Question
I own a young Warmblood-cross gelding that is a week away from finishing treatment (omeprazole, sucralfate, and misoprostol) for squamous and glandular gastric ulcers. He’s a low-level event horse normally, though he’s been off work for a month to help heal the ulcers. He maintains his weight easily on 8 lb (3.6 kg) of senior feed (fed as two 4-lb {1.8-kg} meals) and free-choice hay that includes some alfalfa. He’s also fed a popular gastric-support supplement as well as another stomach-support product that’s a mixture of prebiotics, yeast, and plant-based substances. How do I transition him onto an ulcer preventive? What product would be most beneficial to him? I’d like to streamline my supplement and medication purchases.
Answer
Your veterinarian is the best source of advice regarding the withdrawal of ulcer medications. Identifying the cause of the ulcers (stress, diet, or management) will help reduce recurrence after treatment, though pinpointing risk factors leading to the development of ulcers can sometimes be tricky.
The current diet appears to be suitable as it provides forage at all times and feed low in nonstructural carbohydrates. Current diet and management recommendations for squamous and glandular ulcers include decreasing exercise and stress; limiting starch consumption; and increasing pasture turnout.
Even though your gelding’s meal size is within the general recommendation (less than 5 lb or 2.3 kg), it may benefit him to receive smaller meals by offering the same amount of concentrate in three meals a day rather than two.
When your horse returns to exercise, providing a small forage- or fiber-based meal 30-40 minutes prior to work is recommended to create a protective barrier, which will have two advantages: to reduce splashing of gastric acid and to promote buffering of the acid. Alfalfa is recommended due to its high buffering capacity.
For your gelding, consider research-proven supplements designed to support digestive health, antioxidant defenses, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
RiteTrac is a total digestive tract buffer that provides key ingredients to promote gastric and hindgut health in one product. RiteTrac offers complete digestive support as it contains coating agents and antacids for the stomach and a maintenance serving (60 g) of EquiShure, a time-released hindgut buffer. EquiShure targets just the hindgut, as the product is protected by a coating that releases the buffer directly into the cecum and large intestine. Horse owners in Australia and New Zealand should look for these supplements.
EO-3 provides a source of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. EO-3 could be beneficial as equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) may be linked to or be part of generalized inflammatory gastrointestinal disease.
Antioxidant supplementation can be beneficial, making a coenzyme Q10 supplement, such as Nano-Q10, a product to consider. Coenzyme Q10 is a potent antioxidant with gastroprotective effects in other species. Nano-Q10 is a bioavailable coenzyme Q10 product recommended for performance horses to reduce oxidative stress and damage.
