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  Expert
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Location: Central Texas | Six year old gelding has always been an easy keeper, but he spent a month in the vet hospital fighting salmonella, strep and who knows what else.
Now he is a skeleton with hide. We think he has severe ulcers, vet agrees.
He is getting 3000mgs of Ranitidine 3 times a day, Previcoxx & Vit. E once a day, and Doxcy twice a day and probiotics, all orally.
He has coastal grass for grazing, coastal hay, alfalfa hay, alfalfa big pellets, alfalfa small pellets, alfalfa cubes and Renew Gold to eat. He grazes for a while and then stops for a while and sometimes picks through the alfalfa hay to eat a few leaves. Once in a while he will eat the Renew Gold and/or alfalfa pellets. He is starving, literally.
If I dose him with fresh papaya, he will eat for a few minutes. If I hold the alfalfa, he will eat. I tried elevating his feed off of ground level, but it made no difference.
Since I have to work, I CANNOT stand there and feed him. He needs to eat on his own.
ANY suggestions are greatly appreciated! |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
 
| Ask your vet if you can give him some B12. That is what we did for one show heifer. Also, for another heifer, I cooked oats and barley. Now I know he has ulcers, but I was told if I cooked the oats and barley it softened the grain and it was easier to digest the nutrients. Maybe ask your vet about cooking a small amount of oats and adding it to his alfalfa pellets to see if it will interest him.
I sure hope you get him going. It is so painful watching them and such a helpless feeling too.
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| I have been using marshmellow and aloe on all of mine . We had an issue with toxic hay this year and lost several horses and the rest were sick for months this helped get them all back on track. Of course he has to eat it for it to help. I have also had luck giving caco copper to get on to eat, he probably just feels so bad that until his belly heals it will be a challenge to get him eating. I have also started giving peppermint leaves to everyone and they love it. I hope he picks up and will eat for you. We had a mare that got peritonitis this spring and we went to the clinic everyday and hand fed her at least once a day because she would eat better if we did. I also had a lot of luck using a PEMF machine, a blanket would work as well the mare would eat and drink better after a treatment. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Forco, Equipride, and a full tube of Ulcergard everyday.
Also Oxygen makes some really good pastes that I wouldn't be shy about pumping into him as well.
Does he have to be on Previcox? Be careful with the probiotics, some of them are actually acid producing microbes, which just adds fuel to the fire. Double check what kind they are. |
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Expert
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Location: The Great Northwest | I know there is not much pasture this time of year, but if it was possible to turn-out to where he could browse around may help. |
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Location: California | Have you tried Omeprazole? I know Ranitidine is used for ulcers as well but from the little I have compared the two Omeprazole has much higher success rates. I have worked at several equine vet hospitals (I am in no way claiming to know as much as a vet) and my horse ended up very sick and hospitalized for several weeks. We scoped him for ulcers and found severe ones. He was only allowed to have coastal hay along with his Omeprazole and other medications for his illnesses. He was skin and bones but the vet said in order for the ulcers to heal he needed the lightest food possible. Grain was a BIG no. I would venture to guess that yours eats some of that and then he hurts too badly to eat more. That seems like A LOT of different feeds at one time. Maybe stick to simple hay and nothing else. I know you want to put weight on him but pouring a bunch of different feeds into him may not allow him to heal up. It only took 3 weeks for my horse to heal up, start looking and acting better, and be able to start having some other feeds. This was a very well known vet in Texas. I feel for you and hope he heals up soon! |
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Expert
Posts: 1584
Location: Central Texas | Wow! These are great suggestions. Thank you!
I forgot to mention that I have GastroPlus from THE on its way.
We do still have great pasture here, since it is still in the high 80s, and he gets turnout time in our yard which is all coastal. Don't want to turn him out where the other horses graze, in case he is shedding salmonella.
I will try out these much-appreciated ideas!
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Expert
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Location: Central Texas | little_bug - 2016-10-27 10:56 AM Have you tried Omeprazole? I know Ranitidine is used for ulcers as well but from the little I have compared the two Omeprazole has much higher success rates. I have worked at several equine vet hospitals (I am in no way claiming to know as much as a vet) and my horse ended up very sick and hospitalized for several weeks. We scoped him for ulcers and found severe ones. He was only allowed to have coastal hay along with his Omeprazole and other medications for his illnesses. He was skin and bones but the vet said in order for the ulcers to heal he needed the lightest food possible. Grain was a BIG no. I would venture to guess that yours eats some of that and then he hurts too badly to eat more. That seems like A LOT of different feeds at one time. Maybe stick to simple hay and nothing else. I know you want to put weight on him but pouring a bunch of different feeds into him may not allow him to heal up. It only took 3 weeks for my horse to heal up, start looking and acting better, and be able to start having some other feeds. This was a very well known vet in Texas. I feel for you and hope he heals up soon!
