Lameness and Ulcers

[PhoenixRising]

Well,
Last week Phoenix started presenting with mild lameness. Seemed to be getting worse instead of better so Sunday we made the decision to have the vet out. The vet came yesterday, and while the she was there, she was practically sound. Tiny little head bob but inconsistent. You'd see it one second then wonder if you really saw what you saw the next. Palpation all fine, no heat no swelling. Flexion tests all fine. X-rays fine.
Then it clicked in my head. "Hey uh... if she had ulcers could it make her appear lame? Because we've been suspecting it and have already changed xyz to see if it helps."

Asked the vet, and sure enough its possible.

She's getting 10 days off, a heavy round of ulcergard, and a change to senior feed for the higher fiber content and less starches.
Vet agreed that all the "ulcer spots" are "hot" so the warning signs are there. Especially the girth area.
We cant really be sure of what is causing the lameness, but if she isn't better after 10 days and the above changes the vet will come out again and we'll do more looking.

She's already been changed from SmartDigest to SmartGut in her smartpak as well.

Would be really nice to have my happy horse back. I'm really hoping she feels better after this.

I've never had a horse with ulcers.... any other suggestions or changes that may help?

[blob]

Hope this fixes things and your gal is feeling better soon!

One suggestion--i would keep her on ulcer guard or another form of omneprozole for longer than 10 days. Standard treatment is 30 days and then you probably want at least a week or two to wean off. Ulcer guard is expensive, so after the ten d that keepsays you could switch to the poprocks or tablets-- both are cheaper and easier to feed--for the rest of the time.

ETA: the other thing that really helps prevent them from coming back is making sure she's rarely on an empty stomach or getting too much concentrate at a time. Not sure if it's possible to feed three smaller meals instead, but that can help. Also good to make sure she either has access to pasture or hay most of the day. I have RP on a slow feeder to stretch his hay and keep him munching whenever he's in his stall

[PhoenixRising]

One suggestion--i would keep her on ulcer guard or another form of omneprozole for longer than 10 days. Standard treatment is 30 days and then you probably want at least a week or two to wean off. Ulcer guard is expensive, so after the ten days you could switch to the poprocks or tablets-- both are cheaper and easier to feed--for the rest of the time.

I'm not familiar with the poprocks or tablets, I'll have to see if I can find them. Would you happen to have a link or specific name to look up?

I started off ordering 12 tubes but knowing I'd probably have to get more. The vet originally wanted 1/2 tube a day then changed her mind and recommended a full tube for the first 7-10 days. I *think* the idea was to do that time period and then see where she's at and if it's helping. Vet said it will take 3-5 days to start helping her, but that if it's working we should notice a change in her behavior 7-10 days.

[PhoenixRising]

ETA: the other thing that really helps prevent them from coming back is making sure she's rarely on an empty stomach or getting too much concentrate at a time. Not sure if it's possible to feed three smaller meals instead, but that can help. Also good to make sure she either has access to pasture or hay most of the day. I have RP on a slow feeder to stretch his hay and keep him munching whenever he's in his stall

She does have access to a round bale in the pasture at all times. She's on "pasture board" but the pastures were seeded last fall so they've been off it most of the winter to let it rest. A third meal isn't an option, as much as I wish it was. Pasture horses only get fed 2x a day.
I want to partially blame the grain, but I really don't know that. I just hate what they feed and am SO relieved to have an excuse to force the change. It's a feed store mixed bag of mostly corn, alfalfa pellets, and oats. Half the food seems to come out the back undigested. High, high starch IMO. I have no idea why they think its such a great choice.
I told BO that if she is going to be ulcer prone and does well on the Sr. feed that I'll probably keep her on it. BO can be quite hard headed about what they think is right so I'm trying to lay the groundwork for keeping her on something different.

[Hayburner]

Look in to Purina Outlast. It's supposed to help himdgut ulcers.

Hope she's feeling better soon!

[blob]

for the tablets, you'll need to get an Rx from the vet and you'll get a bunch of white tablets that can be dissolved in water and mixed into the grain or syringed into the mouth.

