Inexpensive Ulcer Supplements

I've self diagnosed ulcers in my horses three times and been spot on twice. Still in the middle of treating the third (trialling a cheaper treatment than omeprazole for financial reasons; if it doesn't work I'll get in touch with my vet). I've used omeprazole in the past with great success, but it's spendy and I'm broke so I wanted to try something else this time.

First time, I told my vet I thought my horse had ulcers, and they looked at me like I'd sprouted an extra head because the horse was fat, glossy, and seemingly happy. No clinical signs. But over the years I've gotten extremely familiar with how she smells normally, and her scent had changed. She smelled sour. Vet wanted to scope her but she's a chronic box walker, so couldn't be fasted prior, and they wouldn't scope without fasting. So I said I didn't care if it was a waste of money to treat, that I was confident in my assessment of the problem... and they gave me ulcer medication for her. Treatment sorted the smell issue almost immediately, as well as fixing some stuff I thought was "just her" (she was a hard keeper in winter for four years prior to ulcer treatment... hasn't had an issue since)

Second time, I told my vet I'd just acquired the horse but have known him since he was a yearling, and that I suspected he'd had ulcers most of his life. He's a cribber, and there's huge correlation between cribbing and ulcers (to my knowledge it's still unclear which is the cause, but I suspect it's a chicken/egg situation). He also had your more typical clinical signs: rough coat, skinny, dull overall, slightly lethargic... so my vet agreed it was likely ulcers and gave me the medication right away. After one course of omeprazole he had gained a massive amount of weight, brightened right up, and his coat was leagues better.

Third and current time, I suspect was triggered by a course of antibiotics for a bout of cellulitis. He's cellulitis prone in that leg, I suspect due to compromised circulation (he has a huge scar on the back of his fetlock). He looked great before his leg blew up, then dropped weight fast from the pain, then kept right on dropping and started cribbing just as badly as he did when I first got him, and his collar made NO difference when normally he doesn't even try with it on. He is currently on green banana powder, which I've read into quite a bit in the past couple of years, and it looks like there's some decent science behind it... so I figure I'll give it a shot and see what happens. It's a lot cheaper than omeprazole (AU$60-80 for a month's supply depending on where you get it vs AU$400 for a month supply of omeprazole). The science isn't as strong as for pharmaceutical treatments, but that may be because studies are still ongoing.

A study: Anti-ulcerogenic effect of banana powder (Musa sapientum var. paradisiaca) and its effect on mucosal resistance - PubMed

The present study suggests that banana powder treatment not only strengthens mucosal resistance against ulcerogens but also promotes healing by inducing cellular proliferation.

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This is on rats and guinea pigs, so it may be different with horses, but I think it has potential so I'm trying it.

Edit: I just found a study that, if I'm interpreting it correctly, may suggest green banana is MORE effective than omeprazole, at least in rats... which is certainly interesting. I suppose there's a reason they've been used in traditional medicine in parts of the world where they're indigenous for millennia...

@blue eyed pony that is interesting and helpful. I do not have the money to scope the Charlie let alone the treatment. 😬 As the first horse you mentioned, Charlie is very sleek and healthy and is even on slow feed hay nets in a low stress environment. But as a racehorse he has had stressful situations in the past.

rambo99 said:

Just to be clear my horse was diagnosed by scoping when I did nexium treatment.. I did not self diagnose my horse. Last occurrence of being really cinchy had absolutely nothing to do with ulcers. I called a vet/chiro to come figure out the cause of his being a cinchy crabby mess.

Had I just figured ulcers an treated would of done absolutely no good ulcers weren't his issue. Cinchy behavior can be other things that aren't ulcer related. Get a vet out to rule out physical pain or other issues.

I do ask for help here but I also have my vet involved an consult with him also as he knows my horse well.

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I have a kind friend who is a vet and equine acupuncturist and chiropractor. She is kindly coming out to look at Charlie and do some work on him this coming week. So I am going to see what she thinks about him having ulcers. Also, she can see if he has any other physical problems.

waresbear said:

I used to use ulcer supplements to the tune of $190 a month for my horses. I subscribe to many veterinarian podcasts, learned a lot of info on the subject, now I spend nothing on supplements, for anything, except basic balance rationers. I treated the ulcers as per my vet, and changed my feed program, no grains, all Fibre. Has been way cheaper and ulcers gone, long gone.

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That is good! For the year I have owned Charlie he has never had a bunch of performance grain, and I am now switching him to a balancer grain. He also gets a supplement for his weak hooves. That is encouraging to know!
@SteadyOn I have looked into the Visceral + It is to expensive...
@rambo99 thank you! That is very helpful. I will probably look into that with my vet and see what she thinks! Hopefully it won't hurt if he doesn't actually have ulcers!