My horse is currently on an omeprazole/ranitidine paste prescribed by my vet (30 days). He's on pen rest due to injury so he cannot have turnout which I know is not good but there's nothing I can do about it. Other than that he's on Ultium Gastric Care, alfalfa pellets and unlimited grass hay. I'm wondering if any of these ulcer supplements are worth starting him on to help those ulcers heal and keep them away. A couple people at my barn use Smart Gut or smart G.I. from smartpak. I'm just curious if any of them really actually help.

I've been pleased with every horse I've had a reason to us Gardion on. I buy from Jeffers.

Zesterra... I swear by it for ulcers. I have noticed a difference in every horse I have given it to in a very short amount of time. 

I just ordered that one. It was on sale so yay! Fingers crossed it helps my poor boy. He is just miserable with his sore tummy :(

Zesterra

We have always had great results with Succeed.  

Seriously though.... SmartGut Ultra. Worth every single penny. Its the only thing I know that sure-fire works and has worked on everything I've ever given it to that i knew had a problem. 

What is everyone using to treat before they use the prevention?

I use omepraole from Abler.com (there are several different forms of it on their site) 

THE GastroPLUS and then THE GI Ulcer Support or ulcer blend in the Muscle Mass!!!!

I've only ever had success with Gastro-Plex 

I have a weanling on Gastro Plex now. Good stuff. I give my weanling ulcer meds to prevent future problems. I think it calms them down some. 

Another vote for zesterra here. 

Contact Abler and talk with them

I'll bet you see results within three or four days! Good luck.

we have had enough clients tell us theyve seen results with Succeed that we started carrying it in small amounts.  I am going to try it on one of my personal horses as soon as it gets here. Maybe I won't see anything, maybe I will LOL

We have worked with Stance out of Australia on Gastro Buf and have been really impressed by the result on both for and hind gut effectiveness. The active ingrediets include Curcuma xanthorrhiza, powdered coconut oil, and a species of Lithothamnium that normalizes ph throughout the entire digestive system, not just the stomach. By doing that, you get effective response on gastric ulcers and hind gut acidosis. Omeprazole is only effective high in the digestive system, and does not help in the hind gut. Just releasing on the West Coast to retail, and through Stance on line. This stuff is very effective and not detrimental to overall health like most ulcer treatments are if used for extended periods. 

So if you do use an ulcer medicine for preventive or whatever, then you should only use it for a period of time and not continual?  Is this what you are referring to Win?

I just started the GI Ulcer Support from THE.

I have always looked at ulcers differently than most people. If you have them, you have no choice but to treat them. Gastric ulcers can be treated with omeprazol, but not hind gut ulcers. So, once you treat them, what next. For most horses that are ulcer prone, and continue to see them return, there is usually a reason. If you eliminate the reason, you should be able to treat, resolve the ulcers, then change your management of the horse to prevent the ulcers from returning. The end result of that is that you never deal with ulcers again. There are a lot of reasons that a horse gets an ulcer. Some are nervous naturally and will never get over that. Those horses may require extra consideration to both their diet and environment. However, most horses that suffer from ulcers have some things in common that can be changed pretty easily with very positive results. Those things in common are these. High grain rations in combination with straight grass hay diets, confinement by themselves, once per day feeding that causes living with an empty stomach the majority of the day. The last, and most missed issue, teeth problems. I see vets miss the teeth relationship all the time. A horse only makes saliva when it chews. A mature horse may make up to 12 gallons of saliva per day. This is the horses natural buffer to the constant acid production in the stomach. When it hurts to chew, a horse may eat just as much, but only chew enough to swallow. This results in much less salive being produced and less buffering of the stomach acid. This carries through out the entire digestiv system. So, what kind of program works to limit the formation of ulcers. Pretty simple really. Break the diet into as many feedings per day as possible. Take grain based feeds out or greatly limit their use in the diet. Improve hay quality and include some alfalfa in the diet. Keep some hay in front of the horse as much as possible so it has something to chew on. This insures that saliva will be produced. Keep teeth in the shape to allow the horse to chew as much as it would normally want to. For naturally nervous horses, it helps for them to be with other horses, or at least be able to see other horses. Constant ulcer treatment for the vast majority of horses is simply putting an ineffective  bandaid on the problem without solving the underlying cause. 

OK so if you fix all of this and let's face it you are not going to fix "all" of it, but if you fix the majority and they still seem to have the likelihood of an ulcer or gas or whatever then do you keep them on an ulcer preventive?  Can you give an ulcer preventive say every other day?  My two ae retired, one is 30 years old the other is 23 years old, out in the pasture 24/7 although pasture not plentiful this time of year but they would rather search or nibble on the grass that is maybe there than eat hay.  I have hay out for them 24/7 outside and inside they are not stalled only for their morning and night feedings which they get Renew Gold and soaked alfalfa cubes. My assumption is because they have arthritis pain and have DSLD or so I have been told.  Not sure on that one but I have been treating for it.  They also lost their pasture gal in April from colic and I still think they look for her.  They have been together all their lives.

In general, what you are discribing would be a very good basic diet that should not be ulcer generating. So, what is missing. I would sure look to the mouth and address any issues with teeth. This may be a challenge with the 30 year old. The higher calcium found in alfalfa is one of the reasons that I like that in the diet. A little more  alfalfa cubes may help if the teeth are too far gone for effective chewing of long hay. They can chew on the cubes if there are still teeth to break them up and more saliva will be produced. The every day use of omeprazol is both expensive and limited in it's benefits. I would rather not go that way. That is one of the reasons that I brought up the Gastro Buf. The active ingredient is the same that Purina is using in it's Outlast line, only at a much higher inclusion. That is not harsh on the system like long term omeprazol is, plus there is a positive effect on hind gut acidosis. 

Thanks Win, but I have not ever used omeprazol.  Only recently started using THE GI Ulcer Support.  

THE supplements are very well made. But, even when we were hauling cutting horses almost every day, we did not have to treat ulcers so I have not used their products. My ulcer experience has been redoing diets of customers horses to break the ulcer cycle. Breaking the cycle is the bottom line. Keeping a mat of material and saliva in the stomach will stop new ulcers from developing by containing the constant production of acid. Constant access to roughage is the foundation for both fiber and saliva in the stomach.  High grain and empty stomachs are the two biggest factors in gastric ulcer developement. As for hind gut ulcers, that is primarily the result of acidosis, and grain based feeds are the biggest cause of that.

I just looked up Gastrobuf. Very interesting. Certainly not cheap but if it works it’s worth it. I might have to order a tub...

NeutraBac pH is an all natural oral supplement that if given properly works wonders on ulcers and colic among many other issues. It is a fairly cheap and effective method as well. A half gallon of NeutraBac is $250 and a gallon is $485. They have a pretty cool applicator to give it to your horses in as well. Here is their website: http://www.runninblivestock.com/neutrabac-ph/

or you can search for them on Facebook under equiboss performance. 

PM me if you want something that really works without breaking the bank!!!

I've used Doug's product and it worked for my mare!