The poprocks you can get here: https://abler.com/
Though, a head's up that shipping is slooow. So, if you want them, you should order now/soon.

[PhoenixRising]

The poprocks you can get here: https://abler.com/
Though, a head's up that shipping is slooow. So, if you want them, you should order now/soon.

Thanks! I sent this to my trainer who worked at a few different equine vets to see if she's heard of it. I'll see what she says and get on ordering it soon if we decide to use it! This would be so much more affordable for finishing out the treatment.

[StraightForward]

Look in to Purina Outlast. It's supposed to help himdgut ulcers.

Hope she's feeling better soon!

I've been feeding Annabelle Outlast 2x a day as her "grain" ever since I treated her for ulcers 2 years ago. She also gets a scoop before I ride along with 10 Tums since I usually get there before morning feeding (along with a bit of alfalfa). She scoped clean after being on GastroGuard for 30 days, and I have never had her re-scoped, but have not had a reason to (she had mild recurring colics as her main ulcer sympton). She has always been shiny, perky and cleaned up her feed, but she did bloom and fill out a lot after the ulcer treatment. I also bought her a slow feeder, and try to minimize the time she doesn't have anything to much on.

If you can afford it, I would have her scoped and go from there. I also had to treat my former horse, Rosette, for severe ulcers - she wasn't healed up after 30 days of GastroGuard, so we had to continue treatment and also add in Ranitidine and Sucralfate to get the job done.

[Chisamba]

Giving alfalfa has been scientifically shown to help heal ulcers. I give a small meal of soaked alfalfa pellets to put the equine version of an antacid in their stomach before riding. There is some discussion about hay being better because of the hay mat in the stomach, but pellet being better for more rapid release of antacids

[Srhorselady]

Definitely takes a minimum of 30 days of Ulcergaard to heal gastric ulcers. I give a small amount of alfalfa (most of my horses are fine on a grass hay plus senior feed diet) to any ulcer prone horses and always give generic tums before riding. One very ulcer prone mare was on compounded powdered flavored omeprozole on a daily basis for years. We tried to take her off it twice and both times her behavior changed drastically, so we just kept her on it. It isn’t horribly expensive. Sulcrafate didn’t have any effect on her but that may have been due to the fight to get it down her. The powdered omeprozole could just be added to her senior. Good luck! Hope she’s feeling better soon.

[PhoenixRising]

I had a new vet out yesterday to do her teeth. We had the vet who did her lameness check look to see how her teeth were because she had been indicating they were also bugging her. I last had them done in the fall. She said they definitely needed done so I brought in a vet who actually “specializes” or is certified- in equine dentistry.
This new vet was pretty surprised she was done last fall. Her teeth were so sharp she has ulcers in the back of her mouth, and she had a wolf tooth sitting just below the surface of the gums!! I even had her checked as a 3yo, specifically for wolf teeth before we started her, and I was told she didn’t have them!
Needless to say, I’m not using this vet anymore for anything except routine vaccinations/coggins.
The vet who did her teeth is way more expensive, but clearly they are also way more knowledgeable.
In happier news, the ulcergard and rest seems to be helping the other issues, and hopefully with all these things fixed she’s going to be a much happier horse! She must have been miserable!

[blob]

so glad you got her teeth taken care of, Phoenix!

When I got RP i was sure there was something not right with his teeth. The people I got him from showed me records of his teeth being done just a month prior. I asked the pre-purchase vet to check his teeth, she said they were great. I had the barn vet look at his teeth, she said they were great. I finally called a vet who went back to school to specialize in dentistry--she was horrified by what was going on in the back of his mouth. She had to pull out her 'tiny tools' to get to the back of his small mouth, but what a difference it made. I am so glad I found her and I wont' go back to using a regular vet for teeth.

[StraightForward]

Teeth are so hard! On one hand, some vets and dentists are over zealous and a horse can be over floated causing TMJ problems. Otoh, I've had the same experience of having Obie done, and then another vet finding enormous hooks in the back of his mouth.

Glad you are getting Phoenix sorted out and hope it contributes to an even happier partnership!