You Really Need To Know More...

DeeCee

A horse of course!
About Equine Ulcers
The cost/availability of good quality hay in our area makes many horse owners feed way too much grain/sweet feed. In reality, MORE hay, even stemmy/coarse hay, is 100% better for your horse than grain/sweet feed.

Even though the vet who wrote the info below recommends them for stalled horses, the constant use of 'slow feeder' hay nets some folks (including myself) use to conserve hay could actually result in horses eating far less hay than they actually need to absorb stomach acid produced throughout the day. It's definately something to think about!

Mismanagement of horse's diet can create gastric ulcers within 3-5 days! Unfortunately, i speak from first hand experience. We lost a wonderful, sweet mare last week to this dreadful disorder because her ulcer ruptured into her abdomen within a month of increasing her feed to encourage her foal to eat on his own from her bucket AND providing him with his own ration to facilitate weaning, which mom happily gobbled up as well. In hindsight, sadly, I flat out didn't recognize the signs in time to save her and things took a dramatic turn for the worse within a very short window. I hope admitting my failure and posting this information will save someone elses's beloved horse.

This video shows how to detect equine ulcers using palpation techniques. A horse can go from having no gastric irritation to having ulcers within as little as 5 days, and every owner should learn to quickly recognize the signs.
Equine Ulcer Diagnosis by Mark DePaolo, DVM - YouTube

His treatment protocol is here:
http://hl.depaoloequineconcepts.com/?q=node/4

This is a very good paper that explains how/why they develop them:
Institute for Equine Therapeutic Options - Kerry Ridgway, DVM
The purpose of this paper is three fold:

1.To provide a short synopsis regarding the dangers and sometimes-dire consequences of ulcers.
2. To alert you to the signs and symptoms pointing to the presence of ulcers.
3. And the third and most important purpose: to Empower you to use a simple examination technique that can give a very strong presumptive diagnosis of GI ulcers. This technique can, in many cases, bypass the need for endoscopic examination if, for example, this procedure is not readily available or is not affordable. Confirmation by administration of appropriate medications is often used as a diagnostic tool and confirmation of a “presumptive” diagnosis.

This website sells a compounded version of omeprazole at a reasonable price and is widely used by racehorse owners. I've ordered from them, they provide excellent service and fast shipping.
http://horseprerace.com/stomach-medicines/omeprazole-paste-13.80-grams-60ml-tube/
The 60ml tube provides 6 days at the treatment dose (10ml p/d) or 12 days at the preventative dose (5ml p/d) which can be used for hauling or heavy work/training.

Please don't 'Love your horses to death'.
RIP QV Peppermint Patty...we love and miss you very much. :frown:
 
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