I have not tried omeprazole, vet said Ranitidine, but I'm willing to try it. Interesting about the coastal hay, I always thought alfalfa was the better one for ulcers. He won't touch the coastal hay that he has access to, only eats the coastal grass (still green in pasture). I have all that stuff out for him to try to give him options. Maybe he'll help me figure out what to put out for him.
He was hospitalized at the Elgin Vet Hospital. |
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Location: Deep South | Marfan - 2016-10-27 11:01 AM
Wow! These are great suggestions. Thank you!
I forgot to mention that I have GastroPlus from THE on its way.
We do still have great pasture here, since it is still in the high 80s, and he gets turnout time in our yard which is all coastal. Don't want to turn him out where the other horses graze, in case he is shedding salmonella.
I will try out these much-appreciated ideas!
I had a hard time getting my gelding to eat the GastroPlus when I suspected him of ulcers, I had to camouflage it for him to eat it.
I really like the Oxy-Ulcer. Just shoot it in their mouth. You know they're getting all of it, and the horses seem to really like the taste of it. |
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Expert
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Location: Central Texas | BamaCanChaser - 2016-10-27 11:12 AM Marfan - 2016-10-27 11:01 AM Wow! These are great suggestions. Thank you! I forgot to mention that I have GastroPlus from THE on its way. We do still have great pasture here, since it is still in the high 80s, and he gets turnout time in our yard which is all coastal. Don't want to turn him out where the other horses graze, in case he is shedding salmonella. I will try out these much-appreciated ideas! I had a hard time getting my gelding to eat the GastroPlus when I suspected him of ulcers, I had to camouflage it for him to eat it. I really like the Oxy-Ulcer. Just shoot it in their mouth. You know they're getting all of it, and the horses seem to really like the taste of it.
Thank you for that info. Oxy products are good. I'll keep that in mind. |
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Expert
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Location: The Great Northwest | Marfan - 2016-10-27 10:33 AM BamaCanChaser - 2016-10-27 11:12 AM Marfan - 2016-10-27 11:01 AM Wow! These are great suggestions. Thank you! I forgot to mention that I have GastroPlus from THE on its way. We do still have great pasture here, since it is still in the high 80s, and he gets turnout time in our yard which is all coastal. Don't want to turn him out where the other horses graze, in case he is shedding salmonella. I will try out these much-appreciated ideas! I had a hard time getting my gelding to eat the GastroPlus when I suspected him of ulcers, I had to camouflage it for him to eat it. I really like the Oxy-Ulcer. Just shoot it in their mouth. You know they're getting all of it, and the horses seem to really like the taste of it.
Hey, I'm sure that you can syringe the GastroPlus in the mouth. Don't you want to do the preventive things after the ulcer is healed?  |
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 Expert
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| Try this, give him a bucket of water and put some of the hay in it to " Dunk". My horses LOVE it. It makes it soupy and for some reason, it makes it feel better going down. |
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 Dog Resuce Agent
Posts: 3459
Location: southeast Texas | It sounds as if his tummy is unhappy. Get a big worming syringe. Mix in unsweetened apple sauce and syringe the gastro plus in his mouth. Won't be long before he will feel better.
What I like about the gastro from THE, it doesn't shut down the acid pumps in the stomach. It heals the stomach and increases the Coating the stomach.
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Location: Central Texas | skye - 2016-10-27 12:38 PM
Marfan - 2016-10-27 10:33 AM BamaCanChaser - 2016-10-27 11:12 AM Marfan - 2016-10-27 11:01 AM Wow! These are great suggestions. Thank you! I forgot to mention that I have GastroPlus from THE on its way. We do still have great pasture here, since it is still in the high 80s, and he gets turnout time in our yard which is all coastal. Don't want to turn him out where the other horses graze, in case he is shedding salmonella. I will try out these much-appreciated ideas! I had a hard time getting my gelding to eat the GastroPlus when I suspected him of ulcers, I had to camouflage it for him to eat it. I really like the Oxy-Ulcer. Just shoot it in their mouth. You know they're getting all of it, and the horses seem to really like the taste of it.
I suspect I'll be giving it by syringe, until he decides to eat. And I also ordered THE ulcer Support for after he is healed and then I'll put him on preventative. Since I'm at work I'm doing "drive-by" replies and they may not make sense! |
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Expert
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Location: Central Texas | FLITASTIC - 2016-10-27 12:47 PM Try this, give him a bucket of water and put some of the hay in it to " Dunk". My horses LOVE it. It makes it soupy and for some reason, it makes it feel better going down.
There is a lot of helpful information on this thread. THANKS!
I will dunk his hay and I bet that helps. |
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Expert
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Location: Central Texas | We think alike! I have the syringe and apple sauce. GastoPlus should be here soon. I ordered for the reason you stated. |
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Expert
Posts: 1584
Location: Central Texas | Thank you all for taking the time to make these suggestions!
I came to the right place. |
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Expert
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Location: Deep South | skye - 2016-10-27 12:38 PM
Marfan - 2016-10-27 10:33 AM BamaCanChaser - 2016-10-27 11:12 AM Marfan - 2016-10-27 11:01 AM Wow! These are great suggestions. Thank you! I forgot to mention that I have GastroPlus from THE on its way. We do still have great pasture here, since it is still in the high 80s, and he gets turnout time in our yard which is all coastal. Don't want to turn him out where the other horses graze, in case he is shedding salmonella. I will try out these much-appreciated ideas! I had a hard time getting my gelding to eat the GastroPlus when I suspected him of ulcers, I had to camouflage it for him to eat it. I really like the Oxy-Ulcer. Just shoot it in their mouth. You know they're getting all of it, and the horses seem to really like the taste of it.
Oxy-Ulcer is used/advertised to treat ulcers, not just maintenance. I've successfully used it to treat, then put my guys on MVP GastroPlex pellets for prevention.
I saw further down where she's planning on using a syringe for the GastroPlus though, so maybe she won't have the issues I had with getting him to eat it.
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Location: The Great Northwest | Marfan - 2016-10-27 12:24 PM We think alike! I have the syringe and apple sauce. GastoPlus should be here soon. I ordered for the reason you stated.
I find that unless they normally eat applesause on there feed dressing with other stuff like applesause doesn't help to get them use to it. Most horses accept GastroPlus dressed or mix with like alfalfa pellets or oats sprinkled with a little water to bine. I would mix GastroPlus in a syringe with water to a paste and dose after like 5 days start adding a teaspoon to the feed. I have had a lot of success that way. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I second the omalprozone, it works great |
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Expert
Posts: 1302
Location: California | Marfan - 2016-10-27 8:10 AM little_bug - 2016-10-27 10:56 AM Have you tried Omeprazole? I know Ranitidine is used for ulcers as well but from the little I have compared the two Omeprazole has much higher success rates. I have worked at several equine vet hospitals (I am in no way claiming to know as much as a vet) and my horse ended up very sick and hospitalized for several weeks. We scoped him for ulcers and found severe ones. He was only allowed to have coastal hay along with his Omeprazole and other medications for his illnesses. He was skin and bones but the vet said in order for the ulcers to heal he needed the lightest food possible. Grain was a BIG no. I would venture to guess that yours eats some of that and then he hurts too badly to eat more. That seems like A LOT of different feeds at one time. Maybe stick to simple hay and nothing else. I know you want to put weight on him but pouring a bunch of different feeds into him may not allow him to heal up. It only took 3 weeks for my horse to heal up, start looking and acting better, and be able to start having some other feeds. This was a very well known vet in Texas. I feel for you and hope he heals up soon! I have not tried omeprazole, vet said Ranitidine, but I'm willing to try it. Interesting about the coastal hay, I always thought alfalfa was the better one for ulcers. He won't touch the coastal hay that he has access to, only eats the coastal grass (still green in pasture). I have all that stuff out for him to try to give him options. Maybe he'll help me figure out what to put out for him.
He was hospitalized at the Elgin Vet Hospital.
I have read and heard about alfalfa being good for the ulcers. I am not sure why my vet chose to only feed coastal and said no alfalfa but I can say it worked very well and quite quickly. I think omeprazole will really help as well. Do you and your vet not want to scope the horse just to make sure? You'll have to fast him but then you can at least guarantee that is the issue. |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | Marfan - 2016-10-27 11:10 AM little_bug - 2016-10-27 10:56 AM Have you tried Omeprazole? I know Ranitidine is used for ulcers as well but from the little I have compared the two Omeprazole has much higher success rates. I have worked at several equine vet hospitals (I am in no way claiming to know as much as a vet) and my horse ended up very sick and hospitalized for several weeks. We scoped him for ulcers and found severe ones. He was only allowed to have coastal hay along with his Omeprazole and other medications for his illnesses. He was skin and bones but the vet said in order for the ulcers to heal he needed the lightest food possible. Grain was a BIG no. I would venture to guess that yours eats some of that and then he hurts too badly to eat more. That seems like A LOT of different feeds at one time. Maybe stick to simple hay and nothing else. I know you want to put weight on him but pouring a bunch of different feeds into him may not allow him to heal up. It only took 3 weeks for my horse to heal up, start looking and acting better, and be able to start having some other feeds. This was a very well known vet in Texas. I feel for you and hope he heals up soon! I have not tried omeprazole, vet said Ranitidine, but I'm willing to try it. Interesting about the coastal hay, I always thought alfalfa was the better one for ulcers. He won't touch the coastal hay that he has access to, only eats the coastal grass (still green in pasture). I have all that stuff out for him to try to give him options. Maybe he'll help me figure out what to put out for him.
He was hospitalized at the Elgin Vet Hospital.
I would definitely go to the Omeprazole. From a human standpoint (my personal stomach!) Ranitidine does not handle my acid reflux, while one table of Omeprazole every other day shuts it down completely. I would assume it would work similarly in a horse. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Prayers, I'm sure this horrible for you and him to be going thru. |
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Tricks to get horse to eat!