which is a pre-biotic on steroids

Let us know how this all turns out

McCauley's is top in my book as well. I prefer Alam as a feed ration.

Try adding aloe vera juice (which you can find it in the laxative section at your local Walmart!) to help heal the digestive system.

I use a feed supplement from Standard Process (a whole food company with a line of vet products) called GI. Is is formulate from natural whole foods and heals and supports the a healthy digestive tract. Downfall is that you need to find a vet to get it. Go to the website and see if you can find someone. It is fabulous!! And less expensive than the usual ulcer products.

Another thought is making sure your horse has as much hay as possible. Besides grain disrupting the system so does stretches of time with no forage.

Having salt (plain or iodized, depending on how much iodine is already in the diet) available is always a good idea. Sodium is the one mineral that studies have shown horses to reliably self-regulate. The mineral blocks are usually not worthwhile IMO, as they don't contain enough of anything to make much difference in most cases. I wouldn't consider it as entertainment/distraction while in the stall though. If you're looking for stall toys, there are a bunch of things you could put in there from shatterproof mirrors to jolly balls to Likits.