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This post is kinda just to get my thoughts down somewhere but open to input. Ro is still acting cinchy after his 1 month of SandClear (no signs while he's on it, only when off) so I suspect ulcers. A scope is not in my cards right now (quoted approx. $350+ plus I have to trailer him into the facility) and neither is Gastrogard/Ulcergard @ $1k+ for a month to month and a half of treatment.
I've been doing TONS of research and reading - tons. My brain hurts. Ro didn't exhibit ulcer symptoms at our previous barn where he was on irrigated pasture, my assumption is because he had a constant flow of forage. Cue moving to our new barn (which could have been stressful in itself) + now only being fed 2x per day + not much turnout = ulcers. I turn him out as often as I can but I highly doubt it is enough. Barn refuses to feed more. I pay $90/month for their hay (alfalfa), fed 1 flake AM and 1 flake PM, but I know this is not enough for a 16hh+ TB and I've started noticing they are feeding skimpy.
If I don't correct the cause of the ulcers, treatment will be moot. SO - plan is to keep things as simple as possible without investing or spending a bunch of money on different things/treatments/etc. Drop barn hay and bring in my own ($13-$15/bale alfalfa). I plan on doing 1-2 flakes AM and PM (depending on the bales) and getting a large haynet to give him access to hay, slowly and more often. We are weaning off grain (wasn't sure if I could/should do it all at once) and I'm going to replace it with the small alfalfa pellets so I can continue giving him his rice bran and Cool Calories (both of which I've read shouldn't bother ulcers) as well as his monthly SandClear. Also going to order the Abprazole (blue poprocks) and give that a go for a week or two to see how he responds w/ the increased hay. If he seems to improve/becomes less cinchy, will do a month treatment and go from there. If not, the next step is saddle fit. *sigh*
If he's still a crabby butt, will likely need to have the vet out and go from there. But, for now, this seems to be the cheapest and simplest way to go. |
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I'll also post some before/afters. :) I've paid for this month of "hay" (what little he gets) but plan on getting a haynet this week and buying a bale or two for the remainder of this month. Started Dec. 1st he'll be getting as much as he can eat + the Abprazole. I'll post an updated pic Jan 1st and... cross fingers for changes lol. |
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Trivia Team |
Good luck, hope he improves! |
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So a good friend of mine who breeds & shows Arabs taught me this trick. She said for day to day issues use baking soda & aloe vera, 30 cc's. Mix it up and give it to him in a syringe for ulcers. I know ulcerguard is expensive (Chief gets it.) But you could also order off of state line tack. I also have heard very good things about Daily Gold from Redmond Rock. Just wanted to throw this out there for you for more ulcer treatments. I went through all this with Chief post camp and I'm just now getting him all together. Edited at November 17, 2018 09:11 AM by BlueMist Farms |
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Thanks for the advice, BMF! I've read about baking soda and aloe as well. Ro is terrible with anything involving a syringe + I need something that I can easily put in his AM supplements as I can't always make it out to the barn. :/ And I hate State Line if I can avoid it - their cost of shipping/time of shipping drives me nuts lol.
I've found a few other options I'd go with if I were going to go with a paste - www.horseprerace.com has it here for $12ish/syringe https://horseprerace.com/omeprazole-paste-2-3gr/
Everyone has their opinions on what works/what doesn't work, only Ulcergard/Gastrogard works, etc. but that's the route I'd go.
I've also read REALLY positive things about the Redmond's and Amazon has it for $18.99/bag so I've decided to feed that in conjunction with the Abprazole. :D
We've decided to free feed Ro instead of dealing with AM/PM and small haynets. Hubby picked up my 70g stock tank today and is going to drill the holes in it tonight - we'll run a clothesline through the holes to attach carabiners and those will clip to the haynet to hold it down. My large bale Hay Chix net should be here Tuesday, woot! SO EXCITED to start free feeding him! *squee* |
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Moderator |
For syringes.. My guy was on ventipulmin for a while and he hated doing tasty wormer. So before we put him on meds, we practiced using the syringe with just some water in it before his supper. Didn't take him long to get used to it. Especially when there were a couple of gingersnaps afterwards.. He *loved* cookies.
So maybe try with some water and a tasty treat afterwards until he doesn't mind it as much? |
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That's a great idea, CM! I'll have to give that a go. The bigger issue, though, is him spitting out what is in the syringe lol. |
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Moderator |
Try it! If you find his "cookie" obsession, you might have it made. Mine would do anything for his cookies.
When we do wormer, we generally have to hold their up a little bit so gravity can't help them spit it out. They're on the shorter side so it's not all that hard to do though lol.. If he gets used to the syringe, you may be able to try a half now, half in a minute deal so he can't spit it *all* out at once. |
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I've heard someone suggest putting something sweet like applesauce in the syringe for practice. |
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Moderator |
Mine loved applesauce too - just not in his syringe lol |
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