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Blessed 
   
Location: Here | Interesting article
The horse has evolved as a grazing animal; forage plays a pivotal role in equine health. Horse are non-ruminant herbivores also known as "hindgut fermenters." Their digestive tract is made up of a simple stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The natural feeding habit of the horse is to eat small amounts of roughages often. Domestication has brought a change to this. Modern management practices incorporate stabling, increased grain-based concentrate consumption, meal feeding and limited access to pasture. This has led to a myriad of problems by undermining the horses’ digestive capabilities. One of the most common disorders in horses today is gastric ulcers.
Equine gastric ulcers are a significant problem in certain equine populations: an estimated 58% of show horses and 93% or racehorses are affected. Foals are also at risk with an estimated 25-50% developing lesions. Horses that are typically fed diets high in soluble carbohydrates which produce volatile fatty acids when broken down in the stomach, can damage the protective barriers of the non-glandular areas allowing acid to irritate and ulcerate the tissue. Another issue with the current management of horses is meal feeding accompanied by long periods of fasting. This enables the buildup of acid in the stomach which can splash up to the non-glandular regions and cause ulceration.
Given the prevalence of gastric ulceration in horses today researchers have investigated several nutritional aspects of the disorder. A study looking at feed type on gastric ulcer formation showed an increased risk of gastric ulcers in young growing horses consuming high grain diets as compared to a forage diet. After 4 weeks on the high grain diet the ulcer scores for the horses had increased by about 30%, and after 8 weeks, the scores had increased about 3-fold. Thus, a diet high in roughage appears to promote better digestive health as reflected by the gastric ulcer scores, whereas high grain diets caused greater gastric irritation.1
Forage contains all of the essential nutrients required by horses: water, energy, protein, vitamins and minerals. Grain concentrates and supplements should only be fed to compliment the forage being offered. If high quality forage is being fed, most horses only require a low intake vitamin and mineral pellet (ration balancer pellet). Feeding Standlee Premium Western Forage® products (bagged and baled forage) will boost the quality, consistency and nutrient profile of marginal quality hay. This will help horses satisfy their nutrient requirements and decrease the amount of grain that must be fed, therefore decrease the horses risk for developing gastric ulcers.
Other research groups have focused on the type of forage fed to horses and its effect of ulcer formation and severity. Providing good-quality alfalfa or alfalfa-mix forage can help buffer stomach contents and reduce gastric acidity. Alfalfa forage has been shown to buffer gastric contents and decrease gastric ulcer severity in horses housed in stalls and exercising. 2,3
Also, pasture turnout when possible can help reduce stress and prevent gastric ulcers. Standlee Premium Western Forage® provides premium, high-quality alfalfa and alfalfa/grass mixed forage that can be fed to all classes of horses. This forage is grown in the Western United States and it is without equal with respect to quality and nutrient profile. They provide regular baled forage as well as pelleted and cubed forms of these forages.
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NUTRITIONAL
WHITE PAPER
1. Flores, R.S., C.R. Byron, K.H. Kline. 2009. Effects of Feed Type on Growth and Gastric Ulcer Formation in Weanling Horses. J. Eq. Vet. Sci. 29(5):484-485.
2. Nadeau, J.A., F.M. Andrews, and A.G. Matt hew. 2000. Evaluation of diet as a cause of gastric ulcers in horses. Am. J. Vet. Res. 61:784-790.
3. Lybbert, T., P. Gibbs, N. Cohen, B. Scott , and D. Sigler. 2007. Feeding alfalfa hay to exercising horses reduces the severity of gastric squamous mucosal ulceration. In: Proc. Amer. Assoc. Eq. Practnr. 53:525-526.
WWW
Edited by SG. 2014-09-17 9:54 AM
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Blessed
Location: Here | Here are some more good article links
http://standleeforage.com/nutrition/information/nutritional-papers |
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Blessed
Location: Here | Here is a good article about probiotics and prebiotics in the management of ulcers
http://equinenutritionnerd.com/2014/01/02/alternative-options-for-stomach-ulcer-treatment-prevention/ |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | very interesting.....thanks for the read :).........
m |
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Blessed
Location: Here | mruggles - 2014-09-17 10:45 AM very interesting.....thanks for the read :).........
m
You are welcome. I have been able to keep ulcers away with me and my horses with high fiber and pre and probiotics along with digestive enzymes. I found these articles this morning and wanted to share |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| what do you feed for the digestive enzymes? Is that what FORCO is for? This greatly interests me. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Gotta chime in here ... After treating the ulcers my mare had - I upped the forage tremendously in her diet. Going to full time/ free choice high quality brome and feeding Alfalfa daily to up the protein intake. It works. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | A high forage diet fits the horses digestive system and the way it evolved to make the basic needed energy. Along with this type of diet, be sure that your horses teeth are in proper condition to allow your horses to chew the roughage source as comfortably as possible. The will promote more complete digestion in the hind gut because of more surface area of the roughage exposed. It also provides more saliva production that also acts as a buffer to excess stomach acid. |
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 Goat Giver
Posts: 23166
| I have always feed mostly roughage and for the most part not had problems with ulcers. Tres defies my best laid plans though and keeps me continually on the hunt for the best ways to manage him. I think if he was not on the diet he is on......free choice hay, Forco, Muscle Mass with the Gastroplus added along with Renew Gold and electrolytes, he would have not survied the ANHA. He stressed beyond belief there and I am still amazed we did not have either a gas or impaction colic. I may switch out Forco with Succeed for one bucket of stuff.........they have a good deal on it right now. He is still not over the flare up and looks drawn. I honestly think it is the double dose of Mighty Deck that makes him more sensitive to the outside environment. |
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Blessed
Location: Here | I have been adding TechMix Live-Bac in the past couble of weeks to the weaned babies. I am liking the results. I am seeing. Yes they are still getting their forco
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 Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | Thanks for the info! My horse just finished 28 days on Gastroguard. He had 3 small grade one lesions in non-glandular area and a very large grade 3 legion in the glandular area. Went over my feed, 1.5 pounds of TE 2x , Cosequin and Smart GI, round bales during day, 2 flakes at night Timothy hay. They suggested switching to Alfalfa. Its not up here so I pay $45 (OMG!) 100lb bale and he gets 1 flake at night and alfalfa cubes in the am. The last 2 weeks, I added THE Gastro Plus. He was just scoped yesterday, totally clean. They expected him to be only 3/4's healed because of the size, I think the hay and THE really helped move it along. I am going to lower the grain even more and feed the alfalfa. I just wonder what is the easiest all around supplement to add without messing anything up? |
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Blessed
Location: Here | Mainer-racer - 2014-09-18 7:41 AM Thanks for the info! My horse just finished 28 days on Gastroguard. He had 3 small grade one lesions in non-glandular area and a very large grade 3 legion in the glandular area. Went over my feed, 1.5 pounds of TE 2x , Cosequin and Smart GI, round bales during day, 2 flakes at night Timothy hay. They suggested switching to Alfalfa. Its not up here so I pay $45 (OMG!) 100lb bale and he gets 1 flake at night and alfalfa cubes in the am. The last 2 weeks, I added THE Gastro Plus. He was just scoped yesterday, totally clean. They expected him to be only 3/4's healed because of the size, I think the hay and THE really helped move it along. I am going to lower the grain even more and feed the alfalfa. I just wonder what is the easiest all around supplement to add without messing anything up?
Best pulp and the tech mix is what I would do |
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Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | SG. - 2014-09-18 8:49 AM Mainer-racer - 2014-09-18 7:41 AM Thanks for the info! My horse just finished 28 days on Gastroguard. He had 3 small grade one lesions in non-glandular area and a very large grade 3 legion in the glandular area. Went over my feed, 1.5 pounds of TE 2x , Cosequin and Smart GI, round bales during day, 2 flakes at night Timothy hay. They suggested switching to Alfalfa. Its not up here so I pay $45 (OMG!) 100lb bale and he gets 1 flake at night and alfalfa cubes in the am. The last 2 weeks, I added THE Gastro Plus. He was just scoped yesterday, totally clean. They expected him to be only 3/4's healed because of the size, I think the hay and THE really helped move it along. I am going to lower the grain even more and feed the alfalfa. I just wonder what is the easiest all around supplement to add without messing anything up?
So is this added to the grain or now? How much of the beet pulp - I feed twice daily and I'll look up that mix. |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| I have never had a problem with ulcers until I got my new guy a few years ago. We feed enough Alfalfa/grass morning and night(70/30) that it lasts all day and night. They can graze throughout the day on a little grass in their 2 acre lot. They are fed morning and night a mixture of 80/20 Senior Feed and sweet feed. The sweet feed is nothing more than flavor. They are on a joint supplement as well.
***At shows they ALWAYS have access to hay and we have a pen so they can eat grass too. *** I feel this is a MAJOR player in why they don't get ulcers. There's always something in their belly for when they get a case of nerves!
The new guy was simply nervous coming into a new place and then he went from being used 2-4 times per year to being used and hauled for 9 months out of the year. Treated him for ulcers with Ulcergard for several months and a feed thru U-gard Pellets. He now requires nothing more than the previous mentioned feed. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| Interesting...apparently my mare, who has forage 110% of the time, including in the winter, should read this article...then maybe she would stop getting ulcers... |
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Expert
Posts: 2457
| SuckerForHorses - 2014-09-18 9:11 AM
Interesting...apparently my mare, who has forage 110% of the time, including in the winter, should read this article...then maybe she would stop getting ulcers...
I think every horse is different, right? While horses are designed for a forage based diet because of their gastro system (hind gut fermenters) not EVERY system is going to FIX everything.
For example - I had to treat my mare a few times AND change her diet to really see the benefits of it a year later. Also - think about the type of forage you are feeding? Is it prairie hay, brome hay, coastal, timothy mix, straight alfalfa .... the type, kind, and quality of the forage DOES make a difference.
Here's a presentation written up that was given at the equine practitioners meetings in 2007 - http://www.cabi.org/cabdirect/FullTextPDF/2008/20083097780.pdf
" Accounting for period and repeated measures, the ulcer severity scores were significantly (p 0.001) lower for horses in the alfalfa hay group than horses fed coastal Bermuda grass hay. "
ETA - another great book excerpt going more in depth about equine ulcers, how to treat, and care afterward. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749073908000679
Edited by lindseylou2290 2014-09-18 10:09 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 375
Location: San Antonio, TX | Would you consider plain alfalfa pellets a grain? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| kle12 - 2014-09-18 11:10 AM
Would you consider plain alfalfa pellets a grain?
No. |
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 I too, shall remain nameless!
Posts: 2248
Location: Wearing a winter coat...... | Thank you for this. I shared it on Facebook also. What people don't understand is that it is ALFALFA hay not just any hay. I always hear people talk about "Free Choice" hay and they shouldn't have ulcer issues.....when I see the hay they feed...I almost have my own ulcer issues! The quality of your hay should be more important then your grain choices. I see people worry so much about what grain they'll feed their horse when it is the hay IMO that is the most important to a balanced horse. |
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 BHW's Lance Armstrong
Posts: 11134
Location: Somewhere between S@%&# stirrer and Saint | Interesting article but the sources in the article make it suspect Standlee Premium Western Forage®
Of course they will promote that type of feeding. The other source posted in the posts is the same source.
I am a grain feeder. All mares 2 gallons of my custom grain mix14 % protein per day 12 months of the year. Babies work their way up to 3 gallons in their yearling year getting ready to go to the track. All the hay they want to eat. Of course some hay is wasted. I am not a big supplement feeder though.
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