would love some help/advice on what to do with my complex OTTB please!

Okay here is what all the horses get. There's about 25. It's a full big bucket of beet pulp. 3 scoops of rice bran and 3 scoops of alfalfa... That gets sooked. Good... Then half a bag of safe choice. Usually a scoop or 2 of the dirt stuff. Then its mixed.

She would be getting the low starch.

She is underweight but not that bad.
Posted via Mobile Device

The owner calls the vet and just discusses things with her... She goes over it with me tho.

And btw iv done the research on the feed she is getting.
Posted via Mobile Device

You are probably not going to get much done with her problems as long as she is stalled. Some horses just do not stall well and she sounds like the poster child for them.

I doubt you find much relief for her until she is turned out. That can bring a whole new set of problems, but I would sure try to find a turn-out place for her.

You might also try 'mood altering' drugs or hormones. She might respond to Regumate or DepoProvera or to Thiamin (Vitamin B-1) or some other drugs like Resurpine. She sounds like a basket case and medicating one is like using medication on a person that is bi-polar -- it can be life saving. I have seen basket cases become much more manageable with therapeutic medication under a Vet's direction.

I have seen these kinds of horses that just kept getting ulcers -- over and over -- until they were managed on drugs and turned out.

Kathryne,

I am not a horse health expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I am sure there are others on here who can give you good advice on ulcers, but I did want to mention two things that jumped out at me when reading your post:

Firstly, PLEASE do not assume that grinding teeth is a substitute for floating, it isn't. Floating EVENLY files all the teeth down...top and bottom, not just a few worn down erratically, like grinding does. Floating is very important to ALL aspects of a horse's health....grinding may wear a tooth or so down, but it is often one here two there and the grinding may be too little to wear off the sharp points, or too MUCH...causing inappropriately chewed food....which disrupts amount of nutrients gained from the food (hence low weight) and irritate the ulcers (hence possible colic issues)....PLEASE suggest the owner have this horse's teeth floated.

Secondly, because she is on the low weight side, she could certainly benefit from a probiotic. They are a cheap additive to feed that can sometimes work miracles on a horse's digestion.

We've also heard that alfalfa or alfalfa cubes (shredded or soaked) have a chemical in them that soothes the stomach and reduces stomach acids, which can benefit a horse with digestive disturbances.

We give our OTTB one lb. Of shredded alfalfa cubes each day even though we do not suspect he has ulcers ... just because he is an ex racer, and the tendenacy towards ulcers in OTTBs is high.....

Good luck with this horse, badger the owner to have her teeth done ASAP, and try a probiotic.....

Keep us updated on how she is doing.....

Her feed should be measure by weight to start with, not buckets and scoops.

Tooth grinding is a sign of pain. The gastrogard should be a big help but it has to be given for weeks to cure the ulcers & at a tube per day it is costly but well worth it.

I can't speak about the ulcers as I have no experience with them, however I have read articles that suggest alfalfa can help with ulcers due to the higher calcium content.

I guess I just wanted to say that alfalfa also helps put weight on them. We feed lots of alfalfa out west and the horses are all slick and shiny. So the alfalfa should help with both the ulcers and weight gain.

I think the person who suggested turn-out is right on track too.

We will eventually float her teeth. There is not any grass to turn her out and right now she's on a special diet. When some more grass grows we will let her out. Just for now she's stalled.

She does get out a lot during the week.

But thank Yall for the advice.
Posted via Mobile Device

I'm just curious. What does grass have to do with keeping a horse outside in a large area with other horses. That is what is natural for horses. Many nervous horses (particularly OTTBs) do not do well when confined to stalls and those same horses often are the ones the develop ulcers and stall vices like cribbing,weaving, stall kicking, stall aggression, etc. We have just found that they are so much happier living out.

She is on a specialized diet. So I can't turn her out right now. Trust me she gets out. She's going to be put in the covered arena more. But that's it. She had the issues before she came to us.
Posted via Mobile